Via The Tricycle Community \\\ Three Teachings on Anger

 

Support the Tricycle community with a donation » February 26, 2026 Anger Begets Anger   You know it when you feel it but by then it’s usually too late. Anger can erupt suddenly or build slowly, but either way it’s a familiar emotion that feeds on itself, gaining strength and momentum the more we indulge or give in to it. In Buddhism, it’s one of the three poisons—along with greed and delusion—that keeps us mired in samsara, the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. According to eighth-century Indian Buddhist philosopher Shantideva, anger is never a good thing: neither useful nor justified. In The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicaryavatara), Shantideva famously says: “If there is a remedy, then what is the use of irritation? If there is no remedy, then what is the use of irritation?” (BCA 6.10, trans. V. Wallace and A. Wallace).  Expanding on this, Shantideva and other Buddhist teachers advise examining the causes of anger to defuse it, in the moment if possible but also after the fact to help inform how we might respond in the future. Importantly, anger takes many shapes—subtle or explosive—and has complex causes. Precise analysis can help us respond more effectively and cultivate compassion because, as scholar Allison Aitken says, parphrasing Shantideva, “whatever anger promises to do for us, compassion can do better.” This week’s Three Teachings collects perspectives on and offers practical advice for dealing with anger, before, after, and when it arises. Forward today's teachings to a friend » What’s Wrong with Anger? By Allison Aitken Scholar Allison Aitken explains Shantideva’s view of anger and how he would argue that justice does not require, or benefit in any way, from this destructive emotion. She points out that although we may feel that divisiveness is at an all-time high, tribalism is nothing new. “Yet it is for this very reason that looking to the Buddhist text tradition on timeless problems such as destructive anger may offer valuable resources for healing contemporary divisions,” she says. Read more » The Enemy Within By the Dalai Lama His Holiness the Dalai Lama reflects on his personal experience with anger and Shantideva’s teachings, concluding that the real problem lies within. “A person gripped by such states of mind and emotion is like a blind person, who cannot see where he is going,” he says.  Read more » The Ninth Precept: Not Being Angry By Nancy Mujo Baker Roshi Nancy Mujo Baker, a Zen teacher and professor, reiterates the importance of getting to know our anger in all its specificity, and reminds us not to judge ourselves. She then offers a practice that’s personal and precise. Read more » Follow Us

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