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Anger, Action & Karma
Samuel Thadeus Short
Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom. — The Buddha
Most of us experience anger in some form or other almost every day. Anger is a negative emotion; it can cause violence, it can ruin relationships, it can lead to serious illnesses and it is known to kill. Yet, few make the effort to try and overcome this emotion. So anger continues to affect millions worldwide.
It is important to first admit the fact to ourselves that yes, we do lose our temper now and then, especially when under stress. That is the first step to help us overcome the emotion. After an angry outburst, we either regret it or try and justify it. Strangely, though, most of us somehow manage to rein in the urge to express anger when we know it could lead to a disastrous situation like losing a job, relative or friend. Whether we are angry with someone or someone is angry with us, each outburst takes its toll on both parties. Recently, metros have witnessed the horrors of road rage, where stress and vexation have led to violence and even killings.
Blaming ourselves when we get angry is not going to be of much help in the long run. What is helpful is to gain a clearer understanding of how anger comes about. Getting angry is like having a malfunctioning engine. The mind is like the engine of the body, which can be compared to the chassis of the car we drive. But the sad fact is that most of us know a lot more about our car engine than we do about our own minds.
We don’t even have the slightest idea of where the ignition switch of the mind is located. As a result, the engine goes on cranking out thoughts of every description throughout the day and throughout the long night in dreams. Worry and resentment and anger use up enormous quantities of vitality. It’s like leaving our car idling in the garage all night long; in the morning when we need to get to work, we have to push it down the road.
What we need to do is learn how to slow down the mind, and eventually to park it at the side of the road when travel isn’t necessary. Then we will have all the vitality, all the fuel, we need when we want to reach a worthwhile destination.
The Hindu and Buddhist scriptures give us the same truth in what is called the law of karma, which is the psychological equivalent to the physical law that every action has a reaction equal and opposite to it. The Buddha says we can fly higher than the heavens or hide in the depths of the earth, but we will not be able to escape the consequences of our actions. Though we drive to another city or fly to another country, though we change our job or our name, our mistakes will pursue us wherever we go.
Once Buddha was sitting on the bank of a river and a man came and spat at him. Enraged, Buddha'sdisciples sought his permission to punish the insolent intruder. Gently wiping his face the Buddha thanked the man for giving him the opportunity to test if anger could overpower him. Buddha requested him to come again whenever he had an urge to spit.
Once Buddha was sitting on the bank of a river and a man came and spat at him. Enraged, Buddha'sdisciples sought his permission to punish the insolent intruder. Gently wiping his face the Buddha thanked the man for giving him the opportunity to test if anger could overpower him. Buddha requested him to come again whenever he had an urge to spit.
Paradoxically, the only way we can begin to escape from the consequences of our actions is to stop running from them and to face them with fortitude. In this sense, every difficult situation is a precious opportunity. When we find ourselves in some situation where we always make the same mistake, if we can manage not to make that mistake, the chain can be broken. Often, if we face it squarely, that situation will not come up again. ♦
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Samuel Short
Samuel Thadeus Short is co-coordinator of the Antesian Prayer Team, the Antesian Road To Enlightenment and publisher of the Antesian Letter Newsletter. The Antesian Prayer Team is a free service of over a hundred healers and prayer supporters who support the prayer and healing concerns of those requesting assistance through distance healing. The team receives a list of people requesting help and each healer and prayer supporter member of the team attends to the request in their own way. Some use disciplines such as Reiki, and Johrei while others use the power of prayer. E-mail: antesian@sbcglobal.net or visit antesianprayerteam.org
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