LETTING GO · DHAMMAPADA 220

The Ease of Letting Be

In like manner his good works receive him who has done good, and has gone from this world to the other;—as kinsmen receive a friend on his return.

Dhammapada 220 · Chapter 16, Pleasure · trans. F. Max Müller · Read the full text at Project Gutenberg

Reflection

The verse begins, “In like manner his good works receive him who has done good, and has gone from….” In its chapter, this image points toward the stress created by possessiveness. It also makes practice relational: the people you listen to can strengthen or weaken your best intentions. Because this is a historic English translation, test the teaching in experience rather than treating its wording as a demand for belief.

Practice prompt

Allow one feeling to leave in its own time.