The Power of Perfuming (vāsanā)

There is a mutual influence and permeation between sentient beings. Whoever you spend time with, you will unknowingly be influenced by their habits, temperament, disposition, wholesome or unwholesome mental conduct, and so on. If a person keeps a dog and is always with the dog, the dog has the dog's habits and the person has the person's habits. Over time, constantly watching the dog's gaze, movements, eating, and its habits of walking, sitting, and lying down, one will unknowingly be influenced by the dog's habits and mental nature without being aware of it oneself—even one's appearance may be imperceptibly influenced. But the dog is even more susceptible to being influenced by the person, because a person's power is stronger than a dog's. In this mutual influence, the dog receives more and heavier permeation, so the dog's habits become close to a human's, and in a later life it can easily be reborn in a human body. Having attained a human body, it will then be understanding, clever, and quick-witted. 

That a dog is influenced by a person is of course a good thing, but what will be the result if a person is influenced by a dog? Birds of a feather flock together. If a person constantly watches a dog, their appearance will also quietly change, though it is not easy to notice. Although in this life there may be no change, or only a slight change, when the seeds of this influence ripen in a later life, the change will occur. If you have become accustomed to being with a dog, with deep affection and a very intimate relationship, then at the time of the neutrino-body (antarā-bhava), a dog's realm will manifest, and you will unknowingly follow the dog along and be reborn into a dog's womb. 

For example, if you are always with a person who stutters, someone whose speech is halting and stumbling, at first you may feel it doesn't matter and you will not become a stutterer, but over time your speech will develop impediments, and the longer the time, the greater the impediment. This is being slowly permeated and influenced. The aspects in which one is influenced include appearance, manner of speaking, tone of voice, and habits, including dietary habits and habits of walking, sitting, and lying down. 

At our current stage of cultivation, we are very easily influenced, and unwholesome dharmas are easier to be influenced into than wholesome dharmas, because in our minds afflictions far outweigh goodness; we are habituated to afflictions and unaccustomed to goodness, having a resistant attitude toward wholesome dharmas while being more readily receptive to unwholesome ones. For instance, when we encounter people gossiping and speaking of others' conflicts in a crowd, we easily become interested and join in the disputes; but when we encounter praise of others' good qualities, we are unwilling to follow along and often just keep silent—except for those we are close to or who are useful to us. Those who kick people when they are down are common; those who offer charcoal in the snow are rare. Therefore, if you want to cultivate and transform yourself, you must choose to draw near to good people and stay away from those heavy with afflictions. You must stay away from gossipy people and places of gossip and dispute. In this way, your mind will gradually draw close to goodness and away from evil, afflictions can be subdued, you will be less likely to create afflicted karma, and you will not leave behind seeds of unwholesome karma. Then your future lives will be easier, without the obstruction of afflictions.