Endlessness of Emotions and Habituation

Wisdom and food for thought from His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Like their counterparts of love and compassion, anger and the afflictive emotions can never be used up.  They have, rather, a propensity to increase, like a river flooding in summer when the snow melts, so that far from being free, our minds are enslaved and rendered helpless by them.  When we indulge our negative thoughts and feelings, inevitably we become accustomed to them.  As a result, gradually we become more prone to them and more controlled by them.  And we become habituated to exploding in the face of displeasing circumstances.

 

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