Dhammapada · 22.9

Akataṃ dukkaṭaṃ seyyo, pacchā tappati dukkaṭaṃ;Katañca sukataṃ seyyo, yaṃ katvā nānutappati.

Akatam dukkatam seyyo, paccha tappati dukkatam; Katanca sukatam seyyo, yam katva nanutappati.

Better is the evil deed left undone — afterwards it torments. Better is the good deed done — having done which, one does not regret.

— Dhammapada 22.9

Source: Pali text from the Khuddaka Nikāya of the Pali Canon (oldest extant Buddhist scripture, compiled c. 3rd century BCE). Public-domain English readings drawn from F. Max Müller's translation in Sacred Books of the East, Vol X (1881) and the Buddhist Publication Society's freely-licensed Acharya Buddharakkhita rendering.