[HPforGrownups] Re:Zen and the Art of Harry's emotions - his strength or weakness?

[Magpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 141567

>> 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.

>
> 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.

Magpie:

This is exactly the kind of concept that *I* think is really needed, and to 
me that's more what the art of Occlumency would be about.

However, I also see Alla's point: Is this really what *Snape* is trying to 
teach Harry?  Can Snape really understand or teach zen?  Is Snape really zen 
himself?  Snape refers to people who wear their emotions too openly as 
"weak" and that sounds more unhealthy.  In my own experience of meditation 
"weak" is exactly the wrong word to use. Trying to force it is 
counter-productive.

I can imagine that Snape mistakenly trying to teach something that would 
really be a bad thing--something more like the way Draco seems to have lived 
for years, where he tries to just destroy emotions he can't deal with. 
That's not zen, it's just repression.  Yet that's exactly what seems to 
offer what hope there is for Draco in HBP, that he possibly considers these 
emotions as being a potential strength, or at least not so scary, if he 
accepts them and accepts that part of himself.

Only he didn't learn that from Snape.  Anything he learned that year seemed 
to come from struggling along with Dumbledore watching from a distance. 
Finally, when he makes it to the Tower, Dumbledore supervises while Draco 
works his way towards some understanding (which he may not completely 
reach).

So I think I agree with Alla that this is possibly *not* what Snape is 
trying to teach Harry, but it may be what Harry needs to learn for himself 
anyway, correctly.

-m