LETTING GO · DHAMMAPADA 355
The Freedom of Enough
Pleasures destroy the foolish, if they look not for the other shore; the foolish by his thirst for pleasures destroys himself, as if he were his own enemy.
Dhammapada 355 · Chapter 24, Thirst · trans. F. Max Müller · Read the full text at Project Gutenberg
Reflection
The verse begins, “Pleasures destroy the foolish, if they look not for the other shore.” In its chapter, this image points toward craving and the possibility of release. The practical question is whether replaying injury protects you or keeps the injury active. 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 preference be unmet without turning it into a problem.