Therefore, do not make anything dear, for separation from the dear is painful. No bonds exist for those who have neither the dear nor the undear.

Tasmā piyaṃ na kayirātha — therefore, do not make anything dear: the logical conclusion from the previous verse. If separation from the dear causes pain, not creating attachment is not creating pain. The advice is radical but coherent.

Piyāpāyo hi pāpako — separation from the dear is painful: apāya is separation, loss. The inevitable separation from everything dear (people, possessions, states) is one of the most acute forms of suffering.

Ganthā tesaṃ na vijjanti yesaṃ natthi piyāppiyaṃ — no bonds exist for those who have neither the dear nor the undear: gantha are the bonds, the fetters. Total freedom is achieved when the compulsive distinction between the dear and the undear dissolves.

The teaching is not anti-love but anti-compulsive-attachment. Love without attachment is possible and is precisely the most free and generous love: loving without needing the object of love to remain as we want it.