Dhammapada Verse 213
Visakha Vatthu
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?
The Story of Visakha
While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (213) of
this book, with reference to Visakha, the renowned donor of the Pubbarama
monastery.
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:
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?
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