Customer Reviews

Healing Anger: The Power of Patience from a Buddhist Perspective

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

By exegeting the 8th century C.E. "Bodhisattvacharyavatara," His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama demonstrates the powers of acceptance and tolerance to overcome such negative emotions as anger, resentment and jealousy. This is not another one of those awful "self-help" books. Rather, His Holiness presents a cogent discussion about the self-destructive qualities of anger, etc..., and appeals to our intellect to refrain from those emotions.

His Holiness' line of reasoning seems self-evident and simplistic until one observes normal, unpleasant, self-defeating human behavior in a typical traffic jam or family argument.

If you sometimes get unexpectedly caught in your anger, or other negative emotions, read this book. It might just be the tonic that will help to heal your spirit.

I have read several of the Dalai Lama' books and hve grown more fond of him with each book. In this book, His Holiness attempts to address the issue of anger. His main argument is based in the fact that anger can be remedied through patience. I find this to be true as anger is often rooted in impatience. The book sites Buddhist scripture to explain the reasoning behind the argument. In addition, His Holiness presents meditation sessions in the book. Even for those who are inexperienced in the meditation practices, the suggestions make the practice easy and practical. The meditation practices did help me address some of the anger in my life. As the Dalai Lama suggests, anger will not disappear. It takes time to work through anger. Anger is a powerful and destructive emotion. It is worth learning to control anger.

The only problem I have found in this book is that It tends to be a little hard to follow if you are unfamiliar with Buddhist scripture. The dialogue can also seem very long and drawn out at times. Overall, this book can be beneficial to those who seek its wisdom.

This book is essential reading for those like myself who have difficulty restraining their anger. Reading this book has allowed me to understand the causes that lead to anger and ultimately, to suffering. At it's deepest level, Healing Anger is about how to get oneself on the road to the cessation from suffering by changing one's outlook on the world and on oneself.

As the President of Arizona Teachings (ATI), which hosted and sponsored these teachings on patience in 1993 in Tucson, Arizona, it may be said that I am not completely objective about the contents of the book. With that caveat in mind I still feel comfortable in saying that His Holiness' teachings on patience, tolerance and anger are brilliantly done. The depth of knowlege of and compassion towards the subject make these teachings an indespensible tool for the serious student and those who wish to move deeply into their own self-awareness and investigation of their shadows.

Snow Lion Publications is a landmark when it comes to Buddhist literature, up there with Wisdom Books and Shambhala Publications. The Dalai Lama faces the issues of our times in this book; for we live in times of so much violence and anger in various situations, not just "global." We encounter them in our family life, in our work life, et cetera. Everywhere we go, this matter seems to pop right up! As you might expect, the practice out of this the Dalai Lama prescribes is the cultivation of compassion; cultivating patience. Patience, His Holiness points out, permits us to mindfully and calmly accept hardship, thus enabling us to see things as they are unclouded.

In here you find an old text from the 11th century which is quite important to Tibet known as the "Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life" by Shantideva. The Dalai Lama uses this text as his entire groundwork for explaining the practice and place of patience in our lives, if of course, we are aspiring and actualizing our life as a bodhisattva. Also a good book on this subject is "Anger: Wisdom For Cooling the Flames." Sure the books are dissimilar in style and format, while simultaneously they drive towards the same end point; realizing our life as a bodhisattva. Get this book right away, it's a must have!

This book and "The Art of Happiness" have pretty much the same content, so don't buy both. "Healing Anger" is organized in the form of eight talks and question-and-answer sessions over a four day period, whereas "The Art of Happiness" is organized topically. For this reason "The Art of Happiness" may be easier to use if you are interested in exploring particular topics. The downside of "The Art of Happiness" for me was Howard Cutler. I found his additions to what the Dalai Lama has to say didn't bring much value. What I was looking for in both books was mental exercises, and these are found in "Healing Anger" in each of the eight sessions in between the talk and the Q&A, so these are easier to find in "Healing Anger". I was a bit disappointed that neither book contained detailed treatments of some of the exercises referred to, such as the "seven-point cause and effect" and "equalization and exchange". These can be found on the internet by googling "Developing the Mind of Great Capacity".

This book is a recording of one of the Dalai Lama's seminars in the US. Looks hard to read at first, but the concepts are fascinating. The Q&A sections reveal alot of the more dogmatic views of Tibetan Buddhism. The premise is simple, anger is an unecessary cause of suffering. Alot of good advice, especially for Westerners attempting to convert to Buddhism or considering the path of the Bodhisatva. When you think about these things it can really make a difference. Stick with it. It's worth reading!

Healthy approach on how to deal with anger in everyday life. This book really made a difference for me when dealing with a select few individuals. Taking a look at yourself and others from the Dahli Lama's perspective, really helped me elimninate anger. The only reason I am not giving this 5 stars is because there is a lot of information about the Buddhist practice. I didn't mind reading the Buddhist info, but did not purchase it for that reason. With that said; I found the entire book interesting (even the Buddhist info.)and would certainly buy the book again and strongly suggest it if you are looking to understand and deal with anger in a healthier way.

I can honestly say that this book is second only to the Dhammapada for me in significance. I learned so much from this book on dealing with issues of anger and jealousy and highly recommend it to any one who is seeking words of wisdom and a path for dealing with their own anger and personal issues.

The only way for this book to really work for you is to open up to what is being said and follow. Realizing that patience is the key in overcoming anger is the fundamental. When dealing with people or situations that anger you because of the way that person is behaving is simply a test.

I had an experience where I was in a hospital and told to use a phone to contact one part of the hospital. When I went to use it some staff member who likely did not like the way I looked informed me that I shouldn't be using that phone and that I should go to another location not far away and use that phone instead because Hospital staff used this one. The sign by this phone clearly stated that this is the one I was to use. Rather than getting angry with this person and ignoring her and using the phone blatantly in her presence I smiled and agreed to use the other phone even though there was no other reason to do so except to put this person at ease. The other phone worked perfectly well as it turned out. At the time this occurred I thought on what I learned from this book and realized that anger at this person is not necessary and to lash back would have only worsened the situation. I looked for the positive and followed it and sure enough there were no problems.

Everyone could learn from this book only if they take to heart what is being said. I highly recommend it. Definite 5+ stars.

His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama very often speaks of himself as a "simple Buddhist monk." Despite his rank and the great regard in which he is held by the world, he has no pretensions. Like all of us, he gets angry, has stomachaches, and breathes. That is what makes him so accessible to us all.

Shantideva was an Indian Buddhist, a sage who lived in the Eighth Century. His Holiness' reflections on Shantideva's "Bodhisattvacaryavatara" (also known in English as "A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way Of Life" or "Entering the Path of Enlightenment") are the subject of several of his books, including this one, which focuses on cultivating patience.

Although HEALING ANGER is a brief book, it is a very full book. Lay readers may find themselves a little lost among the unfamiliar cultural reference points, but whether you are a practicing Buddhist or not, this book is a major contribution to the cultivation of compassion in our lives. This is not, in the Western sense, a Self-Help book, nor does it respouse any form of pop psychology. This is not a manual on "Anger Management."

Rather, the Dalai Lama investigates the lessons that Shantideva teaches. Through a lucid discussion of Shantideva's meaning and through suggested practice exercises, the Dalai Lama guides us toward actualizing patience and compassion in our own lives. To work toward such actualization is the Bodhisattva's Way; to actualize these lessons in your own life IS to attain Nirvana.