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50 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS

taught, only love and compassion loving-kindness and compassion mettā habitually to rewire one’s
are the antidotes for anger. Holding is the process for this strategy in neural connections for empathy,
on to anger is like keeping the combating anger and its ill effects. acceptance and patience until they
wound fresh and open; you never become one’s second nature. These
give it the chance to heal. In order Then, there are the attempts at preventive measures should help to
to get rid of anger, we should digging deeper into the inner reduce the frequency and intensity
start cultivating compassion and mechanism of anger. This involves of angry outbursts.
understanding, and stop watering training in a natural outlook of
the seeds of anger, hatred, and impermanence of compounded Nonetheless, despite doing so, anger
aversion. phenomena and applying it to can still arise and this is when one
situations leading to anger. Further should use any of the methods listed
When you compose a letter or email still, training in the view of how above to deal with it.
with a mind of compassion and conditions governed by afflictions
forgiveness, you will feel a sense of are ultimately dissatisfactory in To facilitate (4) in AN 5.161 and (3)
freedom, even if the person you’re nature and again applying it to the in MN 20, one could engage oneself
sending the message hasn’t read situation at hand. Then there are in a hobby or challenging physical
them yet. And when the person the incrementally subtle mistaken activity (e.g. rock/wall climbing,
gets to read your letter or email, notions of “self” or “identity” stream hiking, vigorous workout in
he too will feel your kindness ingrained in our continuum that the gym). Activities that force one to
and compassion. Similarly, if you needs to be tackled and their pay attention to the 5 senses or the
speak harshly and with anger to corresponding notions of “no-self” so-called present moment will help
another person, both you and that cultivated and familiarized with. extract the mind from ruminating
person will experience a feeling of The rationale for applying these about past events that evoke anger.
unhappiness and a suffering mind. successive trainings is that all these This will temporarily give some
misperceptions have a role to play space for the mind to become
Geshe Dadul: Initially, one can train in fundamentally sustaining the composed so that when it reviews
in redirecting one’s attention from misinformed image we have of the the events later it can do so with
the object of anger to something object of one’s anger, and until one greater clarity and objectivity.
else, such as the breath, a calming trains in these correct perspectives
image, or external object, etc. and applies them, all other efforts However, when an immediate or
Having a practice in one-pointed may only manage to weaken or urgent response is required, the
concentration will greatly aid this undermine the afflictions, but will best thing to do is to remain silent
ability. So, training in this skill can not uproot them. and wait for the emotions to settle
come handy. by following any of the methods
If anger has already arisen, how mentioned above. Silence is golden
Next is training in the positive do we at least reduce its intensity because anything said or done in
opposite of anger, i.e. loving- so that it remains as a mental anger would be harmful somehow.
kindness, compassion, or patience thought that does not lead to If it is difficult to contain the anger
and apply that to the object of one’s aggression or violence? just by remaining silent, excuse
anger. Unlike the previous method, oneself and walk away politely.
where the emphasis was on placing Ayasma Aggacitta: As a prelude to
the mind single pointedly on a answering this question, I would Ven Min Wei: When anger arises,
chosen object of focus, here the like to suggest taking preventive we must be aware of it, and
process involves mental reasoning measures to reduce the chances of acknowledge its arising. Observe
and contemplation in garnering its arising first. For example, (a) the anger as a mental state, without
an anti-anger perspective towards avoid the circumstances that could directing it to the object that
the object and internalizing that. bring about anger, (b) prepare one’s causes the anger. We must train
Regular contemplation of the non-angry response in anticipation ourselves to observe and analyse
disadvantages of anger, on the one of an unavoidable situation that our emotions when we are angry. By
hand, and the benefits of patience, could lead to anger, and (c) cultivate constantly practising self-analysis,