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.
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September 17th, 1988, Serial No. 00366, Side B Anger, Pure Existence, Priest, Equanimity, Daily Life, Non-attachment, Emotions, Ego... |
Sep 17 1988 |
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Bodhisattva Practice: Four MethodsSerial: BZ-01498B Saturday Lecture Bodhisattva, Anger, Equanimity, Daily Life, Precepts, Building, Emotions, Attachment... |
Sep 17 1988 Berkeley Zen Center |
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Luminous MindSerial: BZ-00893B Sesshin Day 1 Silent Illumination, Posture, Nirvana, Lotus Sutra, Concentration, Daily Life,... |
Sep 03 1988 Berkeley Zen Center |
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1988.08.03-serial.00083 Practice Period, confusion, Obstacles, Emotions, Letting Go, Passions, Describe,... |
Aug 03 1988 |
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June 27th, 1988, Serial No. 01510 confusion, War, Hindrances, Discrimination, Concentration, Posture, Instruction,... |
Jun 27 1988 |
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June 18th, 1988, Serial No. 00891, Side B Posture, cognitive process, Instruction, Lineage, Monkey Mind, Bowing, Buddha Nature... |
Jun 18 1988 |
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June 16th, 1988, Serial No. 00895, Side B Peace, Dharma Transmission, Emotions, Samadhi, Greed, Lineage, Concentration,... |
Jun 16 1988 |
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Benefits of Meditation for Self and Others Serial 00004 Posture, Commitment, Emotions, Culture, Letting Go, Cultivation, difficulty, Hate,... |
Apr 18 1988 Tape 1 |
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Women and Buddhism Serial 00001 Lineage, Culture, confusion, Emotions, Commitment, American, Ceremony,... |
Apr 15 1988 Tape 1 |
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February 23rd, 1988, Serial No. 01532 Continuous, Non-duality, Demons, Emotions, Bell, Samadhi, resistance, Hindrances,... |
Feb 23 1988 |
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Sesshin LectureSerial: BZ-00900A One-Day Sitting Separation, Priest, confusion, Duality, Vows, Emotions, Lay |
Jan 23 1988 Berkeley Zen Center |
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August 20th, 1987, Serial No. 00310Serial: BZ-00310 Sesshin Day 6 training, Offering, Demons, Subject-and-Object, Birth-and-Death, Judgement, Priest,... |
Aug 20 1987 |
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June 27th, 1987, Serial No. 00905, Side A Discrimination, Culture, Doubt, War, Mahayana, confusion, Peace, Emotions, Attachment... |
Jun 27 1987 |
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February 8th, 1987, Serial No. 00386 Buddha Nature, Intimacy, Anger, Meditation, Separation, Patience, Emotions,... |
Feb 08 1987 |
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February 5th, 1987, Serial No. 00377 Impermanence, Emotions, Separation, causation, Compassion, Consciousness, Passions,... |
Feb 05 1987 |
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February 3rd, 1987, Serial No. 00372 Emotions, Birth-and-Death, Anger, Delusion, lecture, Consciousness, Commitment, Zendo... |
Feb 03 1987 |
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Tenzo Kyokun Pt.IIISerial: BZ-01529A Rohatsu Day 3 Tenzo Kyokun, Daily Life, Discrimination, Duality, Emotions, Bowing, Oneness,... |
Dec 03 1986 Berkeley Zen Center |
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The Buddhist Meaning of RenunciationSerial: BZ-00883A Saturday Lecture Renunciation, Renunciation, Emotions, Practice Period, Heart Sutra, Anger, Ego,... |
Nov 01 1986 Berkeley Zen Center |
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Blue Cliff Record: Case #43Serial: BZ-00878A Hot and Cold Buddha, Sesshin Day 4 Buddha, BCR-43, Hate, Posture, Emotions, Silence, Nirvana, Tassajara, Anger, Ego... |
Jun 07 1986 Berkeley Zen Center |
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Basics of Our Practice: Jijuyu SamadhiSerial: BZ-00876B Sesshin Day 1 Jijuyu Samadhi, Emotions, Hindrances, Posture, Bell, Offering, Obstacles, Demons,... |
Jun 04 1986 Berkeley Zen Center |
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The Bodhisattva WaySerial: BZ-00875B Saturday Lecture Bodhisattva Way, Karma, Samsara, Emotions, Attachment, Bowing, Big Mind, Hindrances,... |
Apr 25 1986 Berkeley Zen Center |
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December 7th, 1985, Serial No. 00163 Emotions, Intention, Posture, Consciousness, Ego, Passions, Oneness, Discrimination,... |
Dec 07 1985 |
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December 7th, 1985, Serial No. 00364 Emotions, Intention, Posture, Consciousness, Oneness, Ego, Subject-and-Object,... |
Dec 07 1985 |
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Hevajra Sadhana Serial 00007 Two Truths, Intention, confusion, Balance, Continuous, Emotions, Duality, Hate, Bell... |
Oct 15 1985 Tape 2 |