Thoughts vs Actions: Which One Are You?
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Apart from the distinct physical traits, the primary thing that differentiates humans from other beings is the ability to act separately from their thoughts. A lion when hungry, thinks about food and acts for a hunt. A hungry human thinks about food but can attend a meeting first. This innate ability to act separately from the thoughts has helped humans form a civilization and a society. An essential filter between our crude thoughts and actions has helped us build a safe and nurturing environment for everyone to flourish. Imagine a society where everyone acts on whatever comes to their minds. That kind of society wouldn’t be livable, would it?
The codes of conduct and ethics act as a barrier that allows only certain thoughts to pass and result in an action. This filter is subjective to time and space. Some places would have a different code of conduct than others, which may change over time. Whatever the case, the important point of contention is that there is a filter that doesn’t allow humans exactly to act according to their thoughts. In such a subjective condition we have defined the identity of a human being based on the actions alone. This is perfectly fine as far as the objective of a healthy society is concerned. When the individuals for whom the society was formed start to face a crisis based on these principles, we need to question the principle itself.
Action based identity
In our present-day society actions alone define our identity. To correct it further, the actions discoverable by society define our identity. As an immediate result, humans started to live a dual identity with a generally acceptable and a private identity. Some thoughts, that can’t pass the filter and need to be actioned, take the manifestation in the private life. And innumerable thoughts that can’t even be actioned in private life, stay hidden in the dark chambers of our mind that peep out now and then to be released. In these conditions that we have drawn upon us, we helpless humans either succumb to the pressure, accept this as our fate, or take matters into our own hands usually in the form of violence.
The lone action-based identity of humans needs to stop. We need to start talking more about our thoughts. We need to take the identification process a step back to the origin of actions i.e. thoughts. We have to teach and more importantly, learn to identify with our thoughts. Rather than filtering out the troublesome thoughts and allowing them to take a back seat, we need to acknowledge that such a thought exists. We need to consider them as part of our identity. We need to merge all our identities into one i.e. one true self from outside and inside. There shouldn’t be a barrier between the soul we are and the projection to the outside world. All that needs to be there is genuineness.
Genuineness: The correct approach
This doesn’t mean that we have to introduce significant judgment into this process whereby we start to identify ourselves as a sinner. This requires a non-judgmental approach of introspection as to why such thoughts are arising in the first place. Society has an important role in accepting the thoughts of its members and not just outrightly reprimanding them. Society has to teach that thoughts are the most important component of our identities and adopt techniques to structure them. It has to learn ways to impart to its individuals the values and principles of shaping their thoughts towards a common goal i.e. everyone’s well-being.
Fortunately, many groundworks have been laid by our ancestral civilizations to take cues from. In Buddhism, thoughts are given more importance than actions, for actions are just the byproducts of our thoughts. If an action seems beneficial to the outside world but the underlying thoughts are ill-willed, it can be construed as non-beneficial. For example, if there is contempt and anger towards a person while helping him/her with some financial aid to show off our helping nature, then it is not a beneficial action. It is not contested about the ill-nature of this action just from the context of morality or good conduct but in true phenomenal causality.
Similarly, an action that seems malicious to the outside world but has an underlying beneficial thought can be construed as beneficial. For example, being a little harsh with a kid when he/she is starting to cultivate a harmful habit. Although the action might seem violent on the surface, it has a good intention. It’s not only Buddhism but many similar principles have also been laid out in Islam, Taoism, Christianity, etc. that give precedence to thoughts over actions.
By learning to identify individuals based on their thoughts, we are empowering them to understand themselves deeply. In such a pursuit we help build a society that is not fake but a true one. If the identity based on thoughts is malicious then we can use the course correction mechanisms to rectify it. It has to start with identification because unless there is identification there can’t be any acceptance. And unless there is acceptance there can’t be any course correction. The magical effect of self-discovery is such that it automatically teaches us the way of life and guides us towards actions beneficial for all beings. That’s the law of nature and is beyond any human-made laws, all we have to do is peep into ourselves in search of genuineness.
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