Because we overlook such matters, everything people handle becomes untidy and left in disorder — discarded carelessly everywhere. Take something as small as unwrapping a toffee to eat: the wrapper is not what is eaten, so what does one do with it? One simply throws it away — tosses it out of the car window while travelling. And that one small piece of wrapper becomes litter on the road, litter in the home, litter throughout the city. This is how it goes. Why do people discard things in this way? Because they have never been trained to take responsibility for cleanliness.
When one travels abroad and makes a comparison, one finds that our country today — compared to how it once was in earlier times — was in fact cleaner then than it is now.
Neighboring countries at present understand this matter well. As a result, they keep their cities and towns clean — and this in turn brings about a good state of mind among their people, who then naturally think well, speak well, and act well in kind.
But in any country where people allow their homes and their cities to fall into disorder and uncleanliness, wholesome thoughts, wholesome words, and wholesome deeds cease to emerge. Irritability sets in from the very outset.
These are things that, if one does not observe, one will never notice — but once one begins to observe, one will find them everywhere.
Kaewsarapadneuk Hall, Wat Phra Dhammakaya March 1st, 2015
