Anger

by Thich Nhat Hanh

Nourish yourself by allowing the beautiful and healing elements around you to penetrate you. This is the most important thing to do.

You are the best doctor, you are the best therapist for your beloved one.

Perhaps hell is created by your mind, by your notions, by your wrong perceptions. So it is only with your mind that you can destroy the hell, and free yourself.

The practice of mindfulness, of recognizing and embracing anger is to open the door of your hell and transform it, rescuing yourself and the other person, returning together to the land of peace. This is possible and you are the one who is going to do it.

If you don’t live in concentration, in mindfulness, if you don’t live every moment of your daily life deeply, then you cannot write. You can’t produce anything valuable to offer to others.

You just enjoy whatever you are doing, and you do it deeply.

To learn how to live each moment of our daily life in deep mindfulness and concentration is the practice.

A real love letter is made of insight, understanding, and compassion. Otherwise it is not a love letter.

I have mistakenly thought that making the other person suffer would relieve my own suffering. By making him/her suffer, I make myself suffer.

I am determined not to steal and not to possess anything that should belong to others. I will respect the property of others, but I will prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other species on earth.

I am determined not to engage in sexual relations without love and a long-term commitment. To preserve the happiness of myself and others, I am determined to respect my commitments and the commitments of others. I will do everything in my power to protect children from sexual abuse and to protect couples and families from being broken by sexual misconduct.

Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I vow to learn to speak truthfully with words that inspire self-confidence, joy, and hope.

I will refrain from uttering words that can cause division or discord, or that can cause the family or the community to break. I will make all efforts to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.

I vow to ingest only items that preserve peace, well-being, and joy in my body, in my consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family and society. I am determined not to use alcohol or any other intoxicant or to ingest food or other items that contain toxins, such as certain TV programs, magazines, books, films, and conversations.

I will work to transform violence, fear, anger, and confusion in myself and in society by practicing a diet for myself and for society.

Allowing your body to rest is very important. When your body is at ease and relaxed, your mind will also be at peace.