This quote is from the first chapter of the Dhammapada, known as the “Twin Verses” (or Yamakavagga), which consists of paired verses contrasting righteous and unrighteous behavior. This is from Verse 1:
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the cart.”
It is appropriate and wise that this is the beginning of the Dhammapada. The older I get, the more I realize how true and how important this statement is. Let this statement be your guide in life.
What I find is that the converse of this statement is as, or more important… that positive thoughts follow you! As my son used to tell me, “Put that in your pipe and smoke it!”
One Seeker's Story 