All that we are is a result of our thoughts.?

Question

So saith Buddha. Do you agree?
What do you think he meant? Maybe he was like the Stoic Marcus Aurelius, when he said that we can't control what happens to us, but we can control how we react.

Answer 1

Thinking men throughout the ages have tried to master the "outer" by trying to control the "inner".
Oftentimes, these men have lived in an era where thought was the only control they have over a hostile and controlling environment where the strong and the selfish have always preyed on the weak and poor.
You compared both the thoughts of an asian thinker philisopher with that of a western one, and thus alluded to the fact that both east and west shared the same dilemmas.
These thoughts and beliefs also define the essence of the survival instinct of man.
Our sense of self can be folded neatly into the most singular size of an atom when the rest of us has been captured and taken prisoner and enslaved.
In the right environment, it will bloom as beautifully again as though it never had to endure hardships.

The men and their written work merely attested to this human nature. If you the reader was suffering in some way and you are not thriving, reading or recalling their teachings will hopefully guide you through trials. This is what philosophy is all about.

Answer 2

in a way i dont agree, we must take those thoughts and put them into action, in order to become who we are going to be
but yes, our thoughts play a major role, from our thoughts come our actions, and our creation of who we are, so maybe that is what he meant
true, we can control our reactions to what happens to us, some of what happens to us is within our control, other things are not.
for example, we become ill and can not work, we lose our home or car or both,
while often we cant control becoming ill, sometimes our lifestyles can influence it, so what exactly was within our control or not?
also, it was within our control what type work we do, did we seek a job with paid medical leave and couldnt find one? or was paid medical leave not a priority at the time? , is our situation out of our control? or do we accept our part in it, there again our reaction to it will depend on the responsibility we take and what we do about it, which leads back to our thoughts, so yes its a circle, from our minds to the reality of life and back to our minds

Answer 3

Interesting. I heard 'All we are is our memories' meaning of course that we are the result of our past.

We can't control what may happen to us, only how we react, as you say but thoughts can go unacted upon. Does this mean we are our actions? Or do all thoughts make us who we are whether we follow them through or not?

Good question, I just don't know the answer :-)

Answer 4

Greetings Friend,

I would have to say that we are not the result of our thoughts. Our thinking that we are this or that is part of the problem. We are not our thoughts, our emotions, or our bodies. In our thoughts, we think that we are like this or that, so we do this or that, but that doesn't mean that is who we are. That which we are is eternal. It cannot die. It cannot change. Thoughts may change, or we may change our minds but we are as God created us and not who we think we are. That is part of the problem. We are hardly ever at peace because we have made these images of ourselves and those images are never consistent. We have these images of separation and the ego uses the body as proof that we are separate, but that is not who we really are. We are God's child. We are eternal. We are free and because we are free, we should try not to be bound by these images that we have made of ourselves. Anyway, I hope this helps.

sending love,

Answer 5

If you were only your thoughts then you wouldn't have any physical form so you'd be dead.
Everyone should take personal responsibility and stop blaming their parents, colleagues, siblings, bad luck, aliens, mind-police, other people etc for everything.....
Everyone has a choice, no matter what. You still have a choice. You can choose your behaviour and what you DO about things... its up to YOU.

Answer 6

Buddha was right.
I agree with him.
what ever we think is our world.
The only way to control is by not reacting based on your pre conceived notions.
Buddha was not a philospher he is a physician.
This was told by buddha himself.
People who cannot understand him may look at him as a mere philospher.
A buddha is inexplainable.

Answer 7

Buddhism has its flaws although I am proponent and fan of the philosophy.

Reacting to anything is based on having a belief on the nature of the thing that is happening. Reaction presupposes a something bad. You would never consider your reactions to someone doing something nice to you or something that causes you happiness.

Our states of existence are products of our thinking. If you depressed, you've been thinking. If you are angry, you've been thinking. if you're anxious, you've been thinking. If you are hurt or upset, you've been thinking.

Think with caution.

Answer 8

Our world is what we make of it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That quote is just another way of saying these things. It's all a perception, not really the truth. But then again, truth is subjective.

Answer 9

I've read somewhere that we create our reality on a quantum level, because quantum phenomena has no fixed values until they're observed. Its the whole 'primary of consciousness' vs 'primary of things debate'.

Answer 10

Your existence preceeded your conscious ability to think, as such, all that you are is not just what you think. Your thought is conditioned by another reality-- your nature and the existence of that nature, and finally, existence itself. Ontology (being) precedes thought, as without being, there is no thinking.