The Buddha shares a simile of a water pot without a stand being easily knocked over, and likens it to a mind without support.
Sāvatthinidānaṁ.
At Sāvatthi.
“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, kumbho anādhāro suppavattiyo hoti, sādhāro duppavattiyo hoti; evameva kho, bhikkhave, cittaṁ anādhāraṁ suppavattiyaṁ hoti, sādhāraṁ duppavattiyaṁ hoti.
“Just as, bhikkhus, a water pot without a stand is easily knocked over, but [a water pot] with a stand is hard to overturn; so too, bhikkhus, a mind without support is easily knocked over, but [a mind] with support is hard to overturn.
Ko ca, bhikkhave, cittassa ādhāro? Ayameva ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo, seyyathidaṁ— sammādiṭṭhi, sammāsaṅkappo, sammāvācā, sammākammanto, sammāājīvo, sammāvāyāmo, sammāsati, sammāsamādhi. Ayaṁ cittassa ādhāro.
And what, bhikkhus, is the support for the mind? It is this very Noble Eightfold Path, namely: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right collectedness. This is the support for the mind.
Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, kumbho anādhāro suppavattiyo hoti, sādhāro duppavattiyo hoti; evameva kho, bhikkhave, cittaṁ anādhāraṁ suppavattiyaṁ hoti, sādhāraṁ duppavattiyaṁ hotī”ti.
Just as, bhikkhus, a water pot without a stand is easily knocked over, but [a water pot] with a stand is hard to overturn; so too, bhikkhus, a mind without support is easily knocked over, but [a mind] with support is hard to overturn.”
At Sāvatthi.
“Just as, bhikkhus, a water pot without a stand is easily knocked over, but [a water pot] with a stand is hard to overturn; so too, bhikkhus, a mind without support is easily knocked over, but [a mind] with support is hard to overturn.
And what, bhikkhus, is the support for the mind? It is this very Noble Eightfold Path, namely: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right collectedness. This is the support for the mind.
Just as, bhikkhus, a water pot without a stand is easily knocked over, but [a water pot] with a stand is hard to overturn; so too, bhikkhus, a mind without support is easily knocked over, but [a mind] with support is hard to overturn.”
Sāvatthinidānaṁ.
“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, kumbho anādhāro suppavattiyo hoti, sādhāro duppavattiyo hoti; evameva kho, bhikkhave, cittaṁ anādhāraṁ suppavattiyaṁ hoti, sādhāraṁ duppavattiyaṁ hoti.
Ko ca, bhikkhave, cittassa ādhāro? Ayameva ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo, seyyathidaṁ— sammādiṭṭhi, sammāsaṅkappo, sammāvācā, sammākammanto, sammāājīvo, sammāvāyāmo, sammāsati, sammāsamādhi. Ayaṁ cittassa ādhāro.
Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, kumbho anādhāro suppavattiyo hoti, sādhāro duppavattiyo hoti; evameva kho, bhikkhave, cittaṁ anādhāraṁ suppavattiyaṁ hoti, sādhāraṁ duppavattiyaṁ hotī”ti.