In plain words
As hard as we strike it, just so hard it comes back toward us. If we point out one fault in others, it points out three faults in us. If we point with one finger, saying ‘This fellow is bad,’ three fingers point back, saying we are bad. We must recognise this truth well and live by it. Because there are three faults in you, you raise a finger to point at one fault in others. There are more faults in ourselves than the faults in others. It is the one with more faults who peers at the faults of others. We must recognise this truth well. We must not blame anyone, nor hurt anyone. We must not wish anyone ill. We must keep on wishing everyone good. Only then will fine, sacred feelings arise in your heart and grow. We must recognise Manas as a gathering of saṅkalpas. Manas is man himself, and man is Manas itself! Manas means saṅkalpas. For saṅkalpas, our conduct in daily life is the chief thing. Our conduct is the very outcome of saṅkalpas. So our conduct must always be good. Only when conduct is good is the world good. To nurture our personality well, we must shape our conduct to be most sacred. That is what they called character. What is meant by Character? Merely having some good qualities or other cannot make character. Our behaviour, our habits, our discipline: all these must be in right order, along with our ways. In our ways, in our words, in our looks, in our hearing, in our heart, in all of these, we must bring in purity. That is why they said, ‘Manasyekaṃ vacasyekaṃ karmaṇyekaṃ mahātmanaṃ.’ That is the true mark of our character. ‘Manas anyat vacas anyat karmaṇ anyat durātmanāṃ,’ they said. That, they said, is the root cause of our bad ways. We must shape our look into a sacred look. We must never look at what is bad. We must not go into bad talk. We must make our citta pure.