KN.DHP209-220 — The Chapter on the Dear
The Story of the Three Disciples Who Renounced the World
Apply yourself to what is appropriate, and do not engage in what is inappropriate. Abandoning what is beneficial, one who clings to what is dear, harms oneself by pursuing attachment. Do not associate with what is dear, nor with what is not dear at any time. The absence of the dear is suffering, and the presence of the not dear is suffering. Therefore, one should not make anything dear, for the separation from the dear is painful. There are no bonds for those who have neither dear nor not dear.
The Story of a Certain Householder
From what is dear, sorrow arises; from what is dear, fear arises. For one who is freed from what is dear, there is no sorrow, whence fear?
The Story of Visākhā
From affection, sorrow arises; from affection, fear arises. For one who is freed from affection, there is no sorrow, whence fear?
The Story of the Licchavī
From delight, sorrow arises; from delight, fear arises. For one who is freed from delight, there is no sorrow, whence fear?
The Story of the Prince with the Fragrance of a Woman
From desire, sorrow arises; from desire, fear arises. For one who is freed from desire, there is no sorrow, whence fear?
The Story of a Certain Brahmin
From craving, sorrow arises; from craving, fear arises. For one who is freed from craving, there is no sorrow, whence fear?
The Story of the Five Hundred Boys
One who is endowed with virtue and vision, established in the Dhamma, and who acts according to one's own deeds, that person is made dear by the people.
The Story of the Elder Who Attained Non-Returner
Born of desire, unspoken, and touched by the mind, one whose mind is not attached to sensual pleasures is said to be one who flows upstream.
The Story of Nandiya
A man who has been away for a long time, when he returns safely from afar, his relatives, friends, and companions rejoice at his return. In the same way, when one who has done good deeds goes from this world to the next, his merits receive him, just as relatives welcome a dear one who has returned.