What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: our life is the creation of our mind.

If a man speaks or acts with an impure mind, suffering follows him as the wheel of the cart follows the beast that draws the cart.

What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: our life is the creation of our mind.

If a man speaks or acts with a pure mind, joy follows him as his own shadow.



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10 Responses to If a Man Speaks With a Pure Mind – The Buddha

  1. Mark says:

    Tom
    I like this one.If we could only keep those pure thoughts it would make life just that little bit easier wouldn’t it? It’s when you let garbage in that we can produce garbage to come out.

    How do we keep the garbage out. Maybe not watch so much tv. I guess that would be a good start.

    Mark’s last blog post..Justa moving and a groovin

  2. I love this. It really is our choice as to whether we drag a heavy burden behind us, or something that follows us as lightly and easily as a shadow.

    Mags | Woo-Woo Wisdom’s last blog post..Developing A Relationship With Your Spirit Guides (Part 2)

  3. Tom Stine says:

    @Mark A suggestion: don’t worry about keeping your mind pure. Instead, just don’t believe the impurity. That helps to straighten the garbage out. Oh, and throw the TV out the window. :-D

    @Mags The Buddha got it right, didn’t he? I’m all in favor of the light and easy shadow.

  4. Mark says:

    If it was just me I would throw the Tv out. But if I did that Momma would throw me out. Actually I do limit my watching quite a bit.I agree with no believing the impurity.

    Mark’s last blog post..Justa moving and a groovin

  5. Chris Kirk says:

    Thanks Tom. I really like this teaching and believe it to be very true. As one who works with adolescents on a daily basis, I wish to find better ways to communicate this truth to them, helping them realize the power inherent in the moment they have been given.

    Chris Kirk’s last blog post..My Inner Snob

  6. Davidya says:

    Nice, Tom.
    In a way, pure mind is no mind. Not that mind is not there, but mind simply processes what moves through us into words. Rather than jumping in and judging and making wrong or right and muddying the waters, it simply flows.

    Then creativity, insight, and clarity are tops.

    Davidya’s last blog post..Forms of Resistance

  7. Davidya says:

    Oh, and joy is our shadow (laughs)

  8. Alex Kay says:

    Funny how mankind has evolved drastically in the last couple of hundred (and thousand) years… But still we’re just humans. It’s like we keep on “improving” with all kinds of technicalities to cover the fact that we ARE JUST humans. Emotions, feelings, feeling joy, feeling sad, it’s all human.

    Fantastic quote(s) Tom :)

    Alex Kay’s last blog post..Why Gifts and Flowers don’t work for Creating Attraction – Only for Amplifying it

  9. Tom Stine says:

    @Mark Repeat after me: don’t throw the TV out the window. Living on the street wouldn’t be so hot. :-D

    @David I agree with your assessment of pure mind. Yes, it is a no mind kind of thing.

  10. Tom Stine says:

    @Chris You are most welcome. If you discover a good way to teach this stuff to adolescents, please share. Although, if you really get down and dirty with them, they are far more receptive, at times, to some of this “out there” stuff than we can imagine. Their egos are in a tremendous state of flux at that age, and so they can be open. Sometimes. ;-)

    @Alex I love doing the quotes. There really isn’t a time limit on great teachings. 2000 years or 200 minutes, great teachings are invaluable. Because, as you say, we are still human.