therapy may fix anger faster and more pleasantly than spiritual practice. Might not too, but the point is to fix it. I've lost /most/ of mine, but the process took 3 1/2 years and was ugly as hell.
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It's proving even harder to deal with because I've started to get some sense of how useful it can be.
Being able to defend myself, and those I care about? Hell yes!
Doesn't mean it's always merited by the situation that triggers it, though. And when it isn't, it's dangerous.
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Yes. The point is to not be controlled by it. It should be a choice, a servant, not a slave. And because it is toxic to be angry for long periods, it must be used only for brief periods.
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what makes pain bad is mostly caring. If you don't care, it isn't much of a problem. This isn't theoretical, I've had the state, i just can't reliably induce it, alas. There also seem to be other routes.
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Ironically one thing that anger helps with.
I've been scared enough to run and hide, sad enough to die, and angry enough not to care. More than once.
(Yes, I know, not a sensible path - just saying.)
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Yeah. There was a Zen warrior Japanese guy whose name I forget and he made the point that if you use another emotion to defeat, say fear, you've got nothing if that other emotion fails you. To him, as both a Zennie & warrior, that was unacceptable.
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That sounds like it's from the Book of Five Rings. Too long since I read it to say for sure.
Speaking of, that might be due a re-reading. Especially with my recently more combative stance to life in general.
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Cleary's actually pretty harsh on the Book of Five Rings. A fanatic cultivator who never made the top ranks in his opinion. One thing Cleary is good on is how (later) Japanese military dictatorship for centuries warped Buddhist practice and especially Zen.
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I generally find, for me, that the early Japanese and especially the Chinese Chan masters are more useful.
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Yeah, it's probably a bit overhyped. But it's pithy, which is useful.
Most of the classics have a similar quality. Seneca's letters or Meditations are probably not the best stoic works, but they're accessible.
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I would contend yes, but with the knowledge that many who would cast themselves as knowledgeable may disagree.
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