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Dhammapada · narration sample

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As a Man Thinketh · 1 of 8

Opening Poem and Foreword

Mind is the Master power that moulds and makes, And Man is Mind, and evermore he takes The tool of Thought, and, shaping what he wills, Brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills:— He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass: Environment is but his looking-glass.

Foreword

This little volume (the result of meditation and experience) is not intended as an exhaustive treatise on the much-written-upon subject of the power of thought. It is suggestive rather than explanatory, its object being to stimulate men and women to the discovery and perception of the truth that—

“They themselves are makers of themselves”

by virtue of the thoughts which they choose and encourage; that mind is the master-weaver, both of the inner garment of character and the outer garment of circumstance, and that, as they may have hitherto woven in ignorance and pain they may now weave in enlightenment and happiness.

JAMES ALLEN.

BROAD PARK AVENUE,

ILFRACOMBE,

ENGLAND

Asked of Guide

What does Allen mean by "makers of themselves" in this foreword?

Allen means that people shape their character and circumstances through the thoughts they choose and encourage. He calls mind the “master-weaver,” saying it creates the “inner garment of character and the outer garment of circumstance.”

This foreword aims to stimulate discovery rather than give exhaustive proof; Allen offers the claim as practical truth you can test by practice. The nearby New Thought pieces like What All the World’s A‑Seeking make the same point: we “grow into the likeness of those things we contemplate.”

Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.

Echoes elsewhere

What All the World's A-Seeking · New Thoughtin connection with human life than that we grow into the likeness of those things we contemplate. Literally and scientifically and necessarily true is it that, "as a man thinketh i Character-Building Thought Power · New Thoughtin connection with human life than that we grow into the likeness of those things we contemplate. Literally and scientifically and necessarily true is it that “as a man thinketh in Studies in the Thought World · New Thoughtfor a life-time, often forcing its way into the consciousness uncalled for, or even when forbidden. When the wise man uttered the familiar aphorism, “As a man thinketh in his heart The Power of Silence · New Thoughtto matter, is his individuality; and through this speaks a Power which renders all things possible. No two men are alike. No two interpretations of a world which is everywhere gove