One who, flouting, despising a sense of conscience, saying, "I am your friend," but not grasping what he could do [to help]: know him as "Not my friend." One who, among friends, speaks endearing words to which he doesn't conform, the wise recognize as speaking without doing. He's not a friend who's always wary, suspecting a split, focusing just on your weakness. But him on whom you can depend, like a child on its parent's breast: that's a true friend whom others can't split from you. Carrying one's manly burden, the fruits & rewards develop the conditions that make for joy, the bliss that brings praise. Drinking the nourishment, the flavor, of seclusion & calm, one is freed from evil, devoid of distress, refreshed with the nourishment of rapture in the Dhamma.[1]

Note

1.

This last verse = Dhp 205.

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Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. From Access to Insight (BCBS Edition). Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) — for free distribution only. Never sold.