Hello everyone, myself Kiran and I will be covering the chapter titled dealing with destructive

emotions. the key to happiness as well as the obstacles to that happiness lies in our minds. And one
of the major obstacles are the destructive or afflictive emotions that we naturally incline towards.

But let’s first understand that what exactly are these afflictive emotions. The Buddhist psychology
does not talk about the concept of emotions as such but it recognizes several mental states which
have both cognitive and feeling dimensions to them.

There are various ways of categorizing these mental states. And one of them is the distinction
between afflictive and non-afflictive emotions. Afflictive emotions, which are known as Klesha in
Sanskrit, are those which undermine our well-being in long term and disturbs the mental peace.
Whereas the non-afflictive ones are positive emotions and promote survival and well-being.

Its important to not confuse the emotions that are afflictive with those that are simply unpleasant, as
some emotions, such as grief, can be constructive in specific contexts.

The destructive emotions can further be divided into two types. The first type includes emotions
which are destructive in themselves like greed, malice and hatred. Other one includes aemotions
which only become destructive when their intensity is disproportionate to the situation which they
arise in, such as attachment, anger and fear.

Emotions can have dual aspects, being both constructive and destructive depending on their
intensity and context.

Coming to the shared features of destructive emotions, lets know what does these emotions do to
our minds. Such emotions distort our perceptions of reality by narrowing our perspective and causes
us to lose our capacity for discernment. Destructive emotions not only lead to harmful actions in
moments of intense feeling but also corrode our inner well-being over time, robbing us of inner
peace, mental freedom, and our capacity for empathy. These afflictive mental states obscure our
vision and impair our rational judgment, effectively taking control of our minds.

In understanding of the author, the onset of any destructive emotion can be explained through a
casual chain starting with some external stimulus, and followed by physical perception,
interpretation, emotional response and behavioural response.

The real question is now how to deal with these destructive emotions effectively.

The author suggests a two-pronged approach, which he calls as the heart of genuine spiritual
practice. On one side, me must seek to reduce the impact of inherent destructive potentials and to
enhance the positive qualities within us, on the other.

There are some steps which can be followed to learn to tackle the afflictive emotions:

The first step is to adapt a sense of opposition towards such emotions. We need to recognize the
negative repercussions, futility and impracticality of them and that these are the sources of our
personal and collective problems. We also need to develop a conviction that these emotions are
detrimental to our well-being and that we need to overcome them. This opposition serves as a
critical defense when powerful emotions strike, instilling caution and encouraging us to consider the
consequences of our destructive tendencies.

The second step is to reflect upon the causes of such afflictions. We naturally tend to see the
external conditions as the source of all our problems but sometimes the real troublemaker are our
own destructive propensities and inner dissatisfaction. The way we emotionally react to situations
depends on our own outlook and attitude. Thus we must direct our attention inward and focus on
changing our own habits of mind.

The next stage is of emotional awareness which the author describes as introspective attentiveness
to the way afflictive emotions arise withing us and manifest in our behaviour. The need is to observe
and study our emotions closely and address them instead of bottling them up which can aggravate
them and make things worse.

The goal of emotional awareness is to interrupt this chain and bring mindfulness into the process,
starting with awareness of the emotional response and gradually working backward to eliminate or
control destructive emotions.

To manage destructive emotional responses, it's important to catch yourself before your emotions
lead to physical or verbal actions. This involves recognizing the physical sensations that accompany
different emotions and how these emotions affect your behaviour, speech, and thoughts. With
practice, we can even catch ourself before the emotion arises by recognizing the triggers and
avoiding distorted interpretations. This approach leads to greater emotional control and liberation.

All things considered, one needs to be very careful, flexible and pragmatic when dealing with topic as
subtle as human minds. managing negative tendencies in the face of life's setbacks requires a
constant renewal of effort to live by one's cherished values.