|
As human beings, we are subject to many negative habits. The most
serious and detrimental being craving and
anger, which stem from our emotional attachments
to the concept of having an individual and
permanent self, and to our lack of understanding
our true place in the universe and our
relationships with all those who inhabit the
universe with us. This lack of understanding is
ignorance—having wrong views and knowledge, and lacking
correct knowledge
These three—greed, anger, and ignorance—are
called the three poisons.
Greed, or craving, arises from the mistaken idea that we can
obtain and hold on to possessions, to ideas, and
even to other people. Greed arises from
selfishness, from the misconception that our
bodies are who we are. Our greed and attachments
tie us to unhappiness and lead us to much
harmful behavior. Because of greed, we become
angry as others have or take something we want.
Anger so often arises when our greed is
unrestrained. Or when we do not get what we
want, because others reject our ideas or obtain
what we had wanted for ourselves. Or when what
we have is taken from us, or those we love are
lost to us. The ways that greed and attachments
can overwhelm us and, then, lead us to anger are
endless. And the pain generated, as a
consequence, is infinite.
Anger in all it's forms, ranging from frustration to resentment,
animosity, and even cruelty, is one of our
greatest problems. It arises before we even
realize what is happening. Somebody says
something and, in a flash, we are angry.
Why do we so easily become angry? We do so because we are do not
understand, we are ignorant of reality. We are
attached to self-importance, our view of who we
are, to the concept of "I." When my concept of
"I" is threatened, "I" very often strikes out in
anger.
How can we eliminate our three poisons? Letting go and giving
offset greed. Patience and loving-kindness
counteracts hatred. Wisdom, which already lies
within our true nature, counter ignorance. |
