Buddha on Mind

Ingredients:

Sayings of Buddha on "Mind".
Rendered in haiku form.

This is the third in the series continuing on from

1. Buddha on Choices
2. Buddha on Mindfulness

The image by Frederic Leighton is Perseus on the winged horse Pegasus riding to the rescue of Andromeda, and the horse seems to me to both represent the energetic power and the restlessness of mind.

Directions:

As arrow-makers
Make their arrows straight, the wise
Direct their stray thoughts.

Thoughts thrash and quiver
Like a fish out of water,
Stranded from desire.

When the mind trembles,
Focus it on just one thing
In meditation.

Guard only your mind.
It is a slippery nymph,
Supple and absurd.

Thoughts wander at will,
But the master controls them.
This brings happiness.

The mind wanders far,
But the master reins it in
And ends its wandering.

Mind is not matter;
It lies within the chamber
Of your hidden heart.

The mind that is trained
Will find the way to freedom
And will not waver.

The mind that wavers
Will never fill with knowledge
And will lose its way.

The vigilant mind,
Free of judgment and impulse,
Sees and understands.

This bodily form,
Though weak like an earthen jar,
The mind keeps it safe.

In every hardship,
Make of your mind a castle
Fortified with love.

Guard the mind’s castle
With the light of knowledge held
Without attachment.

Before long, alas,
The body will pass away,
Mindless as a log.

A thief or rival
May harm you, but not as much
As your wayward mind.

Mastering your own mind
Will help you, more even than
Father or mother.