As a man thinketh

Exploring Theravāda's connections to other paths - what can we learn from other traditions, religions and philosophies?
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befriend
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Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 11:39 am

As a man thinketh

Post by befriend »

As a man thinketh is a book by James Allen written about 100 years ago he was influenced by Christianity Confucianism Buddhism and Hinduism it's a great non Buddhist yet dhammic leaning book that focuses on how to have right thought and how that develops your character. I am always confused in Buddhism as to what right thought actually means is it just doing brahma viharas through the categories of various beings and being kind in daily life? James Allen gets more specific and says thought and character are the same thing. I started practicing like this for the past two days and even In this short amount of time I have gained well being. A lot of Buddhism seems kind of nebulous like just let negative thoughts come and go or see them as not self or let go of negative thoughts. But I don't think this is what buddha was saying in the dhammapada Buddha likens a wise person as someone who shapes their mind like a skilled carpenter shapes wood. Maybe when we're arahants we can rest on our laurels but in the time between we should abide in right thought. I think this is the case for our minds that everything we think matters so if a negative thought comes in we replace it with a wiser thought about the situation. This book has been the missing link in my Dhamma practice we think all day long might as well make it lead to well being.
Take care of mindfulness and mindfulness will take care of you.
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