The Buddhist Attitude Toward Emotions: A Clarification

Two days ago, a Dharma sister shared her reflections on cessation, a crucial concept in Buddhist practice. She emphasized the following points:

• The Buddha prioritizes the cessation of emotions.
• Cutting off emotions prevents the accumulation of karma.
• We should remove personal biases, open our hearts and minds, and filter out impurities so that only the good Dhamma remains.

These statements raise an important question: What is the Buddhist attitude toward emotions? Should we strive to eradicate them? This is a complex issue often misunderstood. I would like to offer some clarifications based on the Buddha’s teachings.

1. Cessation Is Not About Eliminating Emotions

The Buddha did not advocate suppressing emotions but rather the cessation of the Three Poisons: Lobha (greed/clinging), Dosa (aversion/hatred), and Moha (delusion/ignorance). Emotions are a natural and inevitable part of human experience. To seek their complete eradication would be to reject life itself.

Problems arise when emotions are driven by the Three Poisons. For example, jealousy arises from clinging, and anger is fueled by aversion. The path of mindfulness teaches us not to judge or suppress emotions…