LETTING GO · DHAMMAPADA 210

Space Beyond Possession

Let no man ever look for what is pleasant, or what is unpleasant. Not to see what is pleasant is pain, and it is pain to see what is unpleasant.

Dhammapada 210 · Chapter 16, Pleasure · trans. F. Max Müller · Read the full text at Project Gutenberg

Reflection

The verse begins, “Let no man ever look for what is pleasant, or what is unpleasant.” In its chapter, this image points toward the stress created by possessiveness. Its value is practical when it changes how you meet one choice, relationship, or difficult feeling today. Because this is a historic English translation, test the teaching in experience rather than treating its wording as a demand for belief.

Practice prompt

Notice the difference between caring and clinging.