What Is Dear (DHP209-220)

One who pursues what is not to be undertaken,
And practices what is not to be practiced,
Who clings to what is dear, having abandoned the
goal:
Such a one envies those who apply themselves.

Never associate with those dear or abrasive.
For not seeing those dear and seeing the abrasive are
both painful.

Therefore hold nothing dear,
For separation from what is dear is bad.
For one whom there is neither dear nor non-dear,
There are no bonds.

From affection grief is born.
From affection fear is born.
One free from affection is without grief;
From where would fear come?

From love grief is born.
From love fear is born.
One free from love is without grief;
From where would fear come?

From attachment grief is born.
From attachment fear is born.
One free from attachment is without grief;
From where would fear come?

From sensual craving grief is born.
From sensual craving fear is born.
One free from sensual craving is without grief;
From where would fear come?

From craving grief is born.
From craving fear is born.
One free from craving is without grief;
From where would fear come?

People hold dear the one endowed with virtue and
insight,
Who speaks the truth and does the work that that is
his,
Who is established in the Dhamma.

One with an expansive mind,
Who is intent on the Indescribable,
Whose heart is not bound with sensual craving,
is called going upstream.

Family, companions, and friends rejoice
When one, long absent, safely returns.

Just so, in going from this world to the next,
The good deeds receive the well-doer,
As relatives receive the return of their dear one.

© Peter Feldmeier, 2013.

First published in Dhammapada — The Way of Truth : A Fresh Translation and Commentary on Buddhism’s Most Beloved Text by Buddhist Publication Society.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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