The Same to Friend and Foe
The same toward friend and foe, toward honor and contempt, standing level in cold and heat, pleasure and pain, freed from clinging — unmoved by praise or blame, content with whatever comes, and still.
Sameness (sama) is not coldness; it is a center that does not slosh with the other's attitude.
Do I become a different person each time — warm to those who praise me, cold to those who slight me?
📝Reflection
Sameness (sama) is not coldness; it is a center that does not slosh with the other's attitude. I grow generous toward those who exalt me and petty toward those who lower me — handing my character to others' hands. The equanimity the old teacher names is not treating friend and foe identically, but not letting their verdict gnaw at my center. It is Aurelius's 'do not entrust your peace to another's tongue.' Only one who does not swell at praise stays standing under blame.
🌱Apply It Today
When praise or blame reaches you today, keep it from ruling your mood by thinking, 'Thank you, but this is their scale, not mine.'
This verse is read as universal humanistic wisdom, not religion — no faith is promoted, and the reflection is 100% original ONGO content.
