Guard against mental agitation, be restrained in mind. Having abandoned wrong mental conduct, practice right mental conduct.

Manopakopaṃ rakkheyya — guard against mental agitation: mano-pakopa is the irritation of the mind — compulsive thoughts of greed, aversion, and delusion. The mind is the deepest and most difficult field of discipline.

Manasā saṃvuto siyā — be restrained in mind: mental restraint is the root of the other two (bodily and verbal). As the first verse of the Dhammapada establishes, the mind precedes all actions.

Manoduccaritaṃ hitvā manasā sucaritaṃ care — having abandoned wrong mental conduct, practice right mental conduct: the three types of wrong mental conduct are: greed (abhijjhā), ill-will (byāpāda), and wrong views (micchādiṭṭhi).

The corresponding right mental conduct is: generosity, benevolence, and right view. Meditation is the specific training for this field, the most subtle and determining of the three.