Anger, that beast that stalks humanity, can’t really be assuaged, its hunger being eternal. But it can be transcended, transformed, turned inside-out, through tantric manipulation. Bombarding it with love or compassion is certainly a well-trodden path for those concerned with vanquishing this wild creature, one way or another. But this approach can result in a facade of piety or puritanical suppression, while the beast simply waits and hibernates. Yet it maintains a vigil that can erupt as passive aggression, prudishness, or even sadism. Moreover, its energetic and biological effects can simmer and burn, in accord with its fiery nature, causing all manner of hot diseases and inflammatory conditions. But herein lies the secret: it truly is none other than Fire, not in a symbolic, allegorical or poetic sense, but the Fire Element itself, in all its brilliance in both its vital and destructive aspects.
The deep teachings of Mahamudra tell us that our primary negative emotions are a step-down experience, a distorted reflection of Wisdom mind. In fact, we might conceive of this as the Five Buddhas, the Five Wisdoms. While this is an intriguing theory, how do we leap from upset, agitated, or enraged to some sublime other-worldly state? Actually, not by spiritual bypassing to “spaciousness” or “nowness” or “non-ego.” That is a psychological and spiritual trick, a band-aid, and a wrong teaching to boot. To resolve this anger issue, to dismantle its energy structure, to dissect its emotional anatomy, its vicious habitual hold on the mind, we need get at the root cause. And like all tantric methods, they are so simple that they somewhat unbelievable. Yet, although they are elegant and direct, they are not necessarily easy to execute.
The “heat” of anger exists and causes ravenous bonfires in the mind and body due to a simple and even natural human trait. The whole of our daily attention, focus and mental dealings center around an object. We like something, we hate something, we don’t care about something else. That something may be a person, some other living thing, a non-living entity, really any perception that might stimulate a response from us. As such, it could also be an idea, a thought form, a narrative, storyline, or any representative of those, be it in a TV show, reading material, or an actual event. But wherever it comes from in this long list, it is a loop. It is a bouncing ball in which a perception causes an internal reaction, which is projected back on the object again. We see it, we respond, and we feel some response from the object—even if it is a stone!
“So there! I sure showed that stone that I stumbled over what is what!” “I am so angry at that person and now I threw my hate at them, and how satisfying!” In this process, we are trapped in a cycle.
But what if, in that moment of emotional reaction (anger in this case) I remove this feedback loop? And what if I detach, at least temporarily, from the object of my rage? Now we have anger, internal Fire, which just sits by itself. If we watch and wait, if we hold to silent listening, the nature of that emotional charge starts to stand out, become clarified, and shows itself nakedly. In the case of anger, what arises is clarity. This can be experienced easily enough. Indeed, even if it does take some practice, there is certainly no end of opportunity. Just go to YouTube or any other news source and look at what or who irritates you, that you find idiotic, morally reprehensible, on the wrong side of history or what have you. This is not an exercise in changing your opinion, your driving habits, or who you hang out with. It is not an attempt at psychological improvement, a balanced view of life or anything “therapeutic” whatsoever. It is a spiritual exercise in experiencing the transformation of a destructive mental state (Tib: nyonmong, Skt: klesha).
Anger, just burning and glowing, if it has nowhere to land, no opportunity to glue itself onto an object, reveals its true nature, or more properly its higher nature. So we can just let that arise, a state of lucidity that is Fire refined, freed from being hijacked into our neurotic patterns. Possibly even reading this article may causes a “fit of pique,” some level of annoyance, irritation, resentment, outrage, or even burning hate, who knows! This, then, is a perfect opportunity to set these free from any target and to discover mind’s mirror-like Wisdom.
Note: the juxtaposition of Fire and Water (anger often being associated with the Water Element) in this article is intentional. Although not traditional, it represents an accurate portrayal of our psychological anatomy and does not diminish the value of the above mind-training exercise.
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