Our life is what we make it by our own thoughts and deeds, thus it is thoughts that a man rises or falls.
It should constantly be remembered that no enemy can harm one so much as one’s own evil thoughts and craving, these are our inner enemies who follow us day and night, and from whom we must try to keep.
Right thought must never have the slightest touch of evil in it. We should think about right things, not wrong things. Whenever there is anything which seems in the least suspicious or unkind, it must be shut out, we must be quite sure that our thoughts are only kind or good.
Right thought also means having correct thought. Some times we think untruly or wrongly of other persons just because of prejudice or ignorance; we get an idea that a certain person is a bad person; and therefore all that he does must be evil. We attribute motives to him which are often without foundation, and in doing so we are thinking untruly of him; and therefore our thought is not right thought.
We are essentially the manifestation of our thought forces, and these force the currents of our thoughts, although subject to change are never lost. By degree of perfection they can be developed into the finest and highest energies of thought, such that can attain to the state of nibbana. Those that remain undeveloped will continue on to form a new, next life, manifesting as the consciousness of an individual called a being-man or a woman. In this way the process of life and death goes on continuously and endlessly until it is checked by the developing of one’s own thoughts.
By purifying his thoughts, purging them of the three bad of greed, hatred and ignorance, a bad person can be changed into good one by developing his lower nature into a higher nature, thereby acquiring the three good roots of unselfishness, goodwill and insight. A good person can develop himself still further into an even better and higher type.
We live amongst others, so that whatever we think or say or do will necessarily affect a great many people. We should remember that our actions are not merely qualities, but powers which are not in use. All are meant to be used for good services, and otherwise used is to fail in our duty.
Evil thoughts are to be eliminated and virtuous thoughts to be increased. Merely ceasing from evil is not enough, a noble effort is needed to replace the evil by the good. All this constitutes self-culture, and in the course of this culture the individual, through his kind thoughts, words and deeds, helping all his neighbors and making them happy.
(This Article was taken by “www.wbsysl.org”)