Buddhism has a very profound explanation on the human mind, one that takes us above and beyond traditional psychology. There is nothing in the realm of human experience that is not dependent on and subject to the interpretation of the mind. In Buddhism, there are the six senses or modes of perception: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and lastly, the mind. Most of us are familiar with the first five senses, but the way the mind is being classified as a sense is definitely enlightening. The mind is from which our perception is derived through the faculties of the first five senses.
Senses are no more than systems of cells in the brain which respond to stimuli which we then become conscious and aware of. For the eye, light is the stimuli hitting the receptor cells. Likewise the ear also has its receptors sensitive to particular kinds of stimuli that send nerve impulses along sensory neurons. In the case of the mind, the stimuli is brain cell activity caused by thoughts. So in other words, thoughts originate from within the mind, with or without external stimuli and give rise to sensory inputs. In connection with the external world and the direct sensory experiences of light, taste, touch, the mind sense allows us to expand on them through our interpretation coming from our thoughts. But where do these interpretations come from? And more importantly, what are the causes of our countless judgement? By default, they are retrieved from our "databank" or "software" which contains all our memories, beliefs and values that we so tightly hold onto and identify as part of us.
So would you want to the master or the slave of your own mind?
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