Practice. . .

Science says that all emotions are natural and okay, and that emotions become destructive only when they are expressed in an inappropriate way or time or to an inappropriate person or degree….Therapy is aimed more at changing the external expression of the emotions than the internal experience of them. Buddhism, on the other hand, believes that destructive emotions themselves are obstacles and need to be eliminated to have happiness.

While both Buddhism and psychology seek to help people have more happiness and fulfillment, they differ somewhat in what they consider positive and negative emotions. Some psychologists and scientists I have spoken with say that a negative emotion is one that feels bad and makes the person unhappy at the time it is manifest in the mind. A positive emotion makes the person feel happy at the time it is manifest. In Buddhism, what differentiates positive and negative emotions is not our immediate feeling of happiness or discomfort but the happiness or suffering that is the long-term result of those emotions. That is because the long-term effects of our actions are considered more important than their short-term effects, which tend to be fleeting in comparison. If, in the long term, an emotion produces unpleasant experiences, it is considered negative; if it brings happiness in the long term, it is positive.

Buddhism explains that virtuous (positive, constructive, wholesome) emotions lead to happiness in the long term, while non-virtuous (negative, destructive, unwholesome) emotions lead to suffering. When you see someone whose bodily actions and words are not kind, but where there is still a little kindness in their heart, do not pay attention to their actions and words, but to the little kindness that is in the heart so that you may put an end to your anger. This is wisdom in practice.