Think of the old cliché about the mind being 'an excellent servant but a terrible master'. This, like many clichés, so lame & banal on the surface, actually expresses a great & terrible truth.

About This Quote

The mind, as a servant, is an excellent one. It can be trusted to do its master's bidding. The servant makes no mistakes. It does what it's told exactly when it's told to do it.

However, the mind also has a master. The mind is not above making mistakes. This is because the mind is not a reliable servant.

It will do what it wants. It will tell the master it's doing something that it shouldn't be doing at that precise moment in time. The mind is not reliable because it has free will, which means the mind can do whatever it likes whenever it likes.

Source: This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered On A Significant Occasion, About Living A Compassionate Life

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