The Buddha’s Teachings in Relation to Freud Discoveries

Having discussed some of Freud’s discoveries and how he and some of his later followers tried to conceptualize the problems of human beings both normal and abnormal, let us now examine some of the Buddha’s teachings in relation to these findings of Freud and the Freudians. First of all, the Buddha too saw the individual human being as an organism with senses, a nervous system and motor activity. He too saw a psycho-physical process starting from the senses and ending up in motor activity. He saw it occurring in four main stages; perceptual activity (viññana), cognitive activity (mano), affective activity or emotion (citta) and the physical action which is the release of tension. This occurs, however, unconsciously. When we are conscious, on the other hand, and consciously interpret what is occurring, it is possible to act rationally. 

Unconscious = stimulus → perception → cognition → emotion → action = REACTION

Conscious = stimulus → perception → cognition → rational action = RESPONSE
The presence of mind (sati) and the consideration of consequences, before the release of tension, can prevent the release of tension, if it is detrimental to oneself and others. Presence of mind during the action can stop the action. Reflection about and action already done can stop the action from being repeated in the future. Absent minded impulsive behaviour which is unconscious can be called a reaction, which the Buddha called an “unworthy action” (akusala kamma). A rational action done with presence of mind, which is consciously done, can be called a response, which the Buddha called a “worthy action” (kusala kamma).