Zen and the Art of Harry's emotions - his strength or weakness?

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 141563

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "dumbledore11214"
<dumbledore11214 at y...> wrote:
>
> ...edited...
> 
> 
> > Magpie:
> ><HUGE SNIP>
> > It's not that Harry has to change his nature.  On the contrary, 
> > to truly be himself is to claim his true strength, ....  His
> > emotions will always give strength to his will; he just can't let 
> > them *replace* his will.  ...
> > 
> > So Harry does have to learn a bit from Snape there, but Snape has
> > to learn from Harry as well.  ...
 
 
> Alla:
> 
> I loved your post, in fact I agree with a lot of it, except that 
> again I am REALLY not sure that not letting his emotions replace his 
> will is what Snape was trying to teach Harry. I am just not. ...
> 
> Besides, you nailed it when you said  that you are confident that 
> Harry will learn what he has to, IMO.
> 
> I am just not sure that Harry will learn it from Snape, that is all. 
> 
> 
> JMO,
> 
> Alla

bboyminn:

First a brief apology, I have somewhat followed this thread but I
haven't read everything. That said...

What is Snape trying to teach Harry?

Figuratively speaking, of course, it is ZEN.

Emotions can be positive or negative. Certainly Harry's 'love' is a
positive force, but his anger really can be a negative force. Harry is
human, so certainly he will get angry; he will experience negative
emotions. The question is whether he will let those negative emotions
rule him in a time of crisis.

I think that is the point Snape is trying to make whether he
consciously realizes it or not. Certainly anger can motivate you, even
 compell you, but when it rules you, then the battle is lost before it
begins. 

The same is true of fear. Only a fool feels no fear, and only a coward
is /ruled/ by fear.

So, Harry must accept his fear and anger, and move on. He must not let
them rule him in the moment, especially in the moment of crisis.

The Art of Zen is to remain calm and clear even in the face of anger
or fear. That way you can react instantly to whatever come your way;
you can adapt to the situation as it changes. Harry has certainly
shown an ability to face fear, and to adapt to the moment, but in
those instances, he was in control of his emotion. In the times when
they rules him, he usually does poorly.

Not sure if that adds anything to the debate, but there it is.

Steve/bboyminn


PS: Dumbedore is very ZEN.