The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

4 August 2024

Question:  If someone makes me angry, what do I have to do with this anger? Do I try to change this anger by just observing it or do I have to get rid of it?

Than Ajahn:  Do any way you can. If you don’t know how to do it, the Buddha said that there are several ways that you can do. The first way is to radiate mettā to that person who makes you angry. Mettā means kindness toward others.

The way to show kindness to the person who makes you angry is to forgive that person.

You forgive that person: ‘averā hontu.’ The first way of showing mettā is ‘averā hontu,’ not pursuing any revenge upon that person, forgive that person.

In order to forgive that person, you have to look at that person like an infant (a baby).

If you look at a person like an infant, then you don’t get angry at that person because infants don’t know what they are doing. 

That person might be an infant in his mind. Even though the body of that person might be an old person, but that person’s mind could still be an infant. 

Hence, if a person does something wrong toward other people, it means the mind of that person is like the mind of an infant because if his mind is the mind of a grown up, the mind knows what to do and what not to do. This is one way to stop your anger: just look at the person who makes you angry like an infant, and then you can forgive that person.

The second way is to look at the cause of your anger. 

The cause of your anger is your own desire, the desire not to let somebody does something to you. When a person does something to you that you don’t want him to do, you get angry. 

You should stop this desire. Just make your mind neutral. Make your mind has no desire and accept everything that anybody wants to do to you. If you can do this, you will never get angry with anybody.

Or, you stop your desire from wanting somebody to do something for you. When you want someone to do something and he doesn’t do it, you can get angry at him too: this is also desire. If you can get rid of those desires and take things as they come, then you will never get angry.

The reason why you get angry usually is because you want something or you don’t want to face something. 

When you don’t get what you want, you get angry. 

When you don’t want to face something, but you have to do it, you get angry. So, stop your desires: this is the ultimate way of getting rid of your anger.

Layperson:  To stop our desire, we have to be mindful.

Than Ajahn:  Right. You need mindfulness; you need wisdom; you need samadhi.

You have to develop them.

This is the ultimate way of getting rid of your anger. 

The noble ones, the ones who attain the fourth stage of enlightenment, can get rid of anger. The ones who attain the other three level of enlightenment still have some anger in them because they still have some forms of desires. 

Only the Buddhas and the Arahants have no anger because they don’t expect anything from anybody. 

They can take things as they come, good or bad, so they’ll never get angry. They look at everybody like infants, therefore they don’t expect anything from anybody.

“Dhamma in English, Mar 15, 2019.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com

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