Anthony- Yes, that is what I'm saying exactly. I think it is impossible and unwholesome to suppress anger and our other emotions too.
And yes, I do think it's better to vent anger on a neutral object, like a stone. (NEVER a dog or cat or living being.) My understanding is that Bill! is correct that emotions are physical responses. And they do have physical effects on our bodies; blood pressure, heart rate, release of chemicals and hormones, etc. According to what I have read, what we call anger is a manifestation of the "fight or flight" response, which is part of our survival mechanism. This response is absolutely appropriate if one is confronted by, say, a hungry tiger. But, just as I said in an earlier post, our bodies don't know the difference, and sometimes (often, actually, in modern life) the "fight or flight" response is triggered when there is no actual threat. BUT- and I think it's very important to remember this- these responses are "automatic", we have no direct control over them. The thing we CAN control is how and where and when we express the emotions. I hope i have explained clearly :-) Artie --- In [email protected], Anthony Wu <wu...@...> wrote: > > Artie, > > I believe you are saying that it is impossible or unwholesome to 'suppress' > anger. It must be 'vented' one way or the other. Instead of harming others, > the better way to vent it is targeting a neutral object (hope it is not a dog > or cat). Looks like it takes a Buddha to do away with emotions. Or is there > such a buddha? > > Anthony > ================================= FROM: Over the hills and far away. . . The way to do is be. Lao Tzu ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
