Recently I became angry at people, but since the anger bothered me so much, I started reading from one of my favorite books: The Dali Lama’s Little Book of Inner Peace. You can find the book on my shelf marked up, but here are some passages related to anger that I recommend you read when you feel angry.
“If I were to develop feelings of vindictiveness, anger, or hatred towards the Chinese, who would be the loser? I would, because I would thereby lose my own peace of mind, my sleep, and my appetite. At the same time, my bitterness would not affect the Chinese in the least. If I became extremely upset, that would also prevent me from making those around me happy.”
“All the great personalities of history, the liberators, the great thinkers, all such people reflect positive thinking; where as tragic events, tyranny, and terrible wars have resulted from negative thinking. Therefore the only thing that is really worthwhile is to increase the power and influence of positive thinking, and to reduce the occurrence of negative thinking. If you let anger and hatred run loose, you are lost. And no sensible human being wants to get lost.”
“It seems to me that you were living in a constant state of tension, in an atmosphere of never ending competitiveness and fear. And those who are brought up in such an atmosphere will find themselves lacking all their lives: they will not know that wonderful quality of depth and intimacy that is the richness of life. They will stay on the surface of the troubled sea without ever knowing the calm that lies beneath.”
“Without basic human qualities such as love, compassion, and kindness, we cannot survive. They are essential to our own peace and mental stability.”
“One of the things that meditation shows us is that the sense of peace already exists within us. We all have a deep desire for it even if it is often hidden, masked, thwarted. Aggression, too, is an intimate part of ourselves. That is precisely why there is a struggle. But our true nature is peaceful. That is why Buddha Shakyamuni advised us to search deeply within, because that is how we finally satisfy our craving for peace.”
“Ignorance, anger, attachment, and pride are the ultimate enemies; they are not outside, but within, and must be fought with the weapons of wisdom and meditative concentration.”
“There is a Tibetan story about a pilgrim who was walking around the temple one day, when he came across a man sitting in meditation. He asked him what he was doing, and the meditator replied, “I am practicing patience.” On hearing this, the Pilgrim hurled insults at him, and immediately the other man became angry. His reaction showed that his practice of patients was only a theoretical.”
“Who am I?, What is the nature of my mind?, What advantage is there in cultivating kind thoughts?, What can we gain from harmful thoughts? Never stop asking yourself these questions. Reflecting on these points will show you just how much of a spoilsport your mind is, and how necessary it is to tame it.”
“The main reason that people inflict suffering on others is that they do not understand the true nature of happiness. They think that others pain will in someway bring about their own happiness, or that their own happiness is more important than that of others, regardless of any suffering incurred in the process of securing it. In the long run, causing others to suffer and trampling on their rights to a peaceful and happy existence only lead to one’s own anxiety, fear, and doubt.”
Love,
Dad
P.S. Consider purchasing a copy of the book for yourself here.
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