"And what is the cosmos as a governing
principle? There is the case where a monk, having gone to a
wilderness, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty dwelling,
reflects on this: 'It is not for the sake of robes that I have gone
forth from the home life into homelessness; it is not for the sake
of almsfood, for the sake of lodgings, or for the sake of this or
that state of [future] becoming that I have gone forth from the
home life into homelessness. Simply that I am beset by birth,
aging, & death; by sorrows, lamentations, pains, distresses,
& despairs; beset by stress, overcome with stress, [and I
hope,] "Perhaps the end of this entire mass of suffering &
stress might be known!" Now if I, having gone forth, were to think
thoughts of sensuality, thoughts of ill will, or thoughts of
harmfulness: great is the community of this cosmos. And in the
great community of this cosmos there are brahmans &
contemplatives endowed with psychic power, clairvoyant, skilled [in
reading] the minds of others. They can see even from afar. Even up
close, they are invisible. With their awareness they know the minds
of others. They would know this of me: "Look, my friends, at this
clansman who — though he has in good faith gone forth from the home
life into homelessness — remains overcome with evil, unskillful
mental qualities." There are also devas endowed with psychic power,
clairvoyant, skilled [in reading] the minds of others. They can see
even from afar. Even up close, they are invisible. With their
awareness they know the minds of others. They would know this of
me: "Look, my friends, at this clansman who — though he has in good
faith gone forth from the home life into homelessness — remains
overcome with evil, unskillful mental qualities."' So he reflects
on this: 'My persistence will be aroused & not lax; my
mindfulness established & not confused; my body calm & not
aroused; my mind centered & unified.' Having made the cosmos
his governing principle, he abandons what is unskillful, develops
what is skillful, abandons what is blameworthy, develops what is
unblameworthy, and looks after himself in a pure way. This is
called the cosmos as a governing principle.
Adhipateyya Sutta: Governing Principles