Each holds themselves dear

From the text

A king and Queen Mallikā ask each other whether anyone is more dear to them than themselves, and each answers that there is no one. The verse then says that searching every direction with the mind, one finds no one dearer than oneself, that everyone else likewise holds themselves dear, and so one who desires self-knowledge would harm no other.

In everyday life

There is something disarming about this exchange: a king and a queen admit that neither holds anyone more dear than themselves. The verse does not scold them. It treats the fact as universal and turns it outward: what is true of you is true of everyone you meet. It then draws its conclusion: one who desires self-knowledge would harm no other. One way to take this is that knowing yourself includes knowing how much you matter to yourself, and that everyone else matters that much to themselves. You know from the inside how much your comfort, dignity, and safety matter to you. The stranger who cut in line, the neighbor who plays music late, the relative who never calls: each of them is the center of a world, exactly as you are. Today's sit is about arriving and being kind to your own body as it settles. Let that kindness be your reference point when you meet someone difficult later.

Arriving and Settling

Sit upright on a chair or cushion, hands resting in your lap. Read each cue as it appears; between cues you may close your eyes or lower your gaze.

Start the timer hereAbout this session

When someone irritates you today, silently say 'they hold themselves dear, just as I do', and let one breath pass before you respond.

Who did you remember was the center of their own world today, and did it change anything?

Answer on paper, or in the app’s journal, which stays on your iPhone.