Anger and Forgiveness | Ajahn Brahm | 27 January 2023

Ajahn Brahm teaches about how to deal with anger arising and the power of forgiveness which helps resolve anger.
Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon: / buddhistsocietywa
Recorded at Dhammaloka Buddhist Centre, Perth, Western Australia.
Copyright Buddhist Society of Western Australia www.bswa.org
Buddhist Society of Western Australia’s teaching's page: bswa.org/teach...
To find the full playlist visit: / buddhistsocietywa , or click on 'Playlists' in the top menu bar.

[@winterpurple4587]

Ajahn Chah (Ajahn Brahm's late mentor) put it best when he asked "Is anger yours? If it's yours why can't you just ask it to go away?" So just as we don't own "our" body, we too don't own "our" anger (or any other emotional state for that matter). They just arise on their own. The problem starts when you claim them as "yours." Anger is not the problem but the possession. You think it's yours, so you are then affected by it. When anger is there but you don't consider it yours, then there's no one to take the burden. Only that.

[@justinwalker4475]

bingo

[@silentfriend369]

But how come it hurts even when I do not claim it as mine? It does fade away quickly if I do not claim it, but it still feels like an experience that is hurting.

[@winterpurple4587]

@@silentfriend369 good question. The experience is no different from a firefighter who braves the fire, or a sea rescuer who braves the water. The firefighter does not own the fire yet still feels the heat. Similarly, the sea rescuer doesn't own the water yet still gets wet. When going through various dark or negative emotional states, or in any situation where it feels unbearable, it is normal to feel the 'sting.' Remember the firefighter who feels the heat; the sea rescuer who gets wet. We Are That. But the person who understand what's going on is not affected by the feeling. The firefighter continues his work in spite of 'feeling' the heat; the sea rescuer continues his work in spite of 'feeling' wet. Likewise we are unaffected by various emotional states when we understand the nature of the mind. It doesn't make us numb, only impervious. :)

[@tonyhill2318]

This is very helpful...anger and irritation is something I've been trying to find helpful ways of working with, and this is truly useful in seeing these emotions properly. Thank you.

[@the_motivationalmind]

Nicely said

[@isabelkassan5244]

I feel extraordinarily lucky that I can see this talk on the iPad! Thank you!

[@amanda2276]

I feel extraordinarily lucky that I can listen to this talk on my iPhone! 😅

[@justinwalker4475]

i find it sad you worship your ithingymebob

[@justinwalker4475]

could you do without it..if not your not getting any of these teachings

[@justinwalker4475]

you probably watch this then watch some reality tv o0

[@justinwalker4475]

A.I.

[@sachinthaherath4902]

What an uplifting talk on the power of forgiveness😊. Definitely need to forgive more in my own life...😌 Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu🙏🙏🙏

[@Dhammanewlife2024]

❤

[@KittysAreCute]

I enjoyed this talk, that forgiveness is understanding what lead another to do something hurtful and feeling compassion for their circumstances. That when forgiveness is reached, the anger loosens its grip. I think one reason people may struggle with forgiveness is if forgiveness is conflated with different things such as trust, forgetting or denying history, or avoiding accountability. Emotions aren’t inherently bad, anger is what is felt when you or someone have been hurt. It is a messenger and driver to act in a way that would protect oneself and others from the perceived threat. It is possible to forgive someone, but not trust them if trust has not been earned over time. It is possible to forgive, but maintain strong boundaries. It is possible to forgive, but press charges or testify against them in court.

[@Lori10721]

Thank you Ajahm Bram best and forgiving let’s you out of your own prison !

[@Soltuts]

Thankyou for showing me how to release anger through forgiveness ♥

[@frestam]

I don't live in WA. I can't come there. Of course I know it's better to be there. Please make welcome all of us who can't be there.

[@amanda2276]

True! I live in the UK and I don’t miss a single Dhamma talk.

[@the_motivationalmind]

Thank u Ajahm Brahm 🙏🏻 Ur words inspire me a lot..sadhu sadhu sadhu

[@danutapawlak3308]

Thank you Ajahn Brahm - for you and your life saving teachings. Sadhu, sadhu, sadhu.

[@justinwalker4475]

pfff

[@annagoebiowska229]

Ajahn Brahm ,Don't leave me, we need to meet face to face.

[@ellabassi7770]

Thank you so much. We're almost nvr reminded that we don't need to win. And all the stress we have, we gave to ourselves and dont even notice.

[@krystynanowaczyk-wielgosz6719]

Dzień dobry Nie rozumiem Mojego nauczyciela ,ale wiem że wspomniał coś o Polsce Bardzo się cieszę że choć widzę Ajahm’a prawie na żywo Jesteś Wielką postacią godną do naśladowania Dziękuje losowi za to że znalazłam Cię w mojej życiowej przestrzeni. Pozdrawiam wszystkich. 🥰🫠😀

[@aleksanderwaszkiewicz9821]

Ajahn mentioned about Auswitz - Nazi concentration camp in Poland. .Unfartunatelly, he not precized that it was German camp in occupied Poland. It may by misleading for people not familiar with history.

[@riteshshaw8582]

Sadhu Sadhu Saaaaadhuuu ❤️🌸

[@ramdhiwakarseetharaman5989]

Very grateful to have heard this talk at a right time when I am filled with anger at someone who robbed me of my happiness and future. Thank you BSWA

[@TashiroSato]

Master buddha

[@elenaapostolaki]

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu🙏🙏🙏

[@jayaminizoysa6307]

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💐sadu sadu

[@elizabethhjenkins6172]

I, too, am very grateful I can see and hear this Dharma talk on my iPad in the USA. This was so timely for me. I needed to hear about forgiveness and the good it can do for me. Continue to tell your stories as they always help. Sadhu. Sadhu. Sadhu. 🙏🙏🙏

[@justinwalker4475]

whats you ipad got to do with it?

[@justinwalker4475]

what does it matter what country your in

[@justinwalker4475]

i listened to this on planet earth.. that place we all call home

[@justinwalker4475]

ai is getting good

[@Dfraz22]

The history of telecommunication began with the use of smoke signals and drums in Africa, the Americas, and parts of Asia.

[@veestatus1116]

🙏🙏🙏❤

[@JaySoul711]

I guess where do you draw the line between staying to be abused or fight back or just walking away. But what if you can’t walk away

[@mikeg8084]

Thank you Ajahn Brahm. That was very helpful.

[@blossoming_of_lotus_flower]

19:35

[@blossoming_of_lotus_flower]

31:51

[@natushkhan]

2:15, 9:43, 18:12, 19:13, 22:51, 31:35, 39:44, 47:35, 51:28, 59:53

[@justinwalker4475]

be wary of A.I.

[@tonyhill2318]

I want to see an A I meditate...then we'll all be out of a job 😆

[@alexgorchkov3844]

@@tonyhill2318iRobot all over again No rebellion, everyone is sitting at home meditating

[@niraulaj]

The venerable monk who I admire made a huge mistaking by saying that Buddha was born in India. No he was born in Nepal. Modi the Indian PM on his visit to Nepal and addressing the Nepali Parliament categorically admitted that Buddha was born in Nepal. Kindly request the monk not to make this mistake again. It hurts Nepali sentiments. Thank you.

[@niraulaj]

Sorry the monk said Buddha was born in India. He was born in Nepal

[@1234bcadlog]

does where he’s born affect the teachings?

[@Justin-eq7yu]

You live in the present moment but tell stories from the past

[@frestam]

To generalise and say " the illusion of connectivity of technology" is a judgment. This seems contradictory to Buddhist teaching. I feel a strong connection to all who are physically present there and to all the people who are watching online

[@sakamotosan1887]

Agreed, but I think there are degrees of this. Social media can often give us the illusion of connection when we are isolating ourselves, when really we are just comparing ourselves with others. Technology is a tool, neither good nor bad. Use it wisely. I know I don't, but I am working on that.

[@Alphacentauri819]

It is an illusion of connectivity! Can it be used to connect? Yes...but most often it doesn't. It is illusory due to the fact of immediacy and technological "connection". Much of the connection is a pseudo connection, with much barrier between true intimacy. Many fall for the delusion that they are more connected than they are. It is a tool, and to mistake it for the real dynamic of person to person intimacy is false.

[@peaceleader7315]

Crazy monk....

[@1234bcadlog]

what makes you think your feeling of connection is not an illusion?

[@BurksArribaRunningAwareness]

Rock Climbing

[@BurksArribaRunningAwareness]

Candles Holocaust Museum and Education Center

[@BurksArribaRunningAwareness]

Effervescence

[@justinwalker4475]

he is a nice guy but not very humble imo

[@justinwalker4475]

it all seems to be about himself always a story

[@justinwalker4475]

can you meet the queen a president ..i can o0

[@justinwalker4475]

pretty sure it won't end up like wako though