The Dhammapada on taming a mind that won’t sit still. From The Dhammapada by the Buddha, gathered 3rd century BC.
An old text in the Buddhist canon tells of Meghiya, a monk who looked after the Buddha. Walking by a river one day, he found a lovely mango grove. A perfect place to calm the mind, he thought.
Twice the Buddha asked him to wait. The third time, he let him go.
Meghiya sat under a tree all day. But thoughts of desire, anger and harm kept crowding in.
An old Buddhist text tells of Meghiya, a monk who went to sit in a lovely mango grove and found his mind would not settle. The Dhammapada pictures thought as a fish thrown on dry ground, trembling all over, and says a tamed mind brings happiness. In 2010, a Harvard study found minds wander almost half the time, and people are less happy when they do.
A wandering mind is normal; bringing it back is the skill. Practical advice: pick one task, and each time your mind drifts, return to it.
Likely, on the evidence · checked against 7 sourcesRead one page tonight, and bring your mind back each time it drifts.
“My mind jumps everywhere, and I can’t focus on anything for long. How do I calm it down?”
Bring Your Mind Back and the other 11 ideas of The Dhammapada, a minute at a time.
Download on theApp StoreEvery idea is drawn from the public-domain text, and its names, dates and quotes are checked against the sources listed with it. The paintings are made for Counsel; they show the scene, not a historical record.
