Dhammapada Verse 348

Verse 348

          Let go of that which is in front,
     let go of that which has already gone,
             and let go of in-between.
    With a heart that takes hold nowhere
 you arrive at the place beyond all suffering.

Reflection

We can comfortably lose ourselves in ideas of the
future. We can comfortably dwell in memories of
the past. And we readily get lost in experiences
here and now. When we get lost we suffer. But 
suffering is not ultimate; there are causes for
suffering and there is freedom from them. To
arrive at freedom requires that we are willing to
leave our familiar abidings. We hear the instruction
to 'let go' and it can sound like we are being told
to get rid of something or that we are wrong for
being the way we are. But if we recognise the
power of right mindfulness, we see letting go just
happens. In this verse the Buddha meets us in the 
place of our suffering and directs us towards an
open door out of it.