Understanding Our Negative Emotions

A narrator introduces the clip, then Phakchok Rinpoche takes four emotions in turn: anger, pride, jealousy and attachment. He gives plain examples from his own life, including his temper as a young man, how his pride rose and fell between America and Asia, and his attachment to his first car.

He says most people have blind spots about their own emotions and cannot improve what they do not see. His method has three parts: create space and rest gentle attention on the breath, reflect honestly on one emotion at a time, and want to change. He asks listeners to set aside ten or fifteen minutes for this, and says the respect gained for oneself is where happiness comes from.