Buddhism in Three Actions
By: Allison J. Van Tilborgh
Tags: Justice, Spirituality, Buddhism, Mindfulness, Religion

Actions of Mind

When asked what separates animals and humans, a common academic answer across disciplines is the human ability to exercise symbolic thought. Symbolic thought is manifested most clearly in language, which is entirely comprised of symbols. These symbols we call words not only exist in speech, but also in mind.

There are plenty of semiologists that suggest that without these symbols in the first place, we would not be capable of thought as we know it today. Words provide parameters to our existence and differentiate the identities of objects from other objects. We would not know or be able to conceive, what it means to be a singular human amongst many without it. Likewise, we would not be able to distinguish happiness, from contentment, from sadness, and fear.

This isn’t to say that we wouldn’t experience such physiologically expressed ‘emotions,’ but it is to say we wouldn’t be aware of them… we wouldn’t be mindful of ourselves, really. Identity is a process of differentiation. Only through symbolic thought can an identity arise — if you believe in such a thing (Buddhism talks of a non-self).

I bring up symbolic thought because it is the foundation of how we view our place in the world. We are able to fathom complex what-if scenarios, articulate our present convictions, and abide by a specific belief system. Furthermore, we can choose to live well or choose to live badly (whatever that means to you). According to Buddhism, this choice to act in accordance with the dharma (Buddhist teaching) or not makes human life ‘precious’ compared to all other rebirths (animals, ghosts, hell-births, or gods). We are not just slaves to circumstance (though we are inevitably impacted by it).

To abide in the mind and not in the body, is a temptation we are all granted on a silver platter. We are offered choices each day to think about doing things that we do not actually bring to fruition. Maybe you consider starting a non-profit. Maybe you consider swerving your car to hit another — just for the thrill of it. Maybe you consider confessing your love to a close friend. Maybe you construct a lie, mentally.

Whatever intentional actions we make in the mind will have less of a profound impact on the physical world, for better or worse. Thus, the actions done in the mind, according to Buddhism, will lead to less karmic fruit.

Actions of Speech

Actions of speech are more weighty than the actions of the mind. We are not able to speak without first having thought.

We can ‘speak’ in many ways. Sure, verbal communication counts as speaking, but so does writing. This is when our thoughts are passed through our physically limited bodies to convey a concept — a pre-defined symbol.

Speech is social, just as language is social. Without a community that abides by a set of symbols, symbols do not carry meaning. Without interaction, our thoughts would fall completely flat.

In this way, speech brings the thoughts in our individual minds to the social stage. It is here that we engage in sensemaking practices and redefine our desires. They are amplified in one way or another, but not quite existing in a physical sense.

If you were to think about a positive social reform, that’s great, but it doesn’t do a whole lot trapped in your mind. To speak your symbolic thoughts is a step in the right direction, but it still doesn’t embody those thoughts into the physical plane of existence. It doesn’t alter reality.

Actions of Body

Lastly, Buddhism talks about actions of the body, the most karmically weighty of all actions. It is only through acting upon your thoughts that the world around you changes for better or for worse.

It is one thing to consider hurting a peer in the mind. It is quite another to verbalize that desire. And it is, yet, a totally different action to physically hurt another in the ‘real’ world.

It is the actions of the body that tie us back to our primal ways. Though a pig cannot think or speak through symbols, it still changes the physical plane of existence through its actions of the body. It embodies itself by virtue of existence in the first place. The difference for humans is that our bodily actions are premediated. They embody more intention than any other sentient beings in the Buddhist realms, and thus, result in more karmic consequences. Actions of the body and their consequences serve to remind us that we are nothing without action — in fact, the pitied, suffering beings below us are often most capable of existing than we are.