' “Unshaken Like a Rock”:.. Praise & Blame ... (Dhammapada 81).... By Tim Yu,, Founder & Editor · Published 8 June 2026 '...

Few things rule us as quietly as the craving to be praised and the fear of being blamed. The Buddha offers an image of freedom from both: a great rock, unmoved whether the storm rages or not. “Even so,” he says, “the wise are not affected by praise or blame.” Here is the verse, its meaning, and its source. ........................................................................................................................................ “Just as a solid rock is not shaken by the storm, even so the wise are not affected by praise or blame.” — The Buddha, Dhammapada 81 (trans. Acharya Buddharakkhita) ........................................................................................................................................ What “unshaken like a rock” means ........................................................................................................................................ The simile is precise. A rock does not resist the storm with effort; it simply has a stability the wind cannot reach. So too the wise: their steadiness is not a clenched refusal to feel, but a settledness that approval and disapproval no longer penetrate to the core. ........................................................................................................................................ This speaks to one of the most universal forms of unfreedom. Most of us are, without noticing, on a string — lifted by a compliment, dropped by a criticism, our mood and even our sense of self handed over to whoever is talking about us. The verse points to a mind that has taken that string back. ........................................................................................................................................ The Buddhist tradition maps this with the eight worldly winds (lokadhammā): gain and loss, fame and disrepute, praise and blame, pleasure and pain. We spend enormous energy chasing the pleasant four and fleeing the unpleasant four. To be “unshaken” is not to stop caring about others, but to stop being blown around by their verdicts — which leaves you, paradoxically, far more able to listen to honest feedback, because you are no longer defending yourself against it.................. from e-buddhism.com