The Dhammapada on why a grudge lasts as long as you replay it. From The Dhammapada by the Buddha, gathered 3rd century BC.
A later commentary gives these verses a backstory. Tissa, a cousin of the Buddha, became a monk late in life. He sat in the middle of the hall like a senior elder.
Visiting monks offered to serve him, then learned he was brand new and scolded him. He went to the Buddha in tears. Told to ask their pardon, he refused: they had abused him.
A later commentary tells of Tissa, a monk who felt insulted and would not ask pardon. The Dhammapada answers with a grudge’s own words: he abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me. Hold such thoughts and hatred never ends; only love ends it. In 1951, Ceylon’s J. R. Jayewardene quoted that verse as he gave up any claim on Japan.
A grudge lives only as long as you keep repeating it. Practical advice: when the old insult starts its replay, name it, and turn to something else.
Likely, on the evidence · checked against 9 sourcesWrite the sentence your grudge keeps repeating, then tear it up.
“A friend hurt me badly years ago, and I still replay it. How do I finally let it go?”
Stop Feeding the Grudge and the other 11 ideas of The Dhammapada, a minute at a time.
Download on theApp StoreEvery idea is drawn from the public-domain text, and its names, dates and quotes are checked against the sources listed with it. The paintings are made for Counsel; they show the scene, not a historical record.
