Not by sorrowing,
not by lamenting,
is any aim accomplished here,
not even a bit.
Knowing you’re sorrowing & in pain,
your enemies are gratified.
But when a sage
with a sense for determining what is his aim
doesn’t waver in the face of misfortune,
his enemies are pained,
seeing his face unchanged, as of old.
Where & however an aim is accomplished
through
eulogies, chants, good sayings,
donations, & family customs,
follow them diligently there & that way.
But if you discern that
your own aim
or that of others
is not gained in this way,
acquiesce (to the nature of things)
unsorrowing, with the thought:
‘What important work
am I doing now?’
Origin URL: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/AN/AN5_49.html