Anger
anger
[瞋恚・瞋] (Skt dvesha; Pali dosa; Jpn shinni or shin )
In Buddhism, one of the three poisons, or three sources of vice and suffering, the other two being greed and foolishness. In Buddhism, anger refers particularly to malice born of hatred and is regarded as a great obstacle to Buddhist practice. It is seen as preventing one's heart from turning to goodness and as destroying the good roots of benefit accumulated through Buddhist practice. T'ient'ai (538-597) says in The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra, "Because anger increases in intensity, armed strife occurs." Buddhism emphasizes the practice of compassion and forbearance.
Anger ('''Kodha''') is the Feeling of negativity experienced when one’s desires are frustrated. The Buddha said that because of anger’s ability to churn up the Mind, it is one of the most destructive of all human emotions. In the Saundrānandakāvya, Aśvaghoṣa says, ‘Another person in this World may not be harmed by a Mind of hateful intentions, but the person with such a Mind is burned up immediately. Therefore, you should choose Love and Compassion towards all living creatures, rather than hatred and aggression.’
Buddhist psychology recognizes numerous expressions and intensities of anger – mild irritation, annoyance, bad-temperedness, exasperation, fury, resentment, umbrage, etc, and offers a wide variety of techniques to deal with it. It is, of course, necessary to hold anger in check, but beyond that one has to deal with its roots. There is a strong relationship between anger and desire – the stronger our desire, the angrier we get when that desire is frustrated. Thus, the first step in coming to terms with anger is modifying desires. Anger will, however, only be completely eliminated when the ego or sense of self is understood.
See also dvesha.
Curbing Anger, Spreading Love, Bhikkhu Visuddhacara,1992.
