I'll admit the Buddhist practice is to notice those feelings then let them pass; however, becoming more attuned to what your body is telling you rather than ignoring or lying to oneself is in line with an Epicurean life. Training oneself to tune into your body's feelings is the first step in deciding what really causes you pain and pleasure.
Yes I agree with your comments Don. And this is is a good example of being careful about the goal of techniques before they are used. Is your goal as to emotions to "let them pass" or "listen to what they are telling you and take appropriate action"?
That's a huge difference, and I would expect that the diverging purposes probably also plays in the actual practices themselves. I'd very likely approach things that I wanted ultimate to ignore much differently than thinks that I want to understand, appreciate, and learn from.
Plus, in the context of the stress that Epicurus places on the pleasure that we can take from good memories of the past, from the Epicurean point of view we want to preserve the good memories in our minds as clearly as possible so as to draw upon them in the future.
moral excellences such as courage, temperance, and justice
