Outrage

[vlyons]

2. I look at these events

through the lens of a Buddhist viewpoint. It is our minds, what we tell ourselves, that these problems first arise. Anger and hatred are poison. The whole point of Buddhism is to train our minds to have a different viewpoint. I know how hard it is not to hate Trump and his ignorant supporters. But hatred is still hatred. That is not to say that we cannot clearly see Trump and his sycophants for what they are, how dangerous and hurtful they are. I can oppose them and work to get them out of gov without nurturing hatred in my mind and heart. If we don't learn to control our anger and hatred, it will simply control us, kidnap us, and drag us out the door. I came across a quote by the great Tibetan teacher, Trungpa (now deceased).

"We tend to think that the threats to our society, or to ourselves, are outside of us. We fear that some enemy will destroy us. But a society is destroyed from the inside, not from an attack by outsiders. We imagine an enemy coming with spears and machine guns to kill us, massacre us. In reality, the only thing that can destroy us is within ourselves. If we have too much arrogance, we will destroy the possibility of being awake, and then we cannot use our intuitive openness to extend ourselves in situations properly. Instead, we generate tremendous aggression."

– Chögyam Trungpa