Our life is what we make it by our own thoughts and deeds, thus it is through our own thoughts that a man rises or falls.

* * *

       It should constantly be remembered that no enemy can harm one so much as one's own evil thoughts and craving, these are our inner enemies who follow us day and night, and from whom we must try to keep away.

* * *

       Right thought must never have the slightest touch of evil in it, we should think about right things, not wrong things. Whenever there is anything which seems in the least suspicious or unkind, it must be shut out, we must be quite sure that our thoughts are only kind and good.

* * *

       Right thought also means having correct thought. Sometimes we think untruly or wrongly of other persons just because of prejudice or ignorance; we get an idea that a certain person is a bad person, and therefore all that he does must be evil. We attribute motives to him which are often without foundation, and in doing so we are thinking untruly of him. and therefore our thought Is not right thought.

* * *

       We are essentially the manifestation of our thought forces, and these forces, the currents of our thoughts. although subject to change are never lost. By degree of perfection they can be developed into the finest and highest energies of thought, such that can attain to the state of Nibbana. Those that remain undeveloped will continue on to form a new, next life, manifesting as the consciousness of an individual called a being - a man or a woman. In this way the process of life and death goes on continuously and endlessly until it is checked by the developing of one's own thoughts.

* * *

       By purifying his thoughts, purging them of the three bad roots of greed, hatred and ignorance, a bad person can be changed into a good one by developing his lower nature into a higher one, thereby acquiring the three good roots of unselfishness. goodwill and insight. A good person can develop himself still further into an even

* * *

       We live amongst others, so that whatever we think or say or do will necessarily affect a great many people. We should remember that our thought, our speech and our action are not merely qualities, but powers we possess to use. All are meant to be used for service, and to use them otherwise is to fail in our duty.

* * *

       Evil thoughts are to be eliminated and virtuous thoughts to be increased. Mere ceasing from evil is not enough, a noble effort is needed to replace evil by good. All this constitutes self-culture, and in the course of this culture the individual, through his kind thoughts, words and deeds, helps all his neighbours and makes them happy.

* * * * *

       Right speech is abstaining from lying, from talebearing, from harsh language, from vain talk. The man who abstains from lying, who always speaks the truth, is reliable, worthy of confidence. Neither for his own advantage, nor for the advantage of another, or for any advantage at all will he knowingly tell a lie.

* * *

       The man who avoids talebearing, not repeating elsewhere what he has heard here so as to cause dissension, is one who is gladdened by concord and tries to spread concord by what he says.

* * *

       He who avoids harsh speech uses such words as are gentle and courteous, words which are appealing to others.

* * *

       He who avoids vain talk is one who speaks in accordance with the facts and at a suitable time; he says what is useful and speaks in a reasoned manner about things which are beneficial. aspect is not only to tell the truth but to speak in a way that is soothing. kindly and comforting to the people who are listening.

* * *

       Not to tell lies is the negative aspect. The positive aspect is not only to tell the truth but to speak in a way that is soothing, kindly and comforting to the people who are listening.

* * *

       If we must talk, at least we might say something useful and helpful. Speech must be kindly, direct and forceful, not silly.

* * *

       We should speak always of good things. It is not our business to speak of the evil deeds of others. In a family, if a husband or wife, or son or brother did something wrong, we should certainly feel that it would be wrong to advertise the misdeed of one whom we loved to many people who would not otherwise hear of it. We should speak with regard to others as we should wish them to speak with regard to us.

* * *

       Just one falsehood often requires the concoctions of several others to hide it, leading to the creation of complications that bring trouble and unhappiness to oneself and others.

* * *

       In speaking, some people allow themselves to fall into exaggeration and inaccuracy, and they make little things into enormous stories; surely that is not right speech. They also have the idea that when one meets a friend one must keep talking all the time, or the friend will be hurt. With the idea of seeming smart, they keep up a stream of constant half-joking or sneering talk, and must always be showing everything in a ridiculous or amusing aspect. Certainly all that comes under the heading of idle words.

* * * * *

       At every level there is action which has a past that leads up to it, as well as a future proceeding from it. An action is the manifestation of the mind, and a desire for anything stimulates the mind, so it is our reactions to outside stimuli that we have to control.

* * *

       It is we ourselves who are responsible for our own misdeeds. You will remember the saying of the Buddha, "Evil deeds are done only by yourself, not by your parents, friends, relatives or advisers. So you yourself will have to reap the painful results of these misdeeds". So we are responsible for our own evil actions, there is no one to save us from the results of these evil deeds.

* * *

       The right-minded man concerns himself with the act, not with the consequences; he considers not what is pleasant or unpleasant, but what is good and right according to the rules of morality.

* * *

       Character is the product of daily, hourly actions. By doing just actions, daily acts of kindness, charity and unselfishness, we come to be just, and we judge strength by power of action. In the same way as a musician is not one who merely loves music, but one who is able to blend and combine sounds in a manner pleasing to the ear, so also it is the quality of our actions that determines our character.

* * *

       It is action and not speculation, practice and not theory that counts in life. The will to do, followed by the doing, is the actual virtue; the will of itself does not count much unless it is fulfilled.

* * *

       Action must be prompt and yet well considered, and it must be unselfish. We should do what we can to help others, we do not live by ourselves.

* * *

       We must not be content to be negatively good. What is desired of us is not mere abstinence from evil, but the positive doing of good.

* * *

       A single act of dishonesty, corruption or fraud needs a dozen other wrongs to fortify it, bringing difficulties that cause problems and unhappiness not only to oneself.

* * *

       A common excuse for wrong-doing is that right action would lead to failure, loss and unhappiness; thus immature-minded people concern themselves less with the deed. The longing to obtain pleasant results is the cause of much mental confusion, making men incapable of distinguishing between good and evil, worthy and unworthy, right and wrong.

* * *

       Only the present moment exists and can be said to be within management, and the responsibility of using this present moment either for good or for evil, lies with each individual.

* * * * *

       The ideal placed by the Buddha before us is mutual service - men being in need of each other - to help each other, bear each other's burdens. We have three types of work as mentioned in the Nikaya, three codes of conduct for the Buddhist: striving for self-development, so that one may attain happiness, self-culture and self-realization; working for the benefit of one's relatives and friends; working for the benefit of the whole world without making any distinction as regards caste, colour or creed. Therefore our task is to practise these principles laid down by the Buddha.

* * *

       We talk about our duty to help others, but as pointed out by the Buddha, if a person cannot help himself well, he cannot help others well. As said in the Dhammapada, "One should first establish oneself in what is proper; then only should he advise another; such a wise man will not be reproached".

* * *

       It seems that modern man, because of his physical body, cannot be styled as an animal, but by actions many people nowadays behave worse than animals. As a moral being guided by moral conscience, man should rise much above an animal; he should become a being of a higher world in which higher values are preferred to mere material life and material gains.

* * *

       The Buddha's way of life is a system of cultivating ourselves, our higher consciousness. It reveals how self- development may be achieved, showing that the individual must be in perfect order that the organic whole may be perfect, the inner world coming first, since the outer world is only a manifestation of the inner world. The state of the outer world is an exact reflection of our inner selves.

* * *

       If our life and conduct are ordered by our likes and dislikes, we are weaklings, puppets and bondslaves, apt to be overwhelmed by indolence and incompetence, ill health and frustration.

* * *

       We are so used to seeing external training that we forget inner training, the training of ourselves. We like to train other people and forget to train ourselves. We tend to take it for granted that we are always right, and others are in the wrong.

* * *

       It is not by any kind of prayer, by any ceremonies or by any appeal to a deity or god that a man will discover Dhamma, he will discover it only in one way - by developing his own character, controlling the mind and purifying the emotions.

* * *

       There is a saying of Confucius, a very wise, useful saying: "An uncultured person blames others; a semi-cultured person blames himself; a fully cultured person blames neither." The problem is, what is wrong, not who is wrong.

* * *

Reverence, or showing respect, is a remedy for overcoming one's pride.

* * * * *

       The task of each and every Buddhist is first to make the Buddha-Dhamma a living reality, by studying it and practising it in everyday life. When we live in accordance with the Dhamma we can speak about it with authority. Secondly, a Buddhist's task is to spread the pure Buddha Dhamma, or to help the Sangha who devote their whole lives to the study, practice and spreading of the pure Dhamma - which is excellent in the beginning, in the middle and in the end. Thereby we become helpers of humanity and messengers of peace and happiness.

* * *

       Buddhists should be good examples to others by practising what they preach; examples are better than any preaching

* * *.

       It is by the life which a man lives that he determines for himself whether he is proceeding on the right road, or wrong; it is therefore necessary that a man should first understand himself, self-analysis. Rather as a traveller up a difficult mountain path must rearrange his baggage and discard much that will be merely a hindrance, so also must the traveller on the road to deliverance examine his own character and decide what he must discard from it.

* * *

       Any physical action if repeated for some time becomes a habit. In the same way, any thought which is allowed to rise up again and again gives rise to a definite tendency to reproduce that type of thought, and therefore becomes a habit. To think habitually of a certain virtue is to become that virtue, and to allow the mind to dwell on thoughts of vice for any length of time is to become guilty of that vice.

* * *

       We can sometimes judge our own character by our habitual thoughts and acts. When we do certain things again and again, that is a sign of our character.

* * *

       We should aim to make counter-habits whenever we have a tendency to be angry by developing loving kindness and compassion. These mental states, if repeated again and again, will in the end become habits so much so that we will never entertain thoughts of hatred, anger, jealousy and the like; such evil tendencies will disappear before the tendencies of loving-kindness, even as the darkness of night fades away before the dawn of the rising sun.

* * *

       Morality makes a man gentle, it regulates his words and deeds; concentration controls the mind, makes him calm, serene and steady; but it is wisdom that enables the spiritual man to annihilate completely the passions which are ever creating a turmoil within him.

* * *

       Habits, whether good or bad, become second nature. At leisure moments one frequently reverts to a characteristic type of thought; a miser, for instance, will constantly be thinking about his money, a spiritual man will be intent on his spiritual work. We should practise, therefore, doing good things over and over again, so that good actions become our habit, thus establishing the cause for the arising of good future result.

* * * * *

       The practice of perfect attention is a means of learning to know oneself to know the world in which one lives, and consequently to acquire right understanding.

* * *

       He who does not practise attention is the plaything of the multiple influences with which he comes into contact, he is like a drifting cork which is at the mercy of the waves.

* * *

       Tempters are quite powerless against those who refuse to respond. My weakness lies in a man's own mind, and if he has given in to others' promptings, the real source of his troubles, his failures and miseries, is his own weakness; he is responsible for his every action.

* * *

       The Buddha proclaimed that every low desire, every longing for ignoble things, every unworthy feeling that we conquer and trample down, and every difficulty we meet heroically and victoriously with righteousness according to the rules of morality, becomes another rung on the ladder by which we can climb towards a nobler, higher life.

* * *

       Right through the teachings of the Buddha, stress is laid on such attributes as self-reliance, self-confidence, resolution, energy, work, effort. Buddhism makes a man or woman stand on his or her own feet and be master or mistress of fate.

* * *

       We should pay attention and be careful about what we do, careful to do only good things. If we are careful in this way we shall not have to worry about the result, it will be good. If you sow a mango seed, a mango tree will come up, not a chilli plant, which in turn will produce only chillies; therefore if we are careful to live this life rightly, we need not worry about our future, it will come rightly, everything will be right.

** *

       For the Bodhisatta, adhitthana, determination, means resolute determination, for this will-power forces all obstructions out of his path, and no matter what may come to him in the form of grief or disaster he never turns his eyes from his goal. He could easily be persuaded to do good, but not so could he be tempted to do anything contrary to his noble principles. He will be as soft as a flower or as firm as a rock, as occasion demands.

       The Buddha shows the way to attain self- enlightenment. He again and again reminded his followers that they will have to rely on themselves, rely on their own efforts, and that there is no one anywhere either in heaven or on earth to help them or save them from the results of their own misdeeds. The true Buddhist, therefore, feels compelled to rely on himself and on his own efforts, and this tendency to trust his own power strengthens his own confidence and sense of responsibility.

* * * * *

       Patience means endurance, the highest form of endurance in the face of suffering which may be inflicted upon oneself by others; and it means forbearance of others' wrongs. A Bodhisatta practises patience to the extent that not even when his hands or feet are cut off will he become provoked.

* * *

       Knowing that the Law is our great helper if we live by it, and that no harm can come to us if we work with it, knowing also that it blesses us just at the right time, we learn the grand lesson of patience, not to get excited, and that impatience is a check to progress.

* * *

       Only cultured people can have a mostly right attitude, and can therefore be very patient. They can be patient because through experience and being cultured they can see the right side of life, the right side of things; they have consideration for others, sympathy, they reason and therefore do not easily become angry. Such people can be very patient, very reasonable.

* * *

       Knowing how and why we differ in thought and outlook on life, we are able to make ample allowances for all types of people and are thus able to live more harmoniously with others. Patience brings forth peace, success, happiness and security.

* * *

       Right understanding, patience, tolerance, goodwill and loving-kindness, the elementary principles of Buddhism, may be difficult for the average person to practise, but we should be trying to rise above the average.

* * *

       As a Buddhist one should never be impatient with others if one cannot see things from their point of view. One should be tolerant towards all, even the intolerant, and remember that what seems to be proof to one person does not always seem to be so to another.

* * *

       Once we have identified our own character, and judged the most dominant aspect in us, we can choose an object for meditation that will help us. If, for instance, we are very quick tempered, the object must be one that will help us to be patient. To make us patient we should choose something opposite such as goodwill or peace, or love (metta

* * * * *

       Metta, loving-kindness, is to be started within ourselves. If we can say that we love ourselves, can we harm ourselves by having angry thoughts within ourselves? If we love a person, will we do harm to him? To love the self means to be free from selfishness, hatred, anger, etc.; and unless we ourselves possess metta within, we cannot share or radiate, we cannot send this metta to others.

* * *

       Metta is not merely benevolent thought but the performing of charitable deeds, active ministry for the good of one and all; a subject not to be talked about, but to put in our being, to suffuse it within ourselves.

* * *

       We are asked to be loving towards all living beings, therefore metta must go hand in hand with helpfulness, with willingness and a spirit of sacrifice for the welfare of other beings. In the Digha Nikaya it is said by the Buddha that almost every virtue such as unselfishness, loving-sympathy and loving-kindness is included in this metta. If you have real metta you can be almost everything; you can radiate a noble, grand peace. It is this metta that attempts to break away all barriers which separate beings one from another.

* * *

       Until a man stills the storm in his heart, until he radiates from within him the spirit of goodwill and loving- kindness to all, he will not find even the first step of the way to his goal.

* * *

       The Buddha asks us to love all beings as a mother loves her only child. Imagine a mother's love; does she merely radiate her love in the bringing up of her child? When a child is hungry she is watching carefully to feed it before it asks her for it. When the child is in danger she will even risk her own life; in every way she helps her child. If we can be like this model held up to the world by the Buddha, if we can do it even to a certain extent, the world will surely be a different place, happier and more peaceful.

* * *

       Metta has a cooling effect like the soft touch of a gentle hand, soft but firm, without changing its sympathy; so it only creates a calm, pleasant atmosphere.

* * *

       We should not expect other persons to treat us kindly first, but we ourselves should start by treating them kindly.

* * *

       A person with true compassion based on understanding, confers a double blessing; he helps others with a true, pure motive, and because of his own calmness he feels happiness within himself as well as happiness in helping others.

* * *

       It should be realized and remembered that the indirect enemy of compassion is grief; grief and sorrow not being compassion in the real sense of the word since they are morally weak states, whereas true compassion is morally strong and gives strength. Self-pity, being sorry for oneself, will do harm because such thoughts are of a selfish nature, and will be followed by harmful states of mind.

* * * * *

       A Bodhisatta, a Buddha in the making, is always ready to oblige others, but he will never stoop to beg a favour for himself. In abundance he gives, irrespective of caste, creed or colour, but selfishly he seeks nothing, for he is neither selfish nor self-possessive. He exercises this virtue of dana to such an extent that he is prepared to give away not only his wealth and other cherished possessions, but even his limbs. He is ever ready to sacrifice even his own life wherever such sacrifice will benefit humanity.

* * *

       The object in giving is to eliminate the craving that lies dormant within oneself; apart from which there are the attendant blessings of generosity such as the joy of service, the ensuing happiness and consolation, and the alleviation of suffering. Dana is the first parami, the first of the Ten Perfections, and it confers upon the giver the double benefit of inhibiting the immoral thoughts of selfishness on the one hand, and of developing the pure thoughts of selflessness on the other hand.

* * *

       Generosity, giving, means to make other people happy. When we give something with pleasure there is a double happiness, the giver is happy and the person who receives what is given is also happy.

* * *

       The cultivation of unselfishness includes not only a feeling in the heart, although that internal feeling is essential, but also the performance of those outward actions by which that feeling is manifested. It also includes the desire to put others perfectly at their ease, to save them from every kind of discomfort and to do all that we can to promote their happiness.

* * *

       Every good action must be done with a good, pure motive; so when we give, pure motive means our generosity should be pure generosity, without hoping for any return or reward for what we do. It means that without selfish desire we are willing to share, willing to do, willing to help, to give with generous-mindedness, otherwise the motive will not be good.

* * *

       Why do people invest money? Because they know that in due course they will get interest. In the same way, when we give and are generous, we invest our good kamma, our good action, as the result of which we shall have benefit not only in this life but many lives to come.

* * *

       Because of generosity, generous action, one can as a result be born wealthy: or whatever one does one can gain successfully in the way of wealth - that is cause and effect.

* * * * *

       The ultimate source of all happiness or misery is the individual mind. Individual happiness is essential for the happiness of society, and the happiness of society means the happiness of the nation; happiness of nations, in turn, leads to the happiness of the world.

* * *

       We may live in this world quite happily if we are not attached to it by foolish desire. We are in it, but we must not be of it, at least not to such an extent as to let it cause worry, trouble and sorrow.

* * *

       The physical sources of happiness, such as wealth, name, fame, social position and popularity, are merely temporary sources of happiness; whereas happiness attained through the culture of the mind is real and enduring.

* * *

       When we are less advanced spiritually it is the material and emotional pleasure and happiness that appeals to us most, and unfortunately some of us never try to get out of this rut. When we grow older, however, we realize that it is moral or spiritual happiness that is the genuine highest happiness, because it is real and lasting.

* * *

       If a person cannot find happiness within himself, he will not be able to find it anywhere else.

* * *

       A genuine smile or laughter is always accompanied by pleasure, otherwise one will not smile or laugh. However, there is a bad or ugly side of smiling or laughter, which is when the ordinary person does it because of getting something he wants. The good side, on the other hand, the profitable side, is when he smiles and is happy because of giving something to someone, not for gaining something.

* * *

       In every case our happiness is rendered more intense and more permanent by being shared with friends; therefore the best way to be happy is to make others happy too. We should do everything we can for the sake of others - in short, whatever we do, whatever thought we think, whatever word we utter should be for the good, peace and happiness of not only ourselves, but others. The result of such actions is peace, happiness and friendship.

* * *

       Since everything in the world is subject to impermanence, there can be no true and lasting happiness in the material things of this world. This would be a most pessimistic outlook were it not for the fact that there is a way out, a real happiness beyond the material, which changes into a realistic and optimistic outlook. Culture is the answer; culture not necessarily of the body but of the mind, and further, of the higher moral nature, to achieve Nibbana.

* * *

       Nations, families, friends, quarrel with each other. We talk about peace, yet we create confusion; we long for happiness, yet we obtain unhappiness, why? Because we are like logs carried helplessly along by the currents of greed, hatred and ignorance. If we are to revive the sense of a common humanity and find happiness, we must step outside these currents.

* * * * *

       Mind, the most important part of man, is a complex compound of fleeting mental states, namely: feeling, perception, mental concomitants and consciousness. These states constantly change, not remaining for two consecutive moments the same. We worldlings, veiled by the net of illusion, mistake this apparent continuity as being something eternal, an unchanging soul, an atta, the supposed doer and receptacle of all actions. The Buddha himself uses the term atta, but only to indicate the collection of the khandhas, or aggregates. Buddhism does not totally deny the existence of a personality in an empirical sense, but it does show that it does not exist in an ultimate sense.

* * *

       Mind flows on like the current of a river, which although in a continuous state of change maintains one constant form, one seeming identity; however, not a single particle of water at any one point remains where it was a moment ago. As the great philosopher, Heraclitus, says, "You cannot step twice into the same river, for fresh waters are ever flowing in on you."

* * *

       The mind works through the six sense-doors, and is therefore always busy. Without proper control it drifts around in any direction, and we do not know what we are thinking about from moment to moment. We therefore need to practise awareness, so that we know where the mind is, watch to know where we are, what we are thinking. Knowledge of this sort is essential if we are to avoid wrong action, and to succeed in improving ourselves.

* * *

       Mind may be said to be like pure transparent water which can be mixed with anything. When water is mixed with mud it becomes thick and defiled, and you cannot see through it. In the case of the mind, which by nature is clear, bright and transparent, it, too, becomes dirty, defiled and poisonous by ill-use. The same mind, however, when developed and trained for good purposes, can perform wonders.

* * *

       In order to understand the working of the mind it is necessary to acquire some idea of the process of consciousness according to Abhidhamma, the third Pitaka of the Buddhist scriptures. Abhidhamma teaching explains the process of consciousness in detail, and records in an analytical way how the subject. consciousness, receives objects from without and within. Only by learning about the nature of our mental make up can we sift the dross from the gold, and thus, with practice and patience, achieve that purity of mind defined by the Buddha for the attaining of release from all suffering in any form.

* * *

       Our task as students of philosophy is to keep our minds pure, clear and bright, so that our minds will become powerful instruments for the service of humanity at large. We must cultivate our minds to become great by culture and mental training, by service, selflessness and understanding.

* * * * *

       The difference between thinking and meditation is that in thinking generally we have no definite object or too many objects, but in meditation we think of a definite object chosen by our will; that is why meditation is a real constructive practice of thinking. It is by meditation that we develop our power of seeing the object as it is, otherwise we may see only the appearance of the object without knowing anything of its nature. That is why meditation is very necessary; it purifies the thoughts, otherwise they are mixed up with many things, especially with ignorance.

* * *

       By thinking without purpose, our thoughts may lead us to dangers and troubles, but by meditating on a chosen object we gain benefit, we enlarge our intellect and develop our power of knowing or seeing things as they truly are.

* * *

       The mind itself is one of the specified objects for meditation. We should try to analyse our own mind, our own types of consciousness by watching, concentrating on our own thoughts - if they are evil, just to know it; if they are moral, just to know it. That knowledge is just the beginning, the first stage, but it will of itself help one to become free from evil states, because on knowing the nature of a state, if it is evil we shall not allow it, we shall try to avoid it, and therefore can thus gradually work towards its eradication. Meditation is thus mental training, and from a trained mind spring right thoughts, words and deeds.

* * *

       If one wants to practise Buddhist meditation it means vipassana meditation, to see objects specially, not in the ordinary way but in the light of the three characteristics, anicca, dukkha and anatta - impermanence, suffering and being devoid of an ego or immortal soul. Vipassana means 'vi' and 'passana'. 'Passana' means seeing, but 'vi' has two meanings, visesana and vividha. Visesana means specially, not in the ordinary conventional way where one does not go beyond appearance, beyond the surface. Instead of seeing a man, woman, cat, dog, one sees merely a composition of mind and matter. Vividha means differently, in the light of the three characteristics. When one sees that mind and matter are in a continuous state of change, of flowing, one sees the transiency; and anything changeable is not really desirable. That is suffering. Because there is no permanent, eternal thing in the world that we see, it means that in animate beings like human beings and animals there is no etemal principle in a body, no immortal soul. Seeing in this way is vipassana.

* * * * *