When we attack someone who wins? Does the winner really win? Attacking is like a mental poison. It creates a short circuit, reinforcing negative behaviour. From an economic point of view, limited resources of time, energy, and money are consumed. On what? So much potential is absorbed in defending an idea. How is this “winning”?
Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. The Buddha (thanks Marcus)
What causes us to attack? We shrink into our mind, we cling to Ego, getting trapped and isolated from others. We lose sight of anything different to our mode of thought. We are unable to see any other perspective. Millions have died for arbitrarily drawn lines on maps. Instead of accepting diversity and differences, we are shut down, limited to one view point.
Becoming Free
Ryushin Osho in a dharma talk suggests this: when we get angry, go outside, take a few breaths and look to the stars. Why? When we look to the stars we realise how small we are, and how silly clinging to a single idea or difference is. Every idea, all perspectives, every conversation, is just one dot blinking in the sky. We stand so high and mighty, isolated and trapped, yet the blinking lights in the sky remind us that it’s all so meaningless. That the little voice in our head whispering HOW important this idea is, is just that, really little.
By looking to the stars we begin feeling in our bodies the boundlessness of life. We feel the unlimited reality. The stars anchor us to reality, and help us expand. We loosen the grip on our ideas. We begin seeing that differences are just as true, simply from another point of view. With ideas and differences, there’s plenty of space for all.
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Also, Happy Vesak Day to all readers. Vesak Day is the celebration of the Historical Buddha’s Birth, Enlightenment, and Death.
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Hi Wade,
I agree with everything you say in this post.
I wonder about times when our lives are threatened though. I think anger can be useful then to organise our energy. I also think that it is a good signal that something important is going on (whether we use the energy to attack is another question).
I also think it can be useful energy to attack ideas – take them apart and sort the wheat from the chaff.
So often nature provides an opportunity to understand and embrace the middle way.
Finding skillful means to see anger in context & then let go of it are wonderful Dharma tools. I like Ryushin Osho’s idea of looking to the stars to expand one’s range of consciousness & see anger from a universal perspective. (Of course, if its daytime or cloudy, this becomes somewhat difficult, but then we could equally look at the expanse of the sky or a city. Gazing across a city and realizing that there’s thousands or millions of others with their anger too can be an interesting reflection!)
Seeing anger in its mental context can help us to let go of it also. If we see the space that precedes, ‘surrounds’ & follows such thinking we can see that it is an object in awareness & that we can attach associate with it or view with equanimity. We can see that it is empty of any true individual being – just as ‘we’ are – and that there’s actually nothing substantial there to cling to. All of this takes time & effort, of course.
Nice post, Wade.
G at ‘Buddha Space’.
http://buddhaspace.blogspot.com
Namaste, and I hope you had an enlightening Vesak Day Wade,
This post of yours reminds me of one of my own personal ‘demons’ in suffering. My personality, that little voice in my head, largely inherited from my father, is one who seems to enjoy voicing negative emotions at the expense of others through teasing and poking fun.
While I continue to study and do my best to live with true Buddha-nature, this demon is the one who causes me the most suffering and to live with the most regret in things said or done. Your post reminds me to work harder to quell that little voice before I attack primarily because I am harming myself more than anyone else.
The most important thing for me is to remain mindful, in the present moment, and to remember that karma is a very powerful thing.
I sense we are each winning a ll the time. Its simply that different human beings permit their ego to step in and redefine “winning” as something they don’t have and experience rather than thing they already do.
Ditto Wade!
If you are in hell, all you can give is hell. You cannot love anyone else until you love yourself first. To be happy, don’t judge yourself. Perfection is already here.
xo
T
@Evan, It’s nice to see you agreeing from time to time. Agree with you too, that the energy from Anger can be a sign post to look deeper about what’s going on. In my life when I find myself getting angry, I try pay more and more attention about what’s going on. I use my anger to make me more aware. Obviously I try not to repress my anger, but try to understand it.
@Karen, thank you for your comment.
@Gary, I’m sure there was an example of day time universal given. I think initially it was said as look to the sky. I like the image of stars, personally. Like I was saying to Evan above, seeing anger is very helpful to see what’s going on. Very interesting idea of looking across the city. I sat with this at lunch today, looking at http://is.gd/mMK. Was amazing. Thank you for suggesting.
Congrats again on getting Buddha Space up and going, I’ve enjoyed both your posts so far and look forward to what’s coming up.
@Seedoubleyou, Namaste, thank you, I hope you had an enlightening Vesak Day too. Yes, we hurt ourselves. Like I was saying with Gary and Evan, we can use the anger to see where it’s coming from when we feel it rise. And then let it go like the hot coal. No resistances, no desires, accepting and working with what’s present.
@Liara, that’s a very different and honest view of things. If only we could live this reality.
@Terry, Thanks
Right on, keep up the good work.
May all beings be blessed by the Dharma.
Gassho,
Wade
Wade, you can live any reality you choose. Every human being has free will. Each day when you open your eyes, you make choices about being happy (or not) and why. It is pinpointing the why that leads you to infinite wisdom.