According to Zhuang Zi, one of the greatest Taoist philosophers from the 4th century BC, "We need emotions and feelings because how could we exist as individuals without them?"
It is important to say that, under normal circumstances, emotions are not causes of disease. Like rivers, emotions are forms of energy that need to flow, to circulate and to express themselves. They are intrinsic parts of us; they are our identity and the manifestation of our humanness. The typical serene image of Buddhist monks totally exempt of emotions does not correspond to reality. They do experience emotions; they are vibrant and jovial, like Soggyal Rimpoche, a famous Tibetan Lama known as "The Laughing Tibetan". Serenity does not mean lack of emotions, but the control of them. When someone is serene, he is not disturbed by emotion, or if he is disturbed he is easily able to find his balance again.
It is normal to experience a variety of emotions during the day: anger while driving to work; fear in the dentist's waiting room; worry about a school test; sadness at the news that someone in the family has died; joy at the birth of the first child, etc. It is basically impossible to live and to be part of this world without experiencing emotions, which, provided that they are transitory, have little significance to a Chinese medicine therapist. However, whenever there is a predominance of one or more emotions, they could become pathogenic factors and deserve close attention.
According to ancient Chinese texts: "Anger injures the liver; joy (excessive) injures the heart; grief and sadness injure the lungs; worry injures the spleen; and fear injures the kidneys." This statement is based on the theory of the Five Elements. However, the Chinese also consider pensiveness, shock, hatred and guilt as disease-causing agents as well. In addition, certain emotions can affect more that one organ, such as sadness affecting the lungs and the heart. As a matter of fact, all the emotions manifest themselves indirectly through the heart, which is the "Seat of the Mind", according to Chinese medicine.
Excerpted from Anger Goes Up, Fear Goes Down: Emotions and the Hidden Link
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