Dhp XVI : Dear Ones

Don’t ever–regardless–

be conjoined with what’s dear

or undear.

It’s painful

not to see what’s dear

or to see what’s not.

From what’s dear is born grief,

from what’s dear is born fear.

For one freed from what’s dear

there’s no grief

–so how fear?

One consummate in virtue & vision,

judicious,

speaking the truth,

doing his own task:

the world holds him dear.

If

you’ve given birth to a wish

for what can’t be expressed,

are suffused with heart,

your mind not enmeshed

in sensual passions:

you’re said to be

in the up-flowing stream.

A man long absent

comes home safe from afar.

His kin, his friends, his companions,

delight in his return.