Hello everyone,
Yesterday on the chat, we started a topic about anger.
We have all felt that at one point or another.
Since each person is unique, we therefore react differently, as our paths are different, as is our life experience. Without judgment, I invite you to read this...
Your comments are welcome
Thinking: “I am the mind” is delusion. Knowing that the mind is merely a mechanism, just as the body is a mechanism, knowing that the mind is separate…. Night falls, morning comes, you do not identify with the night; you do not say: “I am the night,” you do not say: “I am the morning.” Night comes, morning comes, day comes and then night again, the wheel turns ceaselessly but you are aware that you are not that.
It is the same with the mind; anger comes, but you forget, and you become anger. Greed comes, you forget, and you become greed; hatred comes, you forget, and you become hatred; that is what ignorance is.
To be conscious is to observe that the mind is full of greed, full of anger, full of hatred, or full of desire, but you are merely the observer. You can see greed arise, become a big black cloud, and then dissipate, while you remain unaffected. How long can it last? Your anger is transient, your greed is transient, your desire is transient. Observe for a moment and you will be surprised; it comes and goes, and you remain there, unaffected, peaceful, calm.
A Zen disciple came to see Bankei and said, “Master, I have a hot temper; how can I cure it?”
“Show me that,” said Bankei, “it’s fascinating.”
"I can't show it to you," the disciple replied, "I'm not angry right now."
“Alright,” said Bankei, “then come back when you’re angry again.”
"But that's impossible," the disciple explained, "it bursts suddenly and will certainly have subsided before I can show it to you."
"In that case," Bankei declared, "it is not part of your true nature, otherwise you could show it to me at any time. At birth, you did not feel anger, so it must have come from outside. I suggest that every time you feel anger rising, you beat yourself with sticks until it can no longer stand and runs away."
Even when anger is present, if you suddenly become aware, it will disappear. Try it! In the midst of a wave of anger, when you are seething and could kill, become the witness of the scene and you will feel that something has changed, an inner gear shift; you can even feel the click, and your deep center has relaxed. It will probably take a moment before your outward appearance calms down, but the inner being is already at ease. The cooperation is broken… you are no longer identified. Your body will take some time to settle, but at the center, in the depths, all is calm.
Vigilance is necessary, not condemnation, and spontaneously, through vigilance, transformation takes place. If you become aware of your anger, understanding arises; simply by observing, without judgment, without any notion of good or bad, just by observing in your inner sky. There are flashes of lightning, anger, you are burning, your entire nervous system is agitated and trembling, your whole body shivers; a moment of extraordinary beauty. For when the energy is flowing, it is easy to observe; when it is not flowing, it is impossible. Close your eyes and meditate on this. Do not struggle, just observe what is happening; the sky full of electricity, so many flashes of lightning, so much beauty! Lie down on the ground, look at the sky, and observe. Do the same thing inside. Someone has insulted you, someone has mocked you, someone has said this or that... many clouds, dark clouds in the inner sky, many flashes of lightning... Observe!
It is a magnificent and terrible spectacle because you do not understand it. It is mysterious, and if the mystery is not understood, you are afraid of it. Every time a mystery is understood, it becomes grace, a gift, because now you have the key, and with the keys, you are the master.
Copyright © 2008 Osho International Foundation
Friendship
Marie
