Buddhism posits that thoughts are transient, often contradictory to one another, and variable by emotional state. Christians believe in thought-crimes: I must confess to "impure" thoughts (which is nonsense). Buddhists realize that all sorts of thoughts get generated by the brain, but they are not in themselves imbued with power or moral agency. They just pop up. Linking thoughts to self seems like a Christian fallacy to me. Action, not random thought, should define us.