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All of us feel anger and hatred from time to time. Eastern meditation and mindfulness techniques can help us mange and transform our anger so that the energy contained in
the anger benefits us instead of spreading misery in others and ourselves.
It is important to note that although anger causes us pain we should not reject it or
disown it. Suppose your stomach or legs or some other part of your body grew diseased
and caused you pain. Would you for that reason try to get rid of your stomach or your
legs? Of course you would not. Anger can be transformed and the energy contained in it
can be of much use to us. The story is told of Angulimala - a famous dacoit who had
murdered 999 people. Yet a meeting with the Buddha changed him and transformed
the anger within him. If a legendary dacoit can transform his anger then surely so can
we.
Think of your anger, as a farmer would regard organic fertilizer. A farmer with garbage
and organic waste knows that he can use it to grow nutritious fruits and vegetables. So
also we can use the anger within us to grow spiritually and become awakened.
We can care for and transform our anger the way a mother cares for here baby - by
practicing mindfulness whenever we are angry. The effect mindfulness has on anger
can be compared with the way flowers respond to sunlight. At sunrise the rays from
the sun reach the flower. The photons contained in the sunrays penetrate the flower.
After 15 to 20 minutes the flower can no longer resist and she opens herself to the
sunrays.
In a similar manner we need to practice mindfulness at all times and especially
when we are angry. Observe the breath entering or leaving the body when you are
angry. At the same time observe the anger within you without judging or condemning or rejecting it in any way. After some minutes the anger will open itself to you and fade
away. The cause of the anger will be revealed and the energy contained in the anger
will be available for your use.
Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese poet and Zen Buddhist master, says that we need
to care for our anger the way a mother cares for her newborn baby. The mother may
be cooking in the kitchen and yet the moment the baby cries out she immediately goes
to see what is wrong. Because she is a skillful mother she soon finds out what is wrong
- whether it is that the baby is hungry or the nappy is too tight or whatever may be the
case. In the same way the moment we fell angry we need to care for it by practicing mindfulness. We can observe the breath. We can go out for a walk and make the act of
walking our meditation practice. Observe the sensations in the feet as they land on the
ground one after the other. At the same time observe your breath. You will soon know
how many steps you take for each in breath and out breath. Walk in this mindful manner
for 20 minutes to half an hour and your anger will open itself to you and be transformed.
Anger, left uncared for, spread a lot of pain and misery not only in ourselves but also in
other that we come in contact. There is a natural tendency to lash out at others when we
are angry and this has the result of spreading misery. If we practice transforming anger
through mindfulness we will not only be much happier and more peaceful ourselves but
we can also care for others and share our happiness and peace. In this way our meditation practice will help in making the world a better place.
Thich Nhat Hanh has written a very insightful book on this subject - Anger, Buddhist
wisdom for cooling the flames. Many effective ways of dealing with anger are explained.
I hope you enjoyed this article and hope that it will be useful to you.
Stay tuned for more.
For more articles in this series and a free report on the connection between
Eastern
Philosophy and Quantum Physics please visit Eastern Philosophy and Meditation
About the Author
Nikhil Gangoli is a keen student of Eastern Philosophies and Meditation
methods.
For concise and insightful descriptions of Zen, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism,
Confucius
and meditation techniques in the Eastern Tradition please visit http://eastern-philosophy-and-meditation.com
