PATIENCE · DHAMMAPADA 331
Strength Without Harshness
If an occasion arises, friends are pleasant; enjoyment is pleasant, whatever be the cause; a good work is pleasant in the hour of death; the giving up of all grief is pleasant.
Dhammapada 331 · Chapter 23, The Elephant · trans. F. Max Müller · Read the full text at Project Gutenberg
Reflection
The verse begins, “If an occasion arises, friends are pleasant.” In its chapter, this image points toward patient strength under difficult conditions. 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
What would strength without harshness look like here?