The unskillful roots disturb the mind whether they arise in action, speech, or thought. One practical way to work with them is to first cultivate their opposites: generosity in place of greed, goodwill in place of hatred, and wisdom in place of delusion. This begins with verbal fabrication, the way we talk to ourselves. We can intentionally reflect on the benefits of these wholesome attitudes and the costs of their unskillful counterparts. By repeatedly reminding ourselves why generosity brings ease, why goodwill softens the heart, and why knowledge and understanding clarifies our perception, the mind becomes more willing to rest in these qualities. As a result, it settles more naturally into peace, pleasure, and the clarity of stable, skillful states. From that foundation of clarity and steadiness, practice can deepen. Rather than merely restraining unskillful states, we can begin to understand them directly.
Peacefulness and clarity