The Dhammapada on why the mind goes first. From The Dhammapada by the Buddha, gathered 3rd century BC.
The Dhammapada is a small book of 423 short verses, sayings credited to the Buddha. He taught on the Ganges plain of north India, probably in the 5th century BC.
For centuries the verses lived only in memory. Monks learned them by heart and chanted them together. They were first written down in Sri Lanka, in the 1st century BC.
The very first verse is about the mind.
The Dhammapada, sayings credited to the Buddha, opens with the mind. In Müller’s words, all that we are is the result of what we have thought. Act from a bad thought and pain follows, like the wheel behind the ox; act from a pure one and happiness follows like a shadow. A later commentary tells of a blind monk who crushed insects he never saw, and was judged by what he meant.
The thought you walk in with shapes what happens next. Practical advice: before a hard visit, name the story you expect, then set it down.
Likely, on the evidence · checked against 8 sourcesBefore your next hard visit, write down the story you expect, then cross it out.
“I always expect the worst from one person in my family. How do I stop that from souring every visit?”
Your Thoughts Go First 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.
