MINDFULNESS · DHAMMAPADA 282
The Care of Attention
Through zeal knowledge is gotten, through lack of zeal knowledge is lost; let a man who knows this double path of gain and loss thus place himself that knowledge may grow.
Dhammapada 282 · Chapter 20, The Way · trans. F. Max Müller · Read the full text at Project Gutenberg
Reflection
The verse begins, “Through zeal knowledge is gotten, through lack of zeal knowledge is lost.” In its chapter, this image points toward a practical path of attention, ethics, and understanding. The emphasis is agency without isolation: begin with the part of the situation your own conduct can actually change. Because this is a historic English translation, test the teaching in experience rather than treating its wording as a demand for belief.
Practice prompt
Choose one routine moment today and give it your full attention.