Emotional suffering is the set of negative feelings generated by cravings for what we lack (money, power, prestige ...) and aversions to what surrounds us (unpleasant people, events or things). The reciprocal dreads—the fear to lose what we already possess and the fear to get what we repudiate—complete the portfolio of the causes to suffer emotionally. Inner harmony, on the other hand, is the absence of emotional suffering.
Twenty-five centuries ago the Buddha established that emotional suffering could be eliminated by the removal of its causes or origins; this statement became the core message of his doctrine. His teachings, due to the zeal of his followers, derived into a religion, the fourth largest in the world. Pragmatic Buddhism, the subset of Buddhism that excludes legends, rituals, and rebirths, focuses on the Buddha’s original goal: the eradication of emotional suffering.
Although it evolves from emotions, emotional suffering is not such state of mind. Emotional suffering is a feeling, more specifically, a background feeling. Neurologist Antonio Damasio makes a subtle distinction between emotions and feelings. Emotions are the body's reactions to certain external or internal stimuli (e.g., a threat or a remembrance). Feelings are the perceptions of such reactions, that is, the record the brain makes when it becomes aware of them. While almost simultaneous, emotions precede feelings. We do not perceive emotions; we perceive feelings.
Most feelings share their names with their associated emotions¬¬—love is both an emotion and a feeling. Emotions, however, may end up as a different kind of feeling; for example, anger might unusually evolve into euphoria. Furthermore, several emotions might “blend” to generate a sort of unified feeling with which they “resonate”. Dr. Damasio refers to this sensorial resonance as background feelings. It is background feelings what produces the general tone of our life. The potential to stop emotional suffering is at the interface between emotions and background feelings.
Background feelings, in general, can be sorted out as either positive or negative (you can do the same with emotions). Background feelings almost always manifest in opposing duos regardless where they come from: tension or relaxation, imbalance or balance; instability or stability; fatigue or energy. The first items of each pair (tension, imbalance...) characterize emotional suffering; the second (relaxation, balance...) typify inner harmony. Background feelings help define our mental states; they darken or brighten our existence.
Emotional suffering echoes the wide range of human negative emotions, from the simple imaginary concerns, through depressions and slumps en moral, to the most intense, evil bitterness. There are quite many harmful emotions such as anxiety, anguish, despair, hatred, jealousy and envy; in fact, there are more expressions for negative emotions than for positive ones.
The word "suffering" describes both physical and mental distress, hence comes the need for the "emotional" qualifier. Pain, or physical suffering, is sometimes unavoidable and its treatment often demands medication. Emotional suffering, being mental, is almost always optional; its handling seldom requires drugs (the exception are psychiatric disorders with a clear organic origin.) Pain management is not in the Pragmatic Buddhist agenda; emotional suffering, including the emotional distress that comes from pain, definitely is.
Inner harmony is reached by appeasing cravings and aversions. "When cravings and aversions are both absent, everything becomes perfectly clear," said Seng-Tsan, third Zen Chinese patriarch of Zen. Inner harmony is indirectly reached through "the blowing out of the fires of greed and hatred.” (This is the Buddhist definition of "nirvana"). Inner harmony comes from within and does not depend on external factors¬—this would make it outer harmony; inner harmony flourishes spontaneously when cravings and aversions go away.
The elimination of emotional suffering is a very personal undertaking with no need of masters or congregations. Inner harmony is not achieved by devotion to any creed, affiliation to any doctrine or practice of any ritual. Inner harmony is not pursued; it shows up when the noises of emotional suffering are silenced. When people search for inner harmony in sects, groups or ceremonies, they could be inadvertently giving it up... Or, at a minimum, they could be surrendering their influence over it to somebody else.
Gustavo Estrada
Author of HACIA EL BUDA DESDE EL OCCIDENTE
