Buddhist Belief Blog

I think the subject of anger is one of the greatest challenges I face as I work to live a life based on my Buddhist Belief. I just spent some time yesterday and this morning over at my Facebook page and was noticing how much anger and frustration I was seeing in the posts I was reading. Then I started to realize, I was also one of those writing with anger and frustration.

I’m not saying there aren’t a multitude of events happening in our world today which can, and do, promote feelings of anger and hopelessness. So, in my usual way of writing this blog, I need to write about my thoughts on this subject — not only to myself, but also for you.

When we study about Buddhist teachings we learn that, like most spiritual teachings, the path we want to learn to follow is based on the practice of non-violence, forgiveness and compassion. Right along with this is how to learn to deal with our anger and hatred and find ways to get those emotions out of our normal way of reacting to events. We all care about, and perhaps even work for, peace in the world and in our communities and homes, and for inner peace, too, in ourselves and our relations with others. But the war, violence, and aggression we struggle with on so many levels all come from the anger, hatred, greed and ignorance in our own minds and the minds of those around us.

That is the root, and the only root, of these evils.

Does this mean we have to get rid of all our feelings, emotions, and sensitivity in the name of some kind of idealized equanimity and spiritual detachment? I don’t think so. I do believe we have to find better ways of dealing with the destructive emotions such as anger, hatred, jealousy, overwhelming desire and lust, and greed. I don’t feel we should try to get rid of healthy emotions like love, tenderness and compassion.

Buddha taught there are three poisons — greed, hatred and ignorance. The “big daddy’ of these is ignorance — or delusion and confusion. From ignorance comes greed, desire, lust and all the rest. Of course, from ignorance also comes anger, aggression, cruelty and violence. Ignorance also brings us the conflicting forces of attachment and aversion. These are so similar in a lot of ways. “Get away” and “I want” have a common meaning, don’t they? Whether you’re pushing something away or grasping something to you — both can cause anger to rear its ugly head. And, as we know, anger can lead to aggression and violence.

So — is it right for us to work to suppress anger? I don’t think so. Suppressing it will only make us more uneasy and off balance, won’t it? Perhaps a good way to start this self examination is to do so in a less stressful situation, like meditation. When we are alone in our daily practice, or maybe in a Dharma center, yoga studio or meditation retreat — where everything’s perfectly arranged for your protection, comfort and security — it’s hard to get too overwhelmed by anger. But still there are the little irritations, like mosquitoes buzzing around our ears or traffic sounds from outside. Or perhaps the phone or the doorbell rings just as you feel yourself moving into your place of peace and silence. How do we deal with it when anger, aversion and judgment flares up?

I know many of us will say, “Stiff upper lip!” Others will say, “Tough it out!” And then we’ll pretend we’re calm and detached when actually we’re creating some inner violence against ourselves in the form of suppression, repression and avoidance. This comes under the heading of pushing something away, doesn’t it? I know for me, whenever I find myself needing to “push” something away, I’m seething inside. We may not be digging our claws into someone else directly, but we sure are pointing some aggression towards ourselves. This in turn can lead to low self-esteem, self-hatred and loathing, and eventually depression. We’re not doing ourselves any good at all to pretend we don’t feel these negative feelings — they are still there even if we’re pretending they’re not.

Well, this is turning into a a need to write more about it in the next blog post. This one is getting long enough for this week. Now, I need to go meditate!

In the meantime ….

Metta ….May all beings be well and happy. May all beings live in safety. May all beings be healthy and strong. May all beings live with ease.

Namaste — Be in Peace.

Ron Rink

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Just click the links that are sort of Grey in color to take you to where you can learn more about each book and how you can purchase a copy for your own library.

Anam Thubten — No Self – No Problem

No Self – No Problem
shows how to realize the ultimate meaning of life in each moment by dissolving all notions of ego-identity. It asks that spiritual seekers wake up to their true nature, which is already enlightened. Based on Buddhist wisdom traditions, this easy-to-read book discusses in simple, but profound and inspiring language, how we can live a life full of love, satisfaction, and happiness. No Self – No Problem

Sharon Salzberg — The Kindness Handbook

“It takes boldness, even audacity, to step out of our habitual patterns and experiment with a quality like kindness–to work with it and see just how it might shift and open up our lives. This book is an invitation to do just that. — From The Kindness Handbook