In our culture, we say, “Oh, it’s only in the mind.” Don’t we say that? “It’s only in the mind.” We live in this private world in our heads: we all have these fantasies and yearnings. Our mind is like a video game all day; some people think about sex all day; some people fantasize about. . . well, we all do this.
And we think, “Oh, it’s only in the mind! As long as nobody else knows about it, it doesn’t matter.” That’s how we feel. But it’s the most shocking, nihilistic view: that the mind doesn’t matter! As long as no one knows that I’m thinking it, it’s okay. This is very bizarre.
The Buddha’s view is so fundamentally different – and simple. Everything we think is not just utterly important – and it’s not a moralistic issue; everything we think is actually what produces the person we become. Literally every thought counts!
If you’re trying to become a musician and you say, “Oh, but it doesn’t matter what I think. I can think that F is G, I can think that this chord is that chord.” You can think it – of course you can – but you won’t become a musician – you’ll make a mess!
Every thought counts. We understand this when it comes to learning to be a cook. Everything we understand in the world – science, music, being a good cook – it is crucial that every thought actually be the right thought, because it leads to the right action, then the cake. Think about it!
Every thought does count, but when it comes to happiness and suffering, we have this bizarre idea that thoughts don’t matter. And when we hear that they do matter, we hear it as, “You’re a naughty person.” We hear it in terms of guilt and bad and punishment and reward, you know – it’s so childish.
This is the very meaning of karma: it’s a simple way of putting it: that the main player in our lives, in who we become, in what happens to us, is our thoughts first, and then our actions: everything we think and do and say leaves seeds in our mind that just naturally ripen in the future.
It’s a no-brainer for us when it comes to becoming a cook or a musician, but not when it comes to becoming a happy person or a suffering person.
There’s one example that for me is hilarious. I remember reading in the New York Times years ago about a woman in New York who got into her husband’s computer and discovered he was part of a cannibal group – and they were discussing plans to kill and eat her! Well, she got quite a shock, didn’t she? Of course she did. And she didn’t just go to the police – she went to the FBI!
Anyway – this is my point – at the court case the lawyer for the husband, his position was, “Of course he’s allowed to think this. It doesn’t mean he’s going to do it.” That’s really the proof that we don’t realize that what we think produces what we do: we don’t see any connection between our thoughts and our actions. That’s like thinking that you can have all these crazy thoughts about musical theory and then a perfect piece of music comes out. It’s impossible! Whatever’s in our mind manifests in our actions!
Musical theory starts with thoughts: it’s thoughts! To actually think, “Well, I’m allowed to have all these fantasies about what music is and still be able to play Bach” is quite demented. It’s not moralistic, it’s practical.
If we understood that every thought we have produces the person we become, who would ever want to have an angry thought, a jealous thought, a depressed thought? Now, don’t get disappointed – you’re going to have these thoughts because they’re ancient habits, so it’s going to take time to change. But when we understand it, we’ll be watching our mind like a hawk, learning to recognize the negative thoughts and slowly changing them.
This is practice. And it’s got to be driven by self-respect. You avoid eating poison because you don’t want to get sick, not because you’ll be punished: “I’m bad, I’ll get judged, I’ll get punished.” No!
It’s so practical, really – and it’s coming from self-respect. Who would want to produce an angry, unhappy person?