Miscellaneous (Pakiṇṇaka Vagga)
Verse 290
Pāli Source
Mattāsukhapariccāgā passe ce vipulaṃ sukhaṃ; caje mattāsukhaṃ dhīro sampassaṃ vipulaṃ sukhaṃ.
English Translation
If, by giving up a lesser happiness, one could see a greater happiness, the wise person would let go of the lesser, having seen the greater.
Way to Enlightenment draft translation — not yet reviewed for accuracy.
Editorial Note
From the Pakiṇṇaka Vagga (Miscellaneous) — a practical, non-mystical framing of renunciation as a value judgment (a greater good over a lesser one), not simply giving things up for its own sake.
Source
Pali critical edition: O. von Hinüber & K.R. Norman (Pali Text Society, 1995), digitized by the Dhammakaya Foundation via GRETIL, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0