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Anger and hatred are two of our closest friends. When I was young I had quite a close relationship with anger. Then eventually I found a lot of disagreement with anger. By using common sense, with the help of compassion and wisdom, I now have a more powerful argument with which to defeat anger.

According to my experience, it is clear that if each individual makes an effort then he or she can change. Of course, change is not immediate and it takes a lot of time. In order to change and deal with emotions it is crucial to analyse which thoughts are useful, constructive and of benefit to us. I mean mainly those thoughts which make us calmer, more relaxed and which give us peace of mind, versus those thoughts which create uneasiness, fear and frustration. This analysis is similar to one which we might use for external things, such as plants. Some plants, flowers and fruit are good for us, so we use them and grow them. Those plants which are poisonous or harmful to us, we learn to recognize and even sometimes to destroy.

There is a similarity with the inner world. It is too simplistic to speak about the ‘body’ and the ‘mind’. Within the body there are billions of different particles. Similarly, there are many different thoughts and a variety of states of mind. It is wise to take a close look into the world of your mind and to make the distinction between beneficial and harmful states of mind. Once you can recognize the value of good states of mind, you can increase or foster them.

Buddha taught the principles of the Four Noble Truths and these form the foundation of the Buddha Dharma. The Third Noble Truth is cessation. According to Nagarjuna, in this context cessation means the state of mind or mental quality which, through practice and effort, ceases all the negative emotions. Nagarjuna defines true cessation as a state in which the individual has reached a perfected state of mind which is free from the effects of various afflictive and negative emotions and thoughts. Such a state of true cessation is, according to Buddhism, a genuine Dharma and therefore is the refuge that all practising Buddhists seek. Buddha becomes an object of refuge, worthy of respect, because Buddha has realized that state. Therefore one’s reverence to the Buddha, and the reason one seeks refuge in the Buddha, is not because Buddha was from the beginning a special person, but because Buddha realized the state of true cessation. Similarly, the spiritual community, or sangha, is taken as an object of refuge because the members of the spiritual community are individuals who are either already on, or are embarking on, the path leading to that state of cessation.

We find that the true state of cessation can be understood only in terms of a state of mind which is free from, or which has been purified of, negative emotions and thoughts due to the application of antidotes and counter-forces. True cessation is a state of mind and the factors that lead to this are also functions of the mind. Also, the basis on which the purification takes place is the mental continuum. Therefore, an understanding of the nature of the mind is crucial for Buddhist practice. By saying this, I do not mean that everything which exists is simply a reflection or projection of the mind and that apart from the mind nothing exists. But because of the importance of understanding the nature of mind in Buddhist practice, people often describe Buddhism as ‘a science of the mind’.

Generally speaking, in Buddhist literature, a negative emotion or thought is defined as ‘a state which causes disturbance within one’s mind’. These afflictive emotions and thoughts are factors that create unhappiness and turmoil within us. Emotion in general is not necessarily something negative. At a scientific conference which I attended along with many psychologists and neuro-scientists, it was concluded that even Buddhas have emotion, according to the definition of emotion found in various scientific disciplines. So karuna (infinite compassion or kindness) can be described as a kind of emotion.

Naturally, emotions can be positive and negative. However, when talking about anger, etc., we are dealing with negative emotions. Negative emotions are those which immediately create some kind of unhappiness or uneasiness and which, in the long run, create certain actions. Those actions ultimately lead to harm to others and this brings pain or suffering to oneself. This is what we mean by negative emotions.

One negative emotion is anger. Perhaps there are two types of anger. One type of anger could be transformed into a positive emotion. For example, if one has a sincere compassionate motivation and concern for someone and that person does not heed one’s warning about his or her actions, then there is no other alternative except the use of some kind of force to stop that person’s misdeeds. In Tantrayana practice there are meditative techniques which enable the transformation of the energy of anger. This is the reason behind the wrathful deities. On the basis of compassionate motivation, anger may in some cases be useful because it gives us extra energy and enables us to act swiftly.

However, anger usually leads to hatred and hatred is always negative. Hatred harbours ill will. I usually analyse anger on two levels: on the basic human level and on the Buddhist level. From the human level, without any reference to a religious tradition or ideology, we can look at the sources of our happiness: good health, material facilities and good companions. Now from the stand-point of health, negative emotions such as hatred are very bad. Since people generally try to take care of their health, one technique people can use is their mental attitude. Your mental state should always remain calm. Even if some anxiety occurs, as it is bound to in life, you should always be calm. Like a wave, which rises from the water and dissolves back into the water, these disturbances are very short, so they should not affect your basic mental attitude. Though you cannot eliminate all negative emotions, if your basic mental attitude is healthy and calm, it will not be much affected. If you remain calm your blood pressure and so on remains more normal and as a result your health will improve. While I cannot say scientifically why this is so, I believe that my own physical condition is improving as I get older. I have had the same medicine, the same doctor, the same food, so it must be due to my mental state. Some people say to me, ‘You must have some kind of special Tibetan medicine.’ But I don’t!

As I mentioned earlier, when I was young I was quite short-tempered. I would sometimes excuse this by saying that it was because my father was short-tempered, as if it was something genetic. But as time passes, I think that now I have almost no hatred towards anybody, including towards those Chinese who are creating misery and suffering for Tibetans. Even towards them, I really do not feel any kind of hatred.

Some of my close friends have high blood pressure, yet they never come near to having crises in their health and they never feel tired. Over the years I have met some very good practitioners. Meanwhile, there are other friends who have great material comfort yet, when we start to talk, after the initial few nice words, they begin to complain and grieve. In spite of their material prosperity, these people do not have calm or peaceful minds. As a result, they are always worrying about their digestion, their sleep, everything! Therefore it is clear that mental calmness is a very important factor for good health. If you want good health, don’t ask a doctor, look within yourself. Try to utilize some of your potential. This even costs less!

The second source of happiness is material facilities. Sometimes when I wake up in the early morning, if my mood is not very good, then when I look at my watch I feel uncomfortable because of my mood. Then on other days, due perhaps to the previous day’s experience, when I wake up my mood is pleasant and peaceful. At that time, when I look at my watch I see it as extraordinarily beautiful. Yet it is the same watch, isn’t it? The difference comes from my mental attitude. Whether our use of our material facilities provides genuine satisfaction or not depends on our mental attitude.

It is bad for our material facilities if our mind is dominated by anger. To speak again from my own experience, when I was young I sometimes repaired watches. I tried and failed many times. Sometimes I would lose my patience and hit the watch! During those moments, my anger altered my whole attitude and afterwards I felt very sorry for my actions. If my goal was to repair the watch, then why did I hit it on the table? Again you can see how one’s mental attitude is crucial in order to utilize material facilities for one’s genuine satisfaction or benefit.

The third source of happiness is our companions. It is obvious that when you are mentally calm you are honest and open-minded. I will give you an example. Perhaps 14 or 15 years ago, there was an Englishman named Phillips, who had a close relationship with the Chinese government, including with Chou En Lai and other leaders. He had known them for many years and he was close friends with the Chinese. One time, in 1977 or 1978, Phillips came to Dharamsala to see me. He brought some films with him and he told me about all the good aspects of China. At the beginning of our meeting there was a big disagreement between us, for we held completely different opinions. In his view, the presence of the Chinese in Tibet was something good. In my opinion, and according to many reports, the situation was not good. As usual, I had no particular negative feeling towards him. I just felt that he held these views due to ignorance. With openness, I continued our conversation. I argued that those Tibetans who had joined the Chinese Communist Party as early as 1930 and who had participated in the Sino-Japanese War and had welcomed the Chinese invasion and enthusiastically collaborated with the Chinese Communists did so because they believed that it was a golden opportunity to develop Tibet, from the viewpoint of Marxist ideology. These people had collaborated with the Chinese out of genuine hope. Then around 1956 or 1957 most of them were dismissed from the various Chinese offices, some were imprisoned and others disappeared. Thus I explained that we are not anti-Chinese or anti-Communist. In fact, I sometimes think of myself as a half-Marxist, half-Buddhist. I explained all these different things to him with sincere motivation and openness and after some time his attitude completely changed. This instance gives me some confirmation that even if there is a big difference of opinion, you can communicate on a human level. You can put aside these different opinions and communicate as human beings. I think that is one way to create positive feelings in other people’s minds.