Anger and Buddhism

Anger has been the worst enemies of mankind. Even Buddhist people are not exceptions. We all are human beings and it is obvious for a human being to get angry as it is a part of human expressions.

Anger is one of the worst poisons that mankind saw. Buddha says that we need to purify ourselves to get out of anger. Further, in Buddhism there is no such thing as “righteous” or “justifiable” anger.

Sometimes the teachers of mind control get angry. This shows that anger is part of human beings and it is a realistic truth. So after learning that you are prone to anger, what is the possible way taught by Buddhism to get rid of anger?

You might have come across people who are angry but say that they are not angry. Some people lie that they are not angry. This way they are caught up in a situation where they are confused what to do.

Buddhism is all about mindfulness and tactics to be cool even in the worst of situations. When you find that you are about to get angry do not suppress it or resist it try to accept that you are angry. Till you do not accept a weakness in you, you won’t be able to find a solution for it. We should observe our anger and realize what causes anger to us. Buddhism believes that you should be truthful to at least yourself to know yourself better.

What all things make you angry?

Anger is self created thing it does not come out of others body. It comes from within you. We tend to think that anger is caused by something outside ourselves, such as other people or frustrating events. “No one makes you angry. You make yourself angry.”

Buddhism teaches us that anger is created by mind. However, when you are dealing with your own anger, you should be more specific. Anger challenges us to look deeply into ourselves. Most of the time, anger is self-defensive. It arises from unresolved fears or when our ego-buttons are pushed.

As Buddhists we recognize that ego, fear and anger are insubstantial and ephemeral, not “real.” They’re ghosts, in a sense. Allowing anger to control our actions amounts to being bossed around by ghosts.

Anger Is Self-Indulgent

Anger is unpleasant but seductive. “There's something delicious about finding fault with something,” she said. Especially when our egos are involved (which is nearly always the case), we may protect our anger. We justify it and even feed it.

Buddhism teaches that anger is never justified, however. Our practice is to cultivate a loving kindness toward all beings that is free of selfish attachment. “All beings” includes the guy who just cut you off at the exit ramp, the co-worker who takes credit for your ideas, and even someone close and trusted who betrays you.

For this reason, when we become angry we must take great care not to act on our anger to hurt others. We must also take care not to hang on to our anger and give it a place to live and grow.

How to throw away anger?

You have acknowledged your anger, and you have examined yourself to understand what caused the anger to arise. Yet you are still angry. What’s next?

Patience means waiting to act or speak until you can do so without causing harm. “Patience has a quality of enormous honesty in it,” she said. “It also has a quality of not escalating things, allowing a lot of space for the other person to speak, for the other person to express themselves, while you don’t react, even though inside you are reacting.”

If you have a meditation practice, this is the time to put it to work. Sit still with the heat and tension of anger. Quiet the internal chatter of other-blame and self-blame. Acknowledge the anger and enter into it entirely. Embrace your anger with patience and compassion for all beings, including yourself.

Don’t Feed Anger

It’s hard not to act, to remain still and silent while our emotions are screaming at us. Anger fills us with edgy energy and makes us want to do something. Pop psychology tells us to pound our fists into pillows or to scream at the walls to “work out” our anger.

“When you express your anger you think that you are getting anger out of your system, but that's not true,” he said. “When you express your anger, either verbally or with physical violence, you are feeding the seed of anger, and it becomes stronger in you.” Only understanding and compassion can neutralize anger.

Compassion Takes Courage

Sometimes we confuse aggression with strength and non-action with weakness. Buddhism teaches that just the opposite is true.

Giving in to the impulses of anger, allowing anger to hook us and jerk us around, is weakness. On the other hand, it takes strength to acknowledge the fear and selfishness in which our anger usually is rooted. It also takes discipline to meditate in the flames of anger.

The Buddha said, “Conquer anger by non-anger. Conquer evil by good. Conquer miserliness by liberality. Conquer a liar by truthfulness.” (Dhammapada, v. 233) Working with ourselves and others and our lives in this way is Buddhism.