ใจเป็นธาตุสำเร็จ กำหนดสิ่งใดสิ่งนั้นก็ปรากฏขึ้น เราจึงต้องเลือกกำหนดสิ่งดีงามให้บุญและความบริสุทธิ์ไหลผ่านเข้ามา แล้วหลีกเลี่ยงการไปยุ่งเกี่ยวกับอารมณ์ที่ไม่ดีซึ่งนำบาปวิบัติเข้ามาThe heart is a ready-made element — whatever we set it toward, that becomes real. So we must deliberately set it toward what is good, letting merit and purity flow in, while staying clear of the unwholesome feelings that invite misfortune.
Someone asked: why is the heart a ready-made element, and what must we actually do, correctly and by the discipline, to make that true for us?
The heart is a ready-made element — whatever we set it toward, that is what becomes real. Set it toward something good, and something good appears; set it toward wholesome states, and wholesome states appear; set it toward , and purity appears. Conversely, set it toward something harmful, and harm appears; set it toward unwholesome or defiled states, and those appear too. The heart is, in effect, a servant fully prepared to carry out whatever we set — the choice of what to set is entirely ours. When we set it toward what is good and that good arises, we call it "good" precisely because the stream of merit, made up of and purity together with refined blessings, flows in as a result.
This is why we must use this ready-made quality of the heart to set good things into our lives. As for what is not good — what would bring misfortune and demerit — we should not engage with it at all. We need to learn to understand how to set good thoughts and good feelings: relaxation, spaciousness, openness, lightness, fullness, radiance, freshness, gentleness, tenderness, clarity, coolness, cleanliness, and purity — these good feelings are what we should set our heart toward. By contrast, feelings such as boredom, gloom, tedium, stress, irritation, exhaustion, discouragement, hopelessness, depression, restlessness, and resentment are all unwholesome feelings. When we engage with them, they arise in the heart and bring demerit and misfortune along with them, creating suffering, harm, and danger for us — so we should avoid engaging with them at all.
Take this ready-made quality of the heart and use it to set good things into being — merit and refined blessings, happiness and purity, will then flow through abundantly. Use our precious time to set good things into motion, rather than letting valuable time pass without doing what creates benefit, while still hoping for beneficial results — because that simply isn't possible. Wanting good things without being willing to do the work that creates them is nothing more than dreaming.