The Importance of Enlightened Thought

Just as the need for thought is important, the way one undertakes thought has
an affect upon the quality of our problem solving and behaviour. Mankind has
certain instincts and organic needs, and is constantly striving to satisfy these
needs. Man will die if the organic need for food and water is not satisfied, and
non satisfaction of the instincts of survival or procreation leads to misery.
Animals too have instincts and organic needs, but what differentiates man
from the animal is the ability to think, man progresses and satisfies his needs
after thought. Society implements rules, so we see that the survival instinct
should not be satisfied by stealing from others, or that the sexual desire cannot
be satisfied in any way we wish.

The way man approaches thought differs, thought can be relatively superficial,
deep, or enlightened. The superficial thinker tends to judge based upon a brief
look and makes decisions without understanding. Deep thought, on the other
hand, examines the reality in great detail; once it is understood it is then
judged. Through enlightened thought man not only understands the reality,
but also all that relates to it, and only then does he judge it. So the person that
buys the first colourful table that appeals to his sense of fashion is thinking
superficially, whereas the man that studies the type of wood, veneer and
construction of the table thinks deeply. It is only the man that takes into
account these factors and his use of the table, the size of room it will fit, and
his budget that uses enlightened thought.

Man will satisfy his needs and instincts through use of any of the three types
of thought, but it is use of enlightened thought that takes into account the
reality, previous information and all that relate to them that holds the future
success for us. The view that any man holds all answers and can decide all for
himself is shallow in that it does not recognise man’s limitations, or does not
take into account all in man’s environment or links with the past and future.
Similarly to look deeply and categorise man merely as flesh and bone and
observe how the environment or nature has changed does not address the
beginning of man, and his relationship to the rest of life. Only enlightened
thought can provide a comprehensive answer and we should spare nothing in
looking for the answers we need.

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