Quotation
Last reviewed:
“Mind is the forerunner of states. They are mind-made.”
The Buddha · Buddhism · Ancient · verse collection of the early tradition
What does it mean?
The mainstream reading is that mental states are preceded by mind and made by it, so intention sits at the front of experience and of the ethical consequences that follow. A competing reading inflates this into 'thought creates reality', the poster doctrine, which the verse does not say: it is about the quality of mind leading speech and action, not about conjuring the world. The lines open the Dhammapada, and verse 2 repeats the pattern for a pure mind. Suffering follows a corrupted mind as the wheel follows the ox, in the image the short English leaves beside the claim.
Did The Buddha really say this?
The library’s label is Paraphrase or translation. This is Dhammapada 1, not the poster line 'what you think, you become,' which is filed separately as misattributed. The English is a short form of the opening, in the tradition of Narada Thera's translation of the Dhammapada. The Pali canon was preserved by the community.
Where it comes from
Dhammapada 1
Approximate date: verse collection of the early tradition.
How to use it
The sharp intention you take into a conversation, before a word is said, is the sort of forerunner the verse is about. A grudge rehearsed on the way to the school gate shows up in the tone, and then in what you are willing to do. This is not a claim that worrying caused the illness or the bill, and it is a claim that the mind's set leads the states that follow from it, including the cruel or the careful act.
A mindset reading
The habit is to look at the mind that went first, and not to promote the verse into magic. Ask what intention preceded the speech. The poster that says you become whatever you think has left the verse, and the verse is stricter and smaller, and that is why it can be used.
Understand the philosophy
The opening answers where experience and responsibility start. Mano, mind, is the forerunner of dhammas, states or mental qualities, and they are mind-made. The key term is that priority of mind, tied at once to the consequence of speaking and acting with a corrupt or a pure intention. It is ethical psychology for memorising, and it is not the modern formula filed elsewhere in this library as misattributed.
- mind
- ethics
FAQ
What does it mean?
The mainstream reading is that mental states are preceded by mind and made by it, so intention sits at the front of experience and of the ethical consequences that follow. A competing reading inflates this into 'thought creates reality', the poster doctrine, which the verse does not say: it is about the quality of mind leading speech and action, not about conjuring the world. The lines open the Dhammapada, and verse 2 repeats the pattern for a pure mind. Suffering follows a corrupted mind as the wheel follows the ox, in the image the short English leaves beside the claim.
Did The Buddha really say this?
Paraphrase or translation. This is Dhammapada 1, not the poster line 'what you think, you become,' which is filed separately as misattributed. The English is a short form of the opening, in the tradition of Narada Thera's translation of the Dhammapada. The Pali canon was preserved by the community.
Which work is it in?
Dhammapada 1 Approximate date: verse collection of the early tradition.