All that we are

The Dhammapada (see below) is one of the classic Buddhist texts dating back to about 300BCE. It begins with a bold statement of what to meditators is a subjective truth – “All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” It also makes the positive point that IF a man speaks or acts with an evil or pure thought THEN pain or happiness respectively will follow him. This means that, by taking thought, it is possible to rise above what nature, nurture and serendipity have served up.

Humanity can evolve in this direction rather than that - one mind at a time.

But ‘thinking’ involves more than one mental activity. For example when you are asleep the mind state can be with dreams or dreamless. And when you are awake there is a lot of unconscious processing going on.

But there is also a lot of conscious activity which focuses attention on incoming information from the sense organs and how it relates to memories of similar inputs in the past – and whether we should grasp, ignore or reject them.

And also, in people if not in animals, there is the possibility of being conscious of consciousness and thus of being self-aware. Although note in passing that in Buddhism there is no abiding reality to the ‘self’. It is an ongoing illusion and the root of the dissatisfaction that most people feel most of the time.

And then the focus of attention swings forward by 2313 years. Objective science is shifting towards a more interdisciplinary and holistic world view. And it is fascinating to note the parallels between the two traditions. We are stardust and still evolving in the space between the birth and death of our sun. The impermanence of all created things!

This blog contains many posts relating to the two big question of our current times -

How does the mind/brain work? (Neuroscience and Positive Psychology)
And why did it evolve that way? (Evolutionary Psychology and Big History)

The first 8 verses of Chapter 1 of the Dhammapada

1. All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the carriage.

2. All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.

3. "He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me,"—in those who harbour such thoughts hatred will never cease.

4. "He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me,"—in those who do not harbour such thoughts hatred will cease.

5. For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by love, this is an old rule.

6. The world does not know that we must all come to an end here;—but those who know it, their quarrels cease at once.

7. He who lives looking for pleasures only, his senses uncontrolled, immoderate in his food, idle, and weak, Mara (the tempter) will certainly overthrow him, as the wind throws down a weak tree.

8. He who lives without looking for pleasures, his senses well controlled, moderate in his food, faithful and strong, him Mara will certainly not overthrow, any more than the wind throws down a rocky mountain.