5) Mind is the king, with power over all.
The body is the slave, whether of virtue or vice.
Not emphasizing ‘imitation virtue’ of body and speech
Always watch your mind! That is my heart advice.
This verse teaches that we must always always check our mind. In general, the need to channel body, speech, and mind into positive ways of being, and to stop them from going in negative directions is indispensable for Dharma practitioners, but is also a noble lifestyle for anyone. All beings are like a huge container for collecting virtue and non-virtue. The body, speech, and mind of an immoral person, for example, are filled with garbage of non-virtue. The ten non-virtues are physical actions of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct; vocal actions of lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, and meaningless speech; and mental actions of malice, covetousness, and wrong views. The body, speech, and mind of a noble, ethical person is filled with jewels of virtue. The ten virtues are not just abstaining from the ten non-virtues. Not just refraining from the ten non-virtues, you must also engage in virtue. Virtue is the opposite of the non-virtue. For instance, opposite to abandoning the first physical non-virtue of killing is saving and protecting life. Opposite of stealing is giving. Opposite of sexual misconduct is living ethically or maybe taking brahmacharya vows of celibacy, etc. It is similar for the non-virtues of speech and mind.
Furthermore, the most important point is that actions of body and speech arise under control of the mind. For example, without the ill-wish to kill, it is impossible for killing to take place. Stealing and sexual misconduct also arise under the control of the mind. For example, to cut down a tree, three things — a tree, an axe, and a person — must come together. Without a person to wield it, no matter how long the axe and the tree are left together, the axe will do nothing to harm the tree. Similarly, all that is necessary is for one of the three: object, body, or mind, to be missing for the harm to be averted. Like the example of the tree, the axe, and the person, without mental motivation, it is impossible to engage in physical and vocal actions. For this reason the mind is like an all-powerful king, and the body and voice are like servants.
