The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred

The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred. – Dalai Lama

Hero or Zero? Have you conquered anger? When will you begin the quest to conquer anger and hatred?

What does that mean?
This quote lauds those who can conquer their inner demons of anger and hatred. In doing so, the quote says that it is both a rare accomplishment and a worthy goal.

The term hero is often overused in today’s society. In a stricter sense, the word hero is applied to those who accomplish great feats against tremendous odds.

The great feat in this quote is to conquer their anger and hatred. Think about that for a moment. Can you imagine having no more anger or hatred within you? As difficult as it may be to achieve, it is certainly a worthy goal.

Why is attempting to conquer your own anger and hatred important?  
It is my belief that this world has more than enough anger and hatred. Anything that can be done to lessen either of these destructive emotions is a beneficial action. While some will never deliberately attempt to tame these emotions, those of us who do can set an example which some of them might emulate.

In addition to the impact on the larger portion of humanity, how will conquering anger and hatred impact your life? Even if you could only diminish anger and hatred within you, would your life be better or worse? I know that as I have made progress in this direction, I have found that it is much easier to maintain my peace of mind.

Where can I apply this in my life?
While I’m getting better at dealing with traffic, I still tend to get angry at other drivers who are discourteous or driving in a manner that endangers my safety. I still get angry at bureaucrats and the innate inefficiency of any system that employs them.

I still get angry at my kids when they make the same mistake for the six dozenth time. I don’t get as angry as often, and I get past it a little quicker each time, but I’m still closer to zero than hero. How about you, what makes you angry?

I don’t think that I hate anything anymore. I sat here for about fifteen minutes trying to figure out what to write in this paragraph, and got nothing. I do use the word hate for things like cold rain down the back of my neck, and Brussel Sprouts, but there isn’t an actual emotion of hate to be felt in my body when I talk about those things.

I don’t even hate my ex wife, and you can bet I never thought I’d get to that point in this lifetime! How about you, are there any individuals, groups of people, foods, musical styles, car types or anything else you actually hate, where you actually feel the emotion, not just use the word?

Grab some paper and write down some of the things that make you angry, and all of the things you really hate. Try to get the things that evoke the most intense emotions, as these are aspects of your life over which you will eventually want to get better control.

Next to each thing on your list, try to come up with at least two cases where the emotion was triggered. Specifically, what set you off? For a case of anger in traffic, people cutting me off without using a turn signal is one case, and people driving slowly or blocking traffic is another.

Select one (for now, I hope you want to work through the whole list) and spend a little time examining what you would have to believe about the event in order to feel the emotions of anger or hate.

In my case, it all starts with taking things personally. I have found that most of my anger is rooted in the other person deliberately doing something to me with malice aforethought. On rare occasions, it is the case. Most of the time, it’s just not true. Letting go of the personal affront was the first big step I was able to take towards conquering anger, as well as hate.

This is about your emotions, and your emotional baggage. All I can say is that I believe the time, effort and pain of self-examination is wort it. The first time you catch yourself in a situation where you would have gotten angry and find you are only mildly upset, you will probably do a little ‘Happy Dance‘ (think Snoopy from Peanuts).

To those who achieve this, you truly are heros. Achieving such a feat against the odds, well that is truly heroic. For those of us who attempt this great feat and fall short, even then we are successful, for we have improved ourselves in the process.

From: Twitter, @DalaiLama
confirmed at : it’s his own feed…
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