Seven Emotions
Six Desires
The Seven Emotions refer to the seven types of feelings that a typical person possesses: joy (xi), anger (nu), sorrow (ai), fear (ju), love (ai), hatred (wu), and desire (yu). The Six Desires, as recorded in the “Great Wisdom Sutra” (Dazhi Dulu Lun), refer to the six types of desires that ordinary people have towards the opposite sex: sexual desire (seyu), desire for appearance (xingmao yu), desire for demeanor (weiyi yu), desire for speech and sound (yanzi yinxing yu), desire for smoothness (xihua yu), and desire for human interaction (renxiang yu); or they can refer to the six senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and thought. The term ‘Seven Emotions and Six Desires’ is derived from Buddhist texts, broadly referring to human emotions and desires. The Seven Emotions and Six Desires are fundamental physiological needs and psychological dynamics of humanity, forming the basis of human nature. In modern Chinese, ’emotion’ and ‘desire’ are not entirely synonymous. ‘Emotion’ primarily refers to the expression of human feelings, belonging to the realm of psychological activities; while ‘desire’ mainly refers to the needs for survival and enjoyment, belonging to the realm of physiological activities.
Seven Emotions
The six roots in Buddhism: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind.
The six dusts in Buddhism: color, sound, fragrance, taste, touch, and law.
The seven emotions in Confucianism: joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hatred, and desire.
The seven emotions in medicine: joy, anger, worry, thought, sadness, fear, and shock.
The “Book of Rites” (Liji) states: “Joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hatred, and desire are seven that can be learned without study.”
The “Three Character Classic” (Sanzijing) states: “Joy and anger, sorrow and fear, love and hatred, the seven emotions are all present.”
The Buddhist ‘Seven Emotions’ and the Confucian ‘Seven Emotions’ are largely similar, referring to the seven feelings of joy, anger, worry, fear, love, hatred, and desire.
The Seven Emotions are relatively stable, expressed in the interaction between humans and the external world, guiding the interaction between humans and their environment.
Six Desires
According to: “Joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hatred, leading to six desires.”
“Joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hatred, six types of desires.”
Similar literary records serve as a method to enhance exploratory interest.
So, what are the Six Desires?
The concept of the Six Desires was first proposed in the “Lüshi Chunqiu” (Lü’s Spring and Autumn): “What is called full life is when all six desires are appropriately satisfied.” So what exactly are the Six Desires? The Eastern Han philosopher Gao You commented on this: “The Six Desires are life, death, ears, eyes, mouth, and nose.” It can be seen that the Six Desires broadly refer to human physiological needs or desires. To survive, one fears death and seeks to live richly and vividly, thus the mouth needs to eat, the tongue needs to taste, the eyes need to see, the ears need to hear, and the nose needs to smell; these desires are innate and do not require teaching. Later, these were summarized as the six desires of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, and thinking.
However, the Buddhist perspective in the “Great Wisdom Sutra” differs significantly, positing that the Six Desires refer to sexual desire, desire for appearance, desire for demeanor, desire for speech and sound, desire for smoothness, and desire for human interaction, essentially categorizing the Six Desires as the six innate desires of ordinary people towards the opposite sex, commonly referred to as ‘sexual desires’ in modern terms. The term ‘Seven Emotions and Six Desires’ is thus derived from the Buddhist concept of ‘Six Desires’, broadly referring to human emotions and desires.
Historical References
The concept of the Six Desires was first proposed in the “Lüshi Chunqiu”: “What is called full life is when all six desires are appropriately satisfied.” So what exactly are the Six Desires? The Eastern Han philosopher Gao You commented on this: “The Six Desires are life, death, ears, eyes, mouth, and nose.” It can be seen that the Six Desires broadly refer to human physiological needs or desires. To survive, one fears death and seeks to live richly and vividly, thus the mouth needs to eat, the tongue needs to taste, the eyes need to see, the ears need to hear, and the nose needs to smell; these desires are innate and do not require teaching. Later, these were summarized as the six desires of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, and thinking. However, the Buddhist perspective in the “Great Wisdom Sutra” differs significantly, positing that the Six Desires refer to sexual desire, desire for appearance, desire for demeanor, desire for speech and sound, desire for smoothness, and desire for human interaction, essentially categorizing the Six Desires as the six innate desires of ordinary people towards the opposite sex.
What people commonly refer to as feelings do not refer to the emotions of the Seven Emotions, but rather a kind of thought. These feelings can be divided into familial love, romantic love, friendship, and passion for one’s career… which corresponds to a broad sense of love, such as love for family, love for a partner, love for one’s career, and love for one’s country…
Human desires are endless. However, at any given time, human desires are prioritized and distinct.
When one desire is fulfilled, it often comes with the satisfaction of other desires.
At a certain period, in order to satisfy certain desires, one may temporarily give up other desires.
Image and text sourced from the internet
Editor: Zhong Qingjie
Final Review: Liu Ran
