"Do not worry so much all the time, my friend, about the other people, what they say. And do not have so many strong opinions, so many strong judgments. What you do matters. And what you think matters...Here is Buddhist prayer," he said, and he rolled off a few sentences in what must have been Ortyk, then struggling just a bit, translated them. "All that we are is the result of what we have thought: It is built on our thoughts, it is made from our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with evil thought, pain follows him, just like the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the...cart....If a person speaks or acts with pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves."
One of my favorite excerpts from the delightful novel Breakfast with Buddha written by Roland Merullo. This story is insightful, slightly irreverant and loving. A wonderful primer on how to live gently.
Namaste.