मनसा चे पदुट्ठेन भासति वा करोति वा।
ततो नं दुक्खमन्वेति चक्कंव वहतो पदं॥
"Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts, suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox."
This opening verse of the Dhammapada, Buddhism's most beloved collection of sayings, establishes a foundational principle: mind is the source of all experience. Our mental states shape our speech, actions, and ultimately our happiness or suffering.
The simile of the ox-cart wheel faithfully following the ox's steps illustrates the inescapable connection between mental states and their consequences. Just as the wheel cannot help but follow the ox, suffering inevitably follows unwholesome thoughts and actions.
This teaching empowers practitioners by showing that suffering is not imposed by external forces but arises from our own minds—and therefore can be transformed through mental cultivation. By purifying the mind through ethical conduct, meditation, and wisdom, we can fundamentally alter our experience of life.
Source
Dhammapada, Verse 1