Verse 213

Dhammapada Verse 213

The Story of Visakha

One day, a granddaughter of Visakha named Sudatta died and Visakha felt very deeply about her loss and was sorrowing over the child's death. So she went to the Buddha; when the Buddha saw her, he said, "Visakha, don't you realize that many people die in Savatthi every day? If you were to regard all of them as you regard your own grandchild you would have to be endlessly weeping and mourning. Let not the death of a child affect you too much. Sorrow and fear arise out of endearment."

Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:

Pemato jayati soko
pemato jayati bhayam
pemato vippamuttassa
natthi soko kuto bhayam.

Verse 213: Endearment begets sorrow, endearment begets fear. For him who is free from endearment there is no sorrow; how can there be fear for him?