Anger; bitter poison we choose to drink

Sometimes our biggest motivator is anger. We go great distances, we do unspeakable acts because of the anger that drives us to depths we wouldn't have thought possible. Look at provocation. We often use this defense as an excuse to do certain things, to hurt people. We say things at the spur of the moment, things we soon end up regretting.

Recently, while in morning office traffic, a motorbike driver tried to creep to the other side of the road. He cut across traffic, right in front of a bus. Of course, the bus hit his leg slightly. The bike rider then parked his bike right in front of the bus, ran across the road to this building, and ran back with a long pole. His obvious intention was to either beat the bus or the bus driver.

This was at around 7.30 when the stress and pressure of the day is yet to get to one. And yet, this man showed a level of anger I have never seen before. What would he have done if he had been knocked down? Or if the bus had run over his leg?

How angry are people today? You hear of so many cases of murder, rape, theft, assault, abuse. The stories of many point towards vengeance. We are so bent on taking an eye for an eye that we are forgetting that to err is human. And thus forgiveness must also be a human quality. Instead, we choose to harm, to kill, to hurt.

While shopping for groceries, I overheard a child ask his mother if she would hit him. Clearly, she had threatened to hit him. The boy was maybe five or six and was clearly distressed about the threat. The mother said she would hit him, then changing her mind, said she wouldn't. In a voice so full of hurt and confusion, the boy asked, "then why did you say you will hit me? Are you sure you won't?" Children can be annoying. They misbehave. It's difficult to control them. And while I can't judge the parenting methods of a mother or father, this kid had clearly received quite a few beatings. Something in his voice said it. While there are sadistic parents who, for no reason, beat their kids, most parents do so at the spur of the moment. They don't think too much about it, and just slap a kid. Later, they feel bad, and shower the kid with love. And yet, to be capable of such actions? Of so much anger? There's clearly something wrong with us all.

Buddhism is a religion that talks about loving kindness. Today, there are very few Buddhists. And yet, those who call them selves Buddhists, fight for Buddhism, and boast about how religious they are, well, none of them follow what the Buddha preached. I doubt they are even away of the teachings of the Buddha. Forget the eight fold path or attaining nirvana. Forget conquering your mind. Think about the first lesson we are all taught. That of loving kindness. When you backstab someone, throw blows at them, there is no loving kindness. When you seek revenge or carry around this ball of burning anger and hatred, there is no loving kindness in you.

It is said the Buddha had a very pleasant face. One would look at him and know right then that this was a man who knew something the world didn't. He looked kind and caring, he looked content, because there was no hate or anger in his heart.

And why do we always wear a frown? Why do we look ten years older? Because we are always so angry. We are so easily angered and we go looking for fights. From our youngest days we are told to fight for what is ours, we are told to fight for a kind of justice we have defined. Small boys are given toy guns. They are taught to shoot from their youngest days. Movies contain so much violence, it's shocking we are still at least slightly sane.

Why can't we be happy instead? Why can't we smile and laugh and love and care? It's not difficult. It's not impossible.


Why make the world an ugly place when we can make it beautiful instead?