When white cloth becomes stained, it is exceedingly difficult to wash clean. The stain penetrates deep into the fibers. If the stain is caught immediately and washed without delay, it may yet be removed. But once the stain has soaked deep within, it becomes nearly impossible to wash out.
So, it is with a person’s thoughts, words, and deeds. Once they have hardened into habit — habits of unwholesome thinking, unwholesome speech, and unwholesome action — they penetrate deeply, like white cloth that has been left to soak in mud, in dye, or in thick oil. They become difficult to correct, and difficult to cleanse.
January 12th, 2015
