Neither Exulting nor Hating
One who does not exult in good news nor hate the bad, who does not grieve and cling at loss nor crave at gain, who has released the grip on good fortune and ill — such a one is serene.
Exulting and hating look opposite but share one root — both are states where the mind is pawned to outside events.
Do I float up at good news and collapse at bad, swung many times a day by hands not my own?
📝Reflection
Exulting and hating look opposite but share one root — both are states where the mind is pawned to outside events. The old teacher does not forbid joy; he asks that joy and grief not swallow me whole. I lose sleep over good news and lose a whole day to bad. But fortune is passing weather, and I am the one standing beneath it. Ecclesiastes' 'a time for everything' and the Buddhist equanimity live here. If I do not grasp, neither the coming nor the going can break me.
🌱Apply It Today
When one piece of news reaches you today, good or bad, take one breath before reacting and call it 'passing weather.'
This verse is read as universal humanistic wisdom, not religion — no faith is promoted, and the reflection is 100% original ONGO content.
