Question about transmission and pointing-out instructions

[Rick]

Interesting.
Why anger specifically? (or is it anger specifically?)
Any theories?

I think Marv would say that it's because we live in a culture in which expressing anger is kind of a taboo ... which is why you end up with desperate expressions of bottled-up anger like road rage, school shootings, Trump (and associate) bullying, qualified masters who act like idjits, etc.

[climb-up]

Interesting.
Why anger specifically? (or is it anger specifically?)
Any theories?

I think Marv would say that it's because we live in a culture in which expressing anger is kind of a taboo ... which is why you end up with desperate expressions of bottled-up anger like road rage, school shootings, Trump (and associate) bullying, qualified masters who act like idjits, etc.

Very interesting.
Thank you.

[Rick]

He told me he once gave a talk at a Buddhist conference about the danger of repressed anger in Buddhism and he met with lots of resistance from Buddhist practitioners. On the one hand I get it ... Buddhism has its own prescriptions for how to deal with anger and they seemed to have worked quite well for the last few thousand years. Otoh, the hostility of some of the responses kind of proved his point, I think.

[climb-up]

He told me he once gave a talk at a Buddhist conference about the danger of repressed anger in Buddhism and he met with lots of resistance from Buddhist practitioners.

lol, I bet!

On the one hand I get it ... Buddhism has its own prescriptions for how to deal with anger and they seemed to have worked quite well for the last few thousand years.

Allegedly!
Coming back to this I find it more and more potentially disturbing. Definitely something to be mindful of!!!

Otoh, the hostility of some of the responses kind of proved his point, I think.

LMAO!

[Lingpupa]

A psychotherapist friend who has a deep background in Zen said he's come to believe after decades of work with Buddhist practitioners that spiritual health and psychological health are really quite different, that one doesn't at all necessarily follow the other. In particular, he thinks, people who follow an inward-looking path such as Buddhism are susceptible to anger issues.

I'm absolutely furious that you would make such a scurrilous suggestion! Schocking!

[Rick]

Yes, yes ... the rage is clearly lurking just behind that (apparently) innocent smile.

[conebeckham]

I know Buddhists who are adept at expressing anger, and not repressing it. It passes, like everything else. I suppose repression is an issue for many Western practitioners, and maybe for others as well, I can't say. I wonder what sorts of emotional suppression psychotherapists feel they are susceptible to?? None, I guess?

[Johnny Dangerous]

topic on mental health split to new thread.

[Gyurme Kundrol]

A psychotherapist friend who has a deep background in Zen said he's come to believe after decades of work with Buddhist practitioners that spiritual health and psychological health are really quite different, that one doesn't at all necessarily follow the other. In particular, he thinks, people who follow an inward-looking path such as Buddhism are susceptible to anger issues.

They are different. Psychological health is rooted in the status quo, its to help you adjust to societies demands and expectations. Spiritual health on the other hand could look like a total renunciation and rejection of that status quo and appear to be very unhealthy from an external perspective. Or not, the two can merge in all kinds of ways, especially in the Vajrayana where lay life and being a householder is very common.

I could see the anger because anger stems from frustration, and whats more frustrating than all the sentient beings suffering in the cycle of Samsara, drowning in ignorance? One is virtually entirely powerless to do anything about it, and even the greatest most herculean efforts in Dharma and yoga feel like a drop in the bucket next to the sufferings of existence.