Each day of our lives, from the moment we wake until we retire at night, the mind thinks ceaselessly. Yet how many among us ever pause to ask ourselves: of all the thoughts that occupy our minds each day, which are greater in number — those that bring merit and clarity to the mind, or those that cause it to become clouded and troubled?
What is more, when something arises that causes the mind to become clouded, rather than applying the brake immediately — stopping, stopping, stopping — we instead take up these very matters of cloudiness and dissect and criticize them at great length until they are thoroughly exhausted. The result is that we add cloudiness to our own minds day after day without realizing it, until the habit of dwelling on that which troubles and darkens the mind becomes entirely normal to us.
Such conduct is contrary to the principles of Buddhism. For the Sammāsambuddha has already given warning: it is the duty of human beings — if they are to live in safety and to know happiness and prosperity — to strive unceasingly to keep the mind clear and radiant.
When the mind is clear and radiant, one gains the inner strength to choose to think, speak, and act in ways that are good and wholesome — to choose to think thoughts that are of genuine benefit to one’s own life and to the lives of others, extending to all people throughout the world.
