Emotions Talks
Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is no scientific consensus on a definition. Emotions are often intertwined with mood, temperament, personality, disposition, or creativity.
Research on emotion has increased over the past two decades, with many fields contributing, including psychology, medicine, history, sociology of emotions, and computer science. The numerous attempts to explain the origin, function, and other aspects of emotions have fostered intense research on this topic. Theorizing about the evolutionary origin and possible purpose of emotion dates back to Charles Darwin. Current areas of research include the neuroscience of emotion, using tools like PET and fMRI scans to study the affective picture processes in the brain.
From a mechanistic perspective, emotions can be defined as "a positive or negative experience that is associated with a particular pattern of physiological activity." Emotions are complex, involving multiple different components, such as subjective experience, cognitive processes, expressive behavior, psychophysiological changes, and instrumental behavior. At one time, academics attempted to identify the emotion with one of the components: William James with a subjective experience, behaviorists with instrumental behavior, psychophysiologists with physiological changes, and so on. More recently, emotion has been said to consist of all the components. The different components of emotion are categorized somewhat differently depending on the academic discipline. In psychology and philosophy, emotion typically includes a subjective, conscious experience characterized primarily by psychophysiological expressions, biological reactions, and mental states. A similar multi-componential description of emotion is found in sociology. For example, Peggy Thoits described emotions as involving physiological components, cultural or emotional labels (anger, surprise, etc.), expressive body actions, and the appraisal of situations and contexts. Cognitive processes, like reasoning and decision-making, are often regarded as separate from emotional processes, making a division between "thinking" and "feeling". However, not all theories of emotion regard this separation as valid.
Nowadays, most research into emotions in the clinical and well-being context focuses on emotion dynamics in daily life, predominantly the intensity of specific emotions and their variability, instability, inertia, and differentiation, as well as whether and how emotions augment or blunt each other over time and differences in these dynamics between people and along the lifespan.
Title | Speaker | |
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February 15th, 1997, Serial No. 00357, Side A Happiness, Posture, Mindfulness, Four Foundations, Lay Practice, Dharma Transmission... |
Feb 15 1997 |
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Mumonkan: Case #12Serial: BZ-00782B Zuigan Checks Himself, Saturday Lecture Zuigan, MM-12, Ego, Big Mind, Buddha Nature, Peace, training, Birth-and-Death,... |
Feb 08 1997 Berkeley Zen Center |
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Poetry of EnlightenmentSerial: SF-00071 Class realization, Emptiness, Echo, Dragons, Balance, Bell, Priest, Emotions, Freedom,... |
Feb 04 1997 1 |
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January 26th, 1997, Serial No. 00783, Side A Attachment, American, Emotions, Interview, Non-duality, Concentration, Separation,... |
Jan 26 1997 |
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February 1997 talk, Serial No. 01505 Politics, Religion, War, Fasting, Practice Period, Building, Peace, Emotions,... |
1997 |
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Title UnknownSerial: BZ-00784B Rohatsu Day 2 Dragons, Daily Life, Equanimity, Samadhi, Hindrances, Lineage, Separation, Posture,... |
Dec 04 1996 Berkeley Zen Center |
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FukanzazengiSerial: BZ-00784A Rohatsu Day 1 Fukanzazengi, Obstacles, Posture, Manjushri, Don't Know Mind, Rinzai, soto,... |
Dec 03 1996 Berkeley Zen Center |
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1996.09.28-serial.00089 Practice Period, Study Period, Bodhisattva Way, Vows, Bodhisattva Vow, Patience,... |
Sep 28 1996 |
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September 21st, 1996, Serial No. 00791, Side A Blue Cliff Record, Book of Serenity, Culture, Intuition, resistance, Practice Period... |
Sep 21 1996 |
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More Hongzhi: Oriyoki, Birth & DeathSerial: BZ-00793B Sesshin Day 3 Hongzhi, Birth-and-Death, Oryoki, Birth-and-Death, Posture, Buddha Nature, Emotions,... |
Sep 02 1996 Berkeley Zen Center |
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Hongzhi: Can't Find Oneness; Finding Our True PersonalitySerial: BZ-00793A Sesshin Day 2 Hongzhi, Oneness, Buddha Nature, Constancy, Emotions, Posture, Don't Know Mind,... |
Sep 01 1996 Berkeley Zen Center |
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Five HindrancesSerial: BZ-00795A Saturday Lecture Hindrances, Doubt, Hindrances, true dharma, Anger, Emotions, Daily Life, Ego,... |
Aug 10 1996 Berkeley Zen Center |
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July 27th, 1996, Serial No. 00797, Side A Karma, Echo, Culture, Sangha, Gratitude, Big Mind, Heart Sutra, confusion, Building,... |
Jul 27 1996 |
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Four Boundless AbodesSerial: BZ-00798B Saturday Lecture Brahmaviharas, Anger, Equanimity, Emotions, Sixth Patriarch, Hindrances, Happiness,... |
Jul 20 1996 Berkeley Zen Center |
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ComposureSerial: BZ-00801A Sesshin Day 2 Composure, Composure, Anger, Emotions, Don't Know Mind, Subject-and-Object,... |
Jun 20 1996 Berkeley Zen Center |
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1996.02.10-serial.00278A Dragons, Fox, Doubt, Rumi, Emotions |
Feb 10 1996 |
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Blue Cliff Record: Case #11 Cont.Serial: BZ-00823B Saturday Lecture BCR-11, Teacher-and-Student, Obstacles, Offering, Dragons, Dogen, Emotions, Rinzai,... |
Sep 09 1995 Berkeley Zen Center |
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The Double Bind of PracticeSerial: BZ-00825A Saturday Lecture Practice, Nirvana, Emotions, resistance, Happiness, Impermanence, Attachment, Aspects... |
Aug 19 1995 Berkeley Zen Center |
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August 5th, 1995, Serial No. 00827, Side A zen meditation, Subject-and-Object, Mindfulness, Blue Cliff Record, Mundane Life,... |
Aug 05 1995 |
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Yurt LectureSerial: BZ-00744 Lecture Discrimination, Religion, training, Emotions |
Jun 24 1995 |
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June 18th, 1995, Serial No. 00978, Side B Practice Period, Teacher-and-Student, Instruction, Emotions, Funeral, Obstacles,... |
Jun 18 1995 |
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May 13th, 1995, Serial No. 00976, Side B Fundraising, Intimacy, Evil, Teacher-and-Student, Mindfulness, Emotions, Anger,... |
May 13 1995 |
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Master Hongzhi ContinuedSerial: BZ-00974B One-Day Sitting Hongzhi, Emotions, Silent Illumination, Daily Life, Enemies, confusion, resistance,... |
Apr 23 1995 Berkeley Zen Center |
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1995.04.10-serial.00044 Mindfulness, Repentance, Emotions, Monastic Practice, Don't Know Mind, Posture,... |
Apr 10 1995 |
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Tokubetsu Sesshin Faith, Ceremony, Big Mind, true dharma, Transmission, Monastic Practice, Emotions,... |
Mar 28 1995 |
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March 19th, 1995, Serial No. 00911, Side B resistance, Emotions, Four Noble Truths, Separation, Observe, Beginners, Offering,... |
Mar 19 1995 |
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March 16th, 1995, Serial No. 00764 Anger, Emotions, Happiness, Ego, Karma, Greed, Duality, Aspects of Practice, Enemies... |
Mar 16 1995 |
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March 4th, 1995, Serial No. 00761 Intuition, Emotions, Buddha Nature, Book of Serenity, Absolute-and-Relative, Duality... |
Mar 04 1995 |
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February 19th, 1995, Serial No. 00913, Side A Emotions, Posture, Hate, Greed, confusion, Anger, Culture, Instruction |
Feb 19 1995 |
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To Be OneselfSerial: SF-00157 Sunday talk; what does that mean - what's that? Finding out what this means is a vast undertaking. Conversation, Practice Period, Dragons, Lay, New Year, training, Separation, Skandas... |
Jan 15 1995 Green Gulch Farm |