DESTRUCTIVE EMOTIONS: How Can we Overcome Them? A Scientific Dialogue With the Dalai Lama is a fascinating book based on a March 2000 five-day seminar, which brought the Dalai Lama and other advanced Buddhist meditation practitioners together with several highly accomplished Western psychologists, neuroscientists, and philosophers. Eloquently narrated by Daniel Goleman, long-term New York Times science writer and author of the best seller Emotional Intelligence, the book presents the seminar as a lively story. This book is relevant to those working in the addiction field because of its multifaceted approach to understanding “destructive” emotions, because of information on brain research and the therapeutic potential of meditation, and because of the interesting, empirically based approach to spiritual states of consciousness.

As Goleman’s narration captures, the Dalai Lama is playful and humorous, yet scientifically well informed. He sees Buddhism and science not as conflicting entities, but rather as potentially complementary approaches to understanding the nature of human consciousness. The Dalai Lama sees Buddhism’s 2500-year history of exploring the mind through meditation as essentially an empirical effort. His open-mindedness and dedication to truth are demonstrated in his belief that if science clearly refutes a Buddhist assertion, then Buddhism must change.

A striking characteristic of Eastern spiritual traditions, which are heavily informed by meditation, is the emphasis on spiritual states of consciousness. Recent technological innovations in scientific technology offer the opportunity for Western scientists to test some of the assertions of the Eastern meditation disciplines. For example, Buddhist psychology suggests that long term spiritual practice can lead to reduction and elimination of anger and fear, as well as other “mental afflictions.” Advanced practitioners can supposedly arrive at a more or less permanent state of consciousness characterized by unshakable serenity and joy, and infused with a deep sense of compassion. Craving is eliminated.

This is in stark contrast to a traditional Western spiritual view presented to AA co-founder Bill Wilson by Father Ed Dowling, a Jesuit who was mentoring Wilson. According to AA historian Ernest Kurtz, after pouring out his anger, despair, and frustration, Wilson asked Dowling if there was ever to be any satisfaction. The Jesuit shot back, “Never. Never any.” The priest quoted Mathew, “Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst,” explaining that spirituality always involves yearning, restlessness, and spiritual thirst. Buddhism promises the quenching of spiritual thirst through meditation. Although Buddha and Christ appear to disagree, I doubt they would get into a fistfight over it!

A number of scientists attending this seminar tested advanced meditation practitioners in their laboratories, and reported striking results. Using functional MRI, PET scan, and a supercharged version of EEG, Richard Davidson, a leading pioneer studying the neurological basis of emotions at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, found high levels of brain activity in an area of the meditators’ brain associated with happiness, enthusiasm, joy, high energy, and alertness. When the subject meditated on compassion, there was a dramatic increase in electrical activity in a part of the brain previously pinpointed as a locus of positive emotion. Continuing research with cutting-edge technology may be able to determine whether meditation produces permanent changes in brain function and structure associated with increased serenity, joy, and compassion.

Although some chapters of this book focus on the latest in brain research as it relates to emotion, consciousness, and meditation, those not especially interested in the finer points of amygdala function can skip those parts. Each of the 14 chapters can stand alone, and includes very readable discussions on psychology, philosophy, culture, and education as they relate to managing destructive emotions.

A goal of Buddhist psychology is to decrease human suffering by decreasing destructive emotions. A great deal of discussion between the scientists and Buddhists at the seminar involved defining what constitutes a “destructive” emotion. Is anger always destructive? In general, the Western answer was no. But the Buddhist answer was yes, anger is always destructive.

This debate parallels a frequent discussion about the AA approach to anger. The Big Book of AA refers to anger as a poison and says that, “If we were to live, we had to be free of anger.” Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions says, “It is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us,” and goes on to say, as The Big Book does, that anger is a luxury best left to non-alcoholics. Many who read this, especially those with a mental health background, see this as a potentially unhealthy, repressive approach. The Dalai Lama is clearly on the side of AA.

George Ochsenfeld, MHS, CADC, LCPC ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) is an addiction counselor in private practice in the Chicago area. He has been a Governors State University faculty member for 20 years and a meditation practitioner for 26 years.

This article is published in Counselor,The Magazine for Addiction Professionals, August 2004, v.5, n.4, pp. 68-69.

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