What do we do with anger?
A teaching from Sri Swami Nityananda Giri
Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash
You get to choose how to respond
The Yoga Vasistha says that as long as there are sesame seeds, there will be sesame oil. As long as there is a body, there will be moods. We can never assume it’s going to be completely easy and as comfortable as if we’re lying on our back in the grass in moments of perfect unity and connection.
Growing up some of us learned quickly to suppress anger, to zip it and not express anything except smiles and politeness. Suppressing anger creates a coiled spring that eventually comes bouncing up, expressing quite awkwardly. Neither do we want to be burned by anger. If we allow ourselves to be wrathful, the Buddha teaches, we become like a log from the pyre, burnt from both ends and befouled in the middle, unfit to be of service in a fire in the village, unfit to stand in the forest as timber.
Come back to the Buddha’s teachings
If you look back just five minutes ago when you were feeling anger, or into the distant past, you can reflect, “What was I doing giving way to that contorted mask of rage? Why was I allowing myself to express myself in such an unskillful manner?”
Come back to the Buddha’s teachings. He says you will encounter people who are harmful, unskillful, harsh, cruel, and unkind. You get to choose how to respond. You can respond, “I shall be harmless.” Be so open that there’s no inside of you and there’s no outside of you. Even if someone directs arrows of anger toward you, there’s nowhere for the anger to lodge in you. You’re as wide and clear as the sky.
If you ever find that you unintentionally have allowed yourself to take and hold on to some of those energy darts, let them go. The Buddha says if you keep holding on to the beliefs, he beat me, he abused me, he reviled me, he robbed me, you will never clear yourself of enmity.
“The Buddha says if you keep holding on to the beliefs, he beat me, he abused me, he reviled me, he robbed me, you will never clear yourself of enmity.”
Unless we want to burn ourselves, we get to stop rehearsing it, to stop reciting it. Yes, the harm happened. Others may be harmful. I shall be harmless. He’s saying we get to transmute it and transform it.
No one can do this for us except us.
It does get easier
Practice, practice, practice. You become steady and then you gradually establish yourself in equilibrium. It does get easier as you go, even if it takes a million times.
I shall be harmless.
I shall be harmless.
I shall be harmless.
This is my choice.
This is my intention.
This is my vow.
There is nothing that can sway me if I give myself to that commitment.
With that practice we build our lives upon a rock so that when the rains come we’re not built on sand and we don’t wash away. That’s how we’re always in God’s house. We’re giving ourselves strength, steadiness, and opportunity to always come from stillness, non-harming, non-anger.
Thich Nhat Hanh says, “It only takes one calm person in the boat to keep it from sinking in a storm.” We can be the one calm person in the boat. Another way to play with this is to ask, “Can I be the calmest person in the room, in my family, in the waiting room, on the negotiating team?” It’s a wonderful, playful challenge to set for yourself.
An energy clearing technique
Here is an energy clearing technique to practice at least twice a day.
When you wash your hands, visualize any static energy, any anger, going down the drain.
When you take a shower, visualize that a shower of light pours over you and down you.
When you take a bath, visualize that you’re immersed in a pool of light and it washes away anything that you’re ready to clear.
Allow light to sweep through your conscious and your subconscious mind. You’re allowing light to transform and heal anything that is ready to be healed, even what you haven’t been able to see with conscious awareness. This practice combines compassion with the practical wisdom of the body.
Remember, wherever there are sesame seeds there will be sesame oil. As long as there is a body, there will be moods. May we always respond to our moods and everyone else’s with the unveiled light of unconditional illumination.
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If you are interested in learning more about what to do with anger, there is a wealth of information available online about the teachings of yoga philosophy, Advaita Vedanta, and the mystical teachings of Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, Zen, Hinduism, and Judaism. You are also invited to discover these teachings through Awake Yoga Meditation’s offerings. Based on your interest in this article, you may also enjoy:
Listening to our podcast episode: Handling Anger, Fear, and Hatred in Divisive Times
Taking our 21-day yogic breath and meditation eCourse Heart of Transformation
Attending one of our live meditations on Tuesday, Friday, or Sunday
Joining our free eYogi Community
You are also always invited to schedule a private, personal, spiritual conference with Swami Nityananda whether you are completely new to the study of yoga philosophy and meditation or one who is seeking to deepen your practice.