To Think Positively

Humans are thinking animals! Since the beginning of time, there have always been people who fantasize, who have delusions, who dream—and many who have ideals. When we lie in our beds at night, we should be free from worry. Yet thoughts about our lives often arise then; thoughts about family, country, or even the world. Everything is within our minds.

The average person often tends to think of him or herself in a more positive light, but may have negative thoughts about others. In our thoughts, when something concerns us, even if it is not good, we tend to be forgiving toward ourselves; but when something of a negative nature concerns others, we are less likely to be as forgiving. Humans tend to be forgiving toward the self and strict with others. 

However, if we are as critical of ourselves as we are of others, and as positive about and forgiving of others as we are about and of ourselves, then life would truly be wonderful.

When we consider the thoughts of the saints and sages, we see that their thoughts are all about carrying the responsibilities of the world on their shoulders. But when we consider the thinking of those who are bad, we see that their thoughts are all about how to take advantage of others.

In this world, there are so many people who wish to accommodate and help others; they sacrifice themselves for the good of humankind. However, there are many others who scheme and plot, with the intention of making trouble for others.

A thought, then, could be heaven or hell.

A thought can be about oneself or about you, or it may be about him or her. We are all mixed together in one another’s thoughts. There are thoughts about Buddha Land and the Pure Land. There are thoughts of others based on gossip. Sometimes there are thoughts about evil spirits or animals. If all the abstract thoughts were to be accumulated together, the entire universe would not be large enough to contain so many troubling thoughts and delusions.

Since ancient times, questions about how to regard human thought have posed major problems to the world. Some believe that intellectuals should be respected, although many great thinkers have been executed for their thinking. Even so, they advocate freedom of thought. Thinking should indeed be free, but within reason. There should be guidelines for thought. A person who is able to think righteously, truthfully, kindly, beautifully, and positively about everything is truly wise.

It was originally published in All in a Thought, written by Venerable Master Hsing Yun.

Image from Pixabay.

More Featured Articles

One of the biggest weaknesses in today’s society is that we have developed the habit of not saying we are sorry. Once we grow up and rise in status and knowledge, apologizing becomes harder and harder. But human beings are not perfect sages and we all make mistakes. Being able to correct our mistakes is a virtue in itself. This ability to amend our actions Read more
The Avatamsaka Sutra says, 'The mind controls everything.' In order to properly control body and speech, we must come to understand our minds. If we can control our minds, we can do anything.Master Xingkong (780-862) wrote a wonderful passage that expresses this point very well. He said, "The practice of Buddhism can be compared to presiding over a walled city; during the day, thieves and Read more
Compassion is the father, the bodhi mind the mother. Good methods are like friends because they save all sentient beings. — Great Collection of True Dharmas Sutra Compassion Is the Father Compassion removes suffering and creates joy. The sutra says, “The power of the Dharma is beyond expression. Nothing can obstruct compassion.” Compassion is the root source of all good. Compassion is the heart of Read more
In devoting my life to Buddhism, in order to keep Buddhism current with the advances in society, in terms of thoughts, I am always making improvements at every hour and moment; in terms of practice, I am constantly and continuously making adjustments. Even though I know that Buddhism must be reformed, innovation never comes into being in the heat of the moment. My “silent revolution” Read more
Our emotions are a very important part of our everyday life, and they star in a leading role on the stage of relationships. The ability to feel and our freedom to act upon these feelings give us both joy and sorrow, and it is imperative that we maintain our emotional well-being to minimize the potential for suffering within relationships. Emotions are the glue that bind Read more
"Walk like the wind, stand like a pine, sit like a bell, and rest like a bow."This basic etiquette not only applies to Buddhists; everyone should practice it as well in daily living.When we first meet a person, we can tell the level of his/her education and cultivation by his/her manners. We know how refined a person is by the way he/she speaks and conducts Read more
If we want to understand what the Dharma teaches us about building affinity and living in harmony with others, we must first understand the four great all-embracing virtues. The Buddha teaches that for us to realize our true capacity of connecting with and serving our fellow citizens, we have to first build a good rapport, and the four virtues are tools to that end. The four Read more
We need to change and transform ourselves continuously: In order to achieve eventual perfection, we need to work on correcting our bad habits. Read more
What we often care most for in life is the self, and the most important aspect of self is none other than destiny. During one's lifetime, destiny changes frequently because of circumstances that arise. Because of a person, an event, a word, a dollar, or even a thought, entire lives may be altered. Similarly, the development of a country may be changed and the history Read more
Chan is meditation throughout our lives. When we live with Chan, the taste of food and feel of clothes will change. We will not feel difficulty when dealing with our affairs. Any matter can be laughed away. The human world has its ups and down, but when we have a Chan mind it is like the world is ours and nothing is lacking. All human Read more
Some people may think it is strange that in this scientifically enlightened century anyone would want to talk about ghosts. In the past, even sages avoided the subject of the supernatural if they could. Confucius never spoke about ghosts. At the mere mention of ghosts, frightful images instantly arise in our minds of their pale faces, their wild hair and their sharp fangs. The truth Read more
In the past, during the feudal period of Chinese history, men were respected while women were thought of as being rather contemptible. The birth of a son was compared to fashioning an ornament as precious as jade, which not only made everyone happy, but also raised the status of his mother. Read more