A Personal Reflection on the Conventional Wisdom
Bali is rich with a variety of local wisdoms, one of which is the simple and yet noble Tri Kaya Parisudha; think right (manacika), say right (wacika) and do right (kayika). This is in line with a quote from Mahatma Gandhi, “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
Both Tri Kaya Parisudha and Mahatma Gandhi suggest that thinking, saying and doing must be congruent to achieve a true happiness; and this encourages trust from others. Actions speak louder than words, and so our actions and thoughts should be true and with integrity.
When what we do and what we say have integrity with what we think, we are living an aligned life. Conflict within ourselves of these three elements is one of many ways to sabotage our happiness. We are essentially teaching ourselves and others that we can’t be trusted. In other words, the lack of integrity in our thoughts, words and actions can erode the sense of trust in ourselves, which in turn, chips away at our self-esteem because we lose our self-respect.
When our thoughts, words and actions are in harmony, we will come to love, to trust, and to respect ourselves on a whole new level. This will then increase our level of happiness, and ultimately, increase overall fulfillment in our life.
The teachings of both Tri Kaya Parisudha and Mahatma Gandhi, give us good life advice but how many of us can honestly say that our lives allow us to adhere to those values? The Balinese believe that inner reflection gives us time to determine if our life can follow these teachings, and what we can do to reach a higher sense of inner peace – a true balance of thoughts, words and actions.
Photo by Kevin Fairley
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