Drops from a lotus leaf
Today, watch one wanting as it rises, and notice whether sorrow grows with it.
- Read · about 2 minutes
Whoever is beaten by this wretched craving,this attachment to the world,their sorrow grows,like grass in the rain.But whoever prevails over this wretched craving,so hard to get over in the world,their sorrows fall from them,like a drop from a lotus-leaf.Dhammapada 335–336 · chapter 24, “Craving” · tr. Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0)
From the text
The verses say that for whoever is beaten by craving, this attachment to the world, sorrow grows like grass in the rain. For whoever prevails over craving, which is hard to get over, sorrows fall away like a drop from a lotus leaf.
In everyday life
'Craving' is the text's word for the thirst of wanting: for more, for something else, for things to be otherwise. The verses give two pictures of what it does to sorrow. Fed, sorrow grows like grass in the rain, quickly and everywhere. Unfed, sorrow rolls off like a drop from a lotus leaf, which does not soak up water. 'Prevails over' can sound like a final victory, but one way to take it for a beginner is one instance at a time: a wanting arises, and for once you do not follow it. Today's sit with the breath will offer several chances. The urge to shift, to check the time, to be done. Each time you see the urge and stay with the breath, notice what the small sorrow attached to it does: whether it beads up and slides off, or whether it lingers. Then take the same look at one craving in the day.
- Sit · 3, 5 or 10 minutes
Breath Awareness
Sit comfortably upright, hands in your lap or on your knees. After reading a cue, you may close your eyes and rest with the breath until the next one appears.
- Live · during your day
Delay one small craving today, checking the phone, a second helping, a purchase, by ten minutes. During those minutes, notice whether the wanting grows, shrinks, or simply changes, and whether any sorrow goes with it.
- Reflect · this evening
What did one wanting do today when you delayed it, and what did you feel meanwhile?
Answer on paper, or in the app’s journal, which stays on your iPhone.