Question

Are feelings of sadness like feelings of anger? They are here but we don’t have to act on them. 

So with anger it would be to not be mean with someone for example, but for sadness would it be to force ourselves to be happy? 

I am not sure how to not act on sadness, does it mean not being sad?

Comments

Thank you very much! This was very helpful and shows that I need a lot more mindfulness practice! :)

Answer 1

Not acting on sadness means seeing it in such a way that precludes acting on it. The same goes for anger and every other experience.

We are not in control of our reactions, they are a direct result of our perceptions. This is why there is a focus in Buddhism on mindfulness, because it evokes a  nonreactive perception of experience, allowing us to dwell independent of our experiences (anissito ca viharati - MN 10).

So, we remind ourselves for example "sad, sad..." or "angry, angry..." to evoke clarity and purity in our perception. That in turn prevents reactivity by its very nature.

Comments

Thank you very much! This was very helpful and shows that I need a lot more mindfulness practice! :)