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The Dhammapada
Chapter Sixteen: The Dear
Practicing what one shouldn't,
Not practicing what one should,
Having abandoned the goal,
Clinging to what is dear,
One comes to envy those who practice.
Don't get entangled
With what you long for or dislike.
Not seeing what you long for is suffering;
So also is seeing what you dislike.
Therefore, do not turn anything
Into something longed for,
For then it's dreadful to lose.
Without longing or dislike,
No bonds exist.
Longing gives rise to grief;
Longing gives rise to fear.
For someone released from longing
There is neither grief nor fear.
Affection gives rise to grief;
Affection gives rise to fear.
For someone released from affection
There is no grief;
And from where would come fear?
Infatuation gives rise to grief;
Infatuation gives rise to fear.
For someone released from infatuation
There is no grief;
And from where would come fear?
Sensual craving gives rise to grief;
Sensual craving gives rise to fear.
For someone released from sensual craving
There is no grief;
And from where would come fear?
Craving gives rise to grief;
Craving gives rise to fear.
For someone released from craving
There is no grief;
And from where would come fear?
People hold dear those
Who have done their own work,
Complete in virtue and vision,
Established in the Dhamma,
And who speak the truth.
Anyone who aspires to the Indescribable,
Whose mind is expansive,
And whose heart is not bound to sensual craving
Is called "one bound upstream."
Relatives, friends, and companions
Rejoice
When a long-absent person
Returns from afar.
Just so, in passing from this world to the next,
The merit we have made
Receives us,
As a family does the return of a beloved relative.
...excerpt from The Dhammapada, the classic book of Buddhist scriptures.
Continue to Chapter Seventeen...
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