Q0203

The Buddha

A verified English rendering from the curated archive.

English

Mind precedes all mental states; mind is their chief; they are mind-made.
Thinker The Buddha
School Early Buddhism
Source Dhammapada 1
Theme Mind
Another quotation More from this thinker

Source context

This English passage is associated with Dhammapada 1, within the tradition of Early Buddhism. The wording below is a verified rendering prepared for careful reading rather than a claim of unique translation authority.

A short reading

Read in the register of mind, the sentence asks the reader to test an assumption rather than to collect a slogan. In The Buddha's wider work, similar claims are usually offered as prompts for judgment: what would have to be true for the sentence to hold, and what would follow if it did?

How to cite this quotation

APA: The Buddha. (n.d.). Mind precedes all mental states; mind is their chief; they are mind-made. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0203

MLA: The Buddha. “Mind precedes all mental states; mind is their….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0203.

Chicago: The Buddha. “Mind precedes all mental states; mind is their….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0203.

Same theme

More on mind

  1. Reading means thinking with someone else's head instead of one's own.
  2. Envy is itself a terrible obstacle to happiness.
  3. Give rise to a mind that abides nowhere.
  4. Mind is principle. Are there affairs or principles outside the mind?
  5. Nothing is miserable unless you think it so.

Browse the mind theme