By KM Huber
When we get to the bottom of any emotion we are feeling, even anger, we discover a wakeful energy free of drama, unattached to any situation. We have reached the well of compassion into which all emotion empties eventually. No longer do we thirst for we drink what we once found undrinkable.
It is a story we relive all our lives.
Immersed in our own drama, we exhibit behaviors to hide the heart of our anger. It is only when we strip away the story we have told ourselves—whether it has been for years or only for moments—do we discover the core of our anger. Once revealed, we empty ourselves, slaking our thirst with a cup of compassion.
There is a story about the Buddha and an angry, young man. The Buddha was walking through a village and was approached by a young man who began screaming at the Buddha. He taunted the Buddha, calling him stupid and a fake. The young man declared the Buddha had no right to teach anybody anything. What could he possibly know?
The Buddha listened to all of the young man’s anger before asking him a question. “’Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belong?’”*
The question was not what the young man expected, and he readily replied, “’It would belong to me, because I bought the gift.’*
“The Buddha smiled and said, `That is correct. And it is exactly the same with your anger. If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, then the anger falls back on you. You are then the only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have done is hurt yourself.’”*
That the Buddha did not react to the young man is anticipated yet in not accepting one gift, the Buddha offered another, the compassionate response: “`If you want to stop hurting yourself, you must get rid of your anger and become loving instead. When you hate others, you yourself become unhappy. But when you love others, everyone is happy.’”*
The story ends with the young man giving up his anger and deciding to walk with the Buddha. Stories are illustrative, sometimes metaphorical, but always they enrich our lives with what is possible. Compassion is always an option, which is not to say it is an easy response. Anger confines, love expands—the choice is ours.
Anger is not easily eschewed either, whether it comes from within or whether it is offered to us. Like love, anger has survived and evolved with us. As Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche observed, “Meeting anger with anger is like following a lunatic who jumps off a cliff. Do I have to go likewise? While it’s crazy for him to act the way he does, it’s even crazier for me to do the same.”**
In the 21st century, opportunities abound as daily we crisscross our planet and the paths of others. Each meeting is an opportunity to drink a cup of compassion or to go crazy with the craziness.
*Buddha and the Angry Young Man
*******************************
KM Huber is a writer who learned Zen from a beagle. She believes the moment is all we ever have, and it is enough. In her early life as a hippie, she practiced poetry, and although her middle years were a bit of a muddle, she remains an overtly optimistic sexagenerian, writing prose. She blogs at kmhubersblog.com, may be followed on Twitter or contacted by email at writetotheranch[at]gmail[dot]com.
© 2014 KM Huber. All content on this page is protected by copyright. If you would like to use any part of this, please contact me at the above links to request permission.
