One of the best definitions I've heard about emotions is that they are "automatic value judgments." This definition carries a lot of weight. First of all it is seen that they are judgments, and we know what that leads to. Secondly, they are automatic, which means they may have been picked up in childhood, or from some group or culture without thorough unpacking. If we act on them without consideration we may fall into patterns of response that are not in line with dharma or reality for that matter.
2 comments:
This post made me think of Ramana Maharshi's story about how seeing truth might be likened to a man when out walking sees what he thinks or takes to be is a snake, and fear arises, only to dissapate and disappear when he gets closer and realizes it was only a piece of coiled rope. There never was a snake at all, which was a false belief and accompanied by a mental error and as you say, an automatic (emotional) reaction--fear. Thanks for posting. M.Casari
I hadn't thought of that. A nice comparison. Thanks
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