03/31/2022 “The Paradox of Shame” with Diane Wilde

We all experience shame.  It is a universal emotion with some social scientists and psychologists saying it is an innate human trait, and others insisting it evolved within our social fabric. It is considered an absolutely essential emotion in some societies, and yet, is also frequently considered mentally damaging. The causes of shame have dramatically changed, from lack of adherence to prescriptive social mores of the past, to shaming of individuals on social media today. The Buddha also taught about shame (hiri) and its companion, the dread of shame (ottapa). Shame and the reasons for shame as taught by the Buddha are quite different then the “shaming” we experience in contemporary society. We will discuss this complex emotion, its history and why it is an important, yet often overlooked Buddhist teaching.