PATIENCE · DHAMMAPADA 332

Meeting Anger With Space

Pleasant in the world is the state of a mother, pleasant the state of a father, pleasant the state of a Samana, pleasant the state of a Brahmana.

Dhammapada 332 · Chapter 23, The Elephant · trans. F. Max Müller · Read the full text at Project Gutenberg

Reflection

The verse begins, “Pleasant in the world is the state of a mother, pleasant the state of a father,….” In its chapter, this image points toward patient strength under difficult conditions. 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

Let one delay be a place to practice rather than a theft of time.