Oasis plays Rose Bowl on Hell Night

What not to do on Ghost Day/Hell night

(SCMP) What NOT to do when the ‘gates of hell’ open on hell night during Yulanpen Festival

I don't believe in no ghosts!

The Hungry Ghost Festival, also known as Yulan, falls on the 15th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. In 2025 it happens on Saturday, Sept. 6th, when the "gates of hell" (peta-loka) open.*

The Hungry Ghost Festival (known as the Yulanpen Festival in Buddhism and the Zhongyuan Festival in Taoism) is a traditional observance held in East and Southeast Asian countries. According to the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar, the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in parts of Cantonese Southern China). In Chinese culture, the 15th day of the seventh month in the traditional Chinese calendar is called Ghost Day or (especially in Taiwan) Pudu (Chinese 普渡, Pinyin Pǔdù, Pe̍h-ōe-jī, Phó͘-tō͘ [3]). And the seventh month of that calendar is generally regarded as Ghost Month, when ghosts and spirits, including those of deceased ancestors, come up from lower realms (diyu, preta world). More

Hell opens tonight: Hungry Ghost Festival

(Mandate of Heaven) For Ghost Month the Gates of Diyu open on the full moon and they visit

(WatchMojo.com) Top 20 best Oasis songs ever (review of the hits)

Supersonic spectacle: English icons Oasis take over the Rose Bowl 

Nostalgia is back. - Why? - Spinal Tap, baby!

(Pasadena Weekly) Nostalgia is everywhere. The 90s are making a comeback. Baywatch actress Pam Anderson is on the silver screen in the Naked Gun reboot. And the wannabe-Beatles Oasis is at the Rose Bowl Saturday, Sept. 6, and Sunday, Sept. 7. They've buried the hatchet and reunited. And with apologies to Beyoncé and Lady Gaga, this spectacle featuring the Brothers Gallagher is the concert of the year. More

• Madness for Oasis spillover: Band’s show is an economic win-win (pasadenaweekly.com)

When was Oasis getting high?

How can one overcome one's anger? Buddhism.

.

What makes a hit a hit? - An earworm.

"Where were you while we were getting high?" asks Oasis singer Gallagher Brother 1 ("Champagne Supernova"), probably talking to Sally and referring to their meteoric rise to stardom in the UK. They were the "new Beatles" for a moment. They couldn't sustain it, and they couldn't stop their sibling rivalry. But how much $$$ for a reunion? Money talks. So welcome to Pasadena!

How to walk Metro Goldline to Memorial Park to Rose Bowl (safe/easy)

The Rose Bowl is sold out, and the streets are going to be jammed with traffic troubles on the worst night of the year -- Hell Night (Saturday, Sept. 6th, 2025) of the Hungry Ghost Festival. That's bad luck. But "that's just superstition," others will argue so close to JPL and Caltech.

There are lots of things not to do this whole Ghost Month, but particularly on this night. Or the hungry ghosts will be upset and may take action. And if they do because, you know, they're pretas, don't look back in anger. Just walk away quickly or run. Not being fans of Beatle-esque schlock-pop, Oasis will be echoing through the canyon and foothills in the spectacle that is any big Rose Bowl event.

But they do have one really good song sung by Brother 2, Noel Gallagher, who wrote it (so we see who has the talent in the group, which one hopes they don't start fighting about), ripping off John Lennon's "Imagine," according to Nick Beato.

"The Wretchedness of Anger" (Kodhana Sutra)

Ven. Ñanamoli Thera (trans.), Access to Insight (AN 7.60); Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

MORE: (ABC 7) Blond man knocks woman unconscious at Rose Bowl, graphic video shows

MORE: (KTLA 5) Woman brutally beaten, knocked unconscious at Rose Bowl in Pasadena

Pathetic and miserable hungry ghosts (petas, pretas) scrounging for any foul form of sustenance.

.

Why are you sad? - My enemy is getting ahead of me.

THE BUDDHA TAUGHT: "Meditators, seven things befall one who is angry that are gratifying and helpful to an enemy. What are these seven things?

1. "Herein, meditators, an enemy wishes this for an enemy: 'Let that person BE UGLY.' Why is that? No enemy relishes an enemy's beauty. Now when this person is angry, prey to anger, ruled by anger, be that person ever so well bathed and well anointed, with hair well cut, clothed in white, yet that person is ugly through being prey to anger. This is the first thing gratifying and helpful to an enemy that befalls one who is angry.

2. "Also, an enemy wishes this for an enemy: 'Let that person BE IN PAIN.' Why is that? No enemy relishes an enemy's lying in comfort. Now when this person is angry, prey to anger, ruled by anger, for all one may lie on a couch spread with rugs, blankets, plush with covers, a canopy, and red cushions for head and feet, yet one lies only in pain through being prey to anger. This is the second thing gratifying to an enemy that befalls one who is angry.

3. "Also, an enemy wishes this for an enemy: 'Let that person HAVE NO PROSPERITY.' Why is that? No enemy relishes an enemy's prosperity. Now when this person is angry, prey to anger, ruled by anger, one mistakes bad for good and mistakes good for bad, and each being taken wrongly in the other's sense, these things for long conduce to one's own harm and suffering, through being prey to anger. This is the third thing gratifying and helpful to an enemy that befalls one who is angry.

4. "Also, an enemy wishes this for an enemy: 'Let that person NOT BE RICH.' Why is that? No enemy relishes an enemy's being rich. Now when a person is angry, prey to anger, should that person have riches gained by endeavor, built up by strength of arm, earned by sweat, lawful and lawfully acquired, yet the ruler's treasury gathers (in fines) through being prey to anger. This is the fourth thing gratifying and helpful to an enemy that befalls one who is prey to anger.

Let's never fight or be angry again, Brother-jii!

5. "Also, an enemy wishes this for an enemy: 'Let that person NOT BE FAMOUS.' Why is that? No enemy relishes an enemy's having fame. Now when a person is angry, prey to anger, ruled by anger, what fame one may have acquired by diligence one loses through being prey to anger. This is the fifth thing gratifying and helpful to an enemy that befalls one who is prey to anger.

6. "Also, an enemy wishes this for an enemy: 'Let that person HAVE NO FRIENDS.' Why is that? No enemy relishes and enemy's having friends. Now when this person is angry, prey to anger, ruled by anger, the friends one may have, one's companions, relatives, and kin will keep away from being prey to anger. This is the sixth thing gratifying and helpful to an enemy that befalls one who is prey to anger.

7. "Also, an enemy wishes this for an enemy: 'Let that person on the dissolution of the body, after death, reappear [be reborn, rearise] in a STATE OF DEPRIVATION, in an unfortunate destination, in perdition, even in a hell.' Why is that? No enemy relishes an enemy's going to a fortunate destination.

"Now when this person is angry, prey to anger, ruled by anger, one misconducts oneself in body, speech, and mind. And by this misconduct of body, speech, and mind, on the dissolution of the body, after death, the angry person reappears in a state of deprivation, in an unfortunate destination, in perdition, even in a hell, through having been prey to anger.

"This is the seventh thing gratifying and helpful to an enemy that befalls one who is angry.... More: accesstoinsight.org

• The Elimination of Anger: With two stories retold from the Buddhist texts (Ven. Piyadassi, Buddhist Publication Society)

"Don't Look Back in Anger" (lyrics)

Noel, I'm angry you wrote this one. - Shut the front door, Liam! - Let's share credit for it? - No.

.

Venerable sir, please! That's an obscene mudra.

Slip inside the eye of your mind/ Don't you know you might find/ A better place to play?/ You said that you'd never been/ But all the things that you've seen/ Will slowly fade away/ So I start a revolution from my bed/ 'Cause you said the brains I had went to my head/ Step outside, summertime's in bloom/ Stand up beside the fireplace/ Take that look from off your face/ You ain't ever gonna burn my heart out

[CHORUS] And so, Sally can wait/ She knows it's too late as we're walkin' on by/ Her soul slides away/ "But don't look back in anger," I heard you say

Take me to the place where you go/ Where nobody knows/ If it's night or day/ Please don't put your life in the hands/ Of a rock 'n' roll band/ Who'll throw it all away/ I'm gonna start a revolution from my bed/ 'Cause you said the brains I had went to my head/ Step outside, 'cause summertime's in bloom... "But don't look back in anger/ Don't look back in anger," I heard you say/ "At least not today"

What makes this song great?

*When exactly is 'hell night' of Ghost Month?

Lunar/Lunisolar superior to Gregorian calendar

In 2025, the Hungry Ghost Festival falls on Sept. 6th. Ghost Month usually starts in late July or early August. Why? It follows the lunar calendar, which is generally about a month behind the Gregorian calendar. For example, the Lunar New Year in 2025 is on Jan. 29, so many would expect the seventh lunar month to start around late July. However, it begins on Aug. 23 this year. The main reason is due to how leap years and calendar adjustments work.

Unexpected reason why Hungry Ghost Fest 2025 is in Sept. not August

The Gregorian calendar based on the solar year adds a leap day every four years to account for the extra 0.25 days it takes Earth to orbit the sun, keeping the calendar accurate over time. While the Gregorian calendar follows the sun, the Lunar calendar tracks the moon’s cycle, with each month lasting about 29.53 days. This means a lunar year has only around 354 days, which is 11 days shorter than the solar year. If left unadjusted, over time festivals like Chinese New Year could drift into entirely different seasons. However, in reality, the “Lunar calendar” used in Chinese traditions is actually the Lunisolar Calendar. This system combines both lunar months and solar year alignment to keep important dates consistent with the seasons.

• (KCAL News) Sept. 6, 2025: Oasis fans flood Rose Bowl for 2025 two-night reunion tour (tickets for $100?)
• What makes this song great? "Don't Look Back in Anger" OASIS
• How do people NOT know this about pop music? (Nick Beato)
• (KTLA News) The Rose Bowl, Pasadena | Look At This!
• Oh to be young again: We're gonna live forever rocking out
• Oasis "Don’t Look Back in Anger"
• Compiled by CC Liu, Crystal Q., Dhr. Seven, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Anger-Eating Demon (sutra)

What modern person can believe in angelic and demonic influences? That's nonsense!

Indian artists try to depict ancient sacred texts.

The Anger-Eating Demon is an ancient Buddhist story retold by German Theravada monk Ven. Nyanaponika Thera.

Once there lived a demon (asura) who had a peculiar diet: He fed on the anger of others. And as his feeding ground was the human world, there was no lack of food for him. He found it quite easy to provoke a family quarrel, or national and racial hatred.

Even to stir up a war was not very difficult for him. And whenever he succeeded in causing a war, he could gorge himself without much further effort. For once a war starts, hate multiplies by its own momentum and affects even normally friendly people.

This man is not channeling an ET creature.

So the demon's food supply became so rich that he sometimes had to restrain himself from overeating, being content with nibbling just a small piece of resentment found close by.

But as it often happens with successful people, he became overbearing and one day when feeling bored he thought, "Shouldn't I try it with the happy celestials (devas)?"

Sakka (Magdha of Macala): St. Michael

On reflection he chose the Heaven of the Thirty-Three Devas ruled by Sakka, King of the Devas. He knew that only a few of these fortunately reborn beings had entirely eliminated the fetters of ill-will and aversion (which is possible by the practice of Buddhism), though most devas were far above petty and selfish quarrels.

So by his magic power (abhinna) he transferred himself to that heavenly realm and was lucky enough to come at a time when the Divine King Sakka was away. There was no one in the large audience hall and without much ado the demon seated himself on Sakka's empty throne, waiting quietly for things to happen, which he hoped would bring him a good feeding.

Sakka as warrior deva (archangel, light being)

Soon some of the devas came to the hall and at first they could not believe their own divine eyes when they saw that ugly demon lounging on the throne, squat and grinning.

Having recovered from their shock, they started to shout and lament: "Oh you ugly demon, how can you dare to sit on the throne of our supreme king? What utter disrespect! What a crime! You should be thrown headlong into a lowly hell and straight into a boiling cauldron! You should be drawn and quartered alive! Begone, begone!"

But while the devas grew more and more angry, the demon was pleased because from moment to moment -- as their anger grew -- he grew in size, in strength, and in power.

What "demons" possess an infamous person?

The anger he absorbed into his system started to ooze from his body as a smoky red-glowing mist. This putrid aura kept the devas at a distance and their streaming radiance was dimmed.

Suddenly a bright glow appeared at the other end of the hall, and it grew into a dazzling light from which Sakka, the King of Devas, emerged.

He who had firmly entered the irreversible stream that leads to nirvana (sotapannaship, the first stage of Buddhist enlightenment) was unshaken by what he saw.

The smokescreen created by the devas' anger parted when he slowly and politely approached the usurper of his throne:

"Welcome, friend! Please, remain seated. I can take another seat. May I offer you a drink of hospitality? Our ambrosia (amrita) is good this year. Or do you prefer a stronger brew, like Vedic soma?"

While Sakka spoke such friendly words, the demon rapidly began to shrink into a diminutive size and finally disappeared, trailing behind a whiff of malodorous smoke, which likewise soon dissolved. — Based on Samyutta Nikaya, Sakka Samyutta, No. 22.

Commentary

It was my idea to get tattoos and amputations

The gist of this story dates back to the sutras (discourses) of the Buddha. But even now, over 2,600 years later, our world looks as if large hordes of Anger-Eating Demons are haunting it and are kept well nourished by millions slaving for them all over the earth.

Fires of hate and wide-traveling waves of violence threaten to engulf humankind. Also, the grassroots of society are poisoned by conflict and discord, manifesting in angry thoughts and words and in violent deeds.

Is it not time to end this self-destructive slavery of humans to our impulses of hate and aggression, which only serve demonic forces?

Oh, that we would be as loving and kind as the devas, the "shining ones," in the heavens!

.
This story tells how these demons of hate can be exorcised by the power of gentleness and love (metta). If this power of love can be tested and proven, at a grassroots level, in a widely spread net of personal relationships, society at large and the world at large will benefit from it. Source

NOTE: 1. The Buddhist "Doctrine" or "Natural Law and Regularity" (Dhamma) here referred to may be expressed in the words of the Dhammapada (V. 5):

"Not by hating does hatred cease

In this world of tooth and claw;

Love alone from it can release —

This is an Eternal Law."

• Translated from Ven. Nyanaponika's German into English by Francis Story (aka, Anagarika Sugatananda), The Elimination of Anger: With Two Stories Retold from Buddhist Texts (accesstoinsight.org); Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

You Don't Take The Drugs, The Drugs Take You

FCTR, Oct. 18, 2022; Jordan (F&H Show, 95KLOS.com); Seth Auberon (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

5th Buddhist precept: I undertake to abstain from taking intoxicants that occasion heedlessness

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes "The Drugs" feat. Jamie T (official)

(Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes) Official music video for "The Drugs" featuring Jamie T by Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes. Listen to "The Drugs" ft. Jamie T at: fctr.ffm.to/thedrugs.oyd. Sign up to the Rattlesnakes' mailing list: fctr.ffm.to/newsletter.oyd. Tour dates: fctr.ffm.to/live.oyd.

🐍 LYRICS 🐍 

You don’t take the drugs 

The drugs take you 

Tear your life apart 

Until there’s nothing to lose

They smash apart your mind

And they steal your love 

The drugs take you 

You don’t ever take the drugs 

White knife 

Pressed against my throat

Every time I breathe 

All I do is choke 

I used to know the punchline

But now I'm the joke 

Rolled up

Bank notes

 

White dogs

Running riot in my house 

Locked myself inside 

Because I can’t go out

It's bad for my soul

It's bad for my blood 

It's a bad f*cking habit

Always falling in love 

White death

Laying in my bed

Waiting for the moment 

I take my last breath 

Bang goes the shotgun

Off in my chest 

Death rattle 

Now you’re dead 

 

It sure creeps up on ya

It comes out of fu*king nowhere

White arrows for my chest

It’s 10:00 am and I still haven’t slept

If the sun comes up then we're going again 

It's the patron saint of the f*cking sesh

You don’t take the drugs 

The drugs take you 

Tear your life apart 

Until there’s nothing to lose

They smash apart your mind

And they steal your love 

The drugs take you 

You don’t ever take the drugs

You don’t take the drugs

The drugs take you

You don’t take the drugs

The drugs take you

(Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes) "Devil Inside Me"

🐍 FOLLOW 🐍 

• Website: fctr.ffm.to/website.oyd
• Instagram: fctr.ffm.to/ig.oyd
• Facebook: fctr.ffm.to/facebook.oyd
• TikTok: fctr.ffm.to/tiktok.oyd
• Twitter: fctr.ffm.to/tw.oyd
• Spotify: fctr.ffm.to/spotify.oyd
• YouTube: fctr.ffm.to/yt.oyd

🐍 CREDITS 🐍 

• Directed by Nick Suchak
• Produced by Dan Matthews
• DOP: Matt Gentleman 
• Focus: Ben Sansom

#FrankCarterAndTheRattlesnakes #FrankCarter #JamieT

Buddhist story: "The Anger-Eating Demon"

Ancient story retold by Ven. Nyanaponika (SN 22 in BPS' Bodhi Leaves 68, Ven. Piyatissa via accesstoinsight.org) edited by Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven, Crystal Quintero, Wisdom Quarterly

Shoot looters, jail males, grab girls

There once lived a demon who had a peculiar diet: He fed on the anger of others. His feeding ground was the human world, so there was no lack of food for him.

He found it quite easy to provoke a family quarrel, and racial and national hatred. Even stirring up a war was not very difficult for him.

And whenever he succeeded in causing strife, he would gorge himself with voracious effort. Because once a war or fight starts, hate multiplies exponentially by its own momentum and affects even normally friendly people.

Sick gullet-goiter Trump (photo not doctored)

The demon's food supply became so rich that he sometimes had to restrain himself from overeating, as he was very fat and discolored, sometimes content with just nibbling resentments and scorn around him.

As it often happens with the successful, he became overbearing. One day he was feeling bored and he thought, "Shouldn't I try it with the shining ones?"

Reflecting, he chose the World of the Thirty-Three, ruled by Sakka, King of the Devas (Deities). He knew that only a few of them had entirely eliminated the psychological fetters of ill-will and aversion, though they were far above petty and selfish quarrels.

I wish there were something to scare the s...

By his magic power he willed himself to that celestial realm and was lucky enough to come at a time when the divine King Sakka was away. There was no one in the large audience hall so the demon seated himself on Sakka's vacant throne, waiting quietly for things to happen, which he hoped would bring him a good supply of food.

Soon some of the devas came to the hall and they could hardly believe their divine eyes when they saw that ugly demon sitting on the throne, squat and grinning. Having recovered from their shock, they started to shout and lament:

"Oh, you ugly demon, how do you dare sit on the throne of our ruler? What utter disrespect! What a crime! You should be thrown headlong into hell and straight into a boiling cauldron! You should be quartered alive! Begone! Begone!"

But while the deities of that world were growing more and more angry, the demon was pleased because from moment to moment he grew in size, in strength, and in power. The anger he absorbed into his system started to ooze from his body as a smoky red-glowing mist. This sinister aura kept the deities at a distance, and their radiance dimmed.

Suddenly a bright glow appeared at the other end of the hall, and it grew into a dazzling light from which King Sakka emerged. He was a stream enterer (the first stage of enlightenment), who had firmly entered the undeflectable stream that leads to nirvana, and was unshaken by what he saw.

The smoke-screen created by the deities' anger parted when King Sakka slowly and politely approached the usurper of his throne. "Welcome, friend! Please, stay seated. No need to get up. I can take another chair. May I offer you the drink of hospitality? Our amrita (nectar of the gods') is good. Or perhaps you prefer a stronger brew, some Vedic soma?"

While Sakka spoke these friendly words, the demon rapidly shrank and finally disappeared, trailing behind a whiff of malodorous smoke, which soon dissolved.

— Based on Samyutta Nikaya, Sakka Samyutta, Sutra No. 22

COMMENTARY

Nyanaponika Thera

The essence of this story dates back to the sutras (discourses) of the Buddha. Yet even now, over 2,600 years later, the human realm looks as if large hordes of anger-eating demons are haunting it and are kept well nourished by millions slaving for them all over this earth.

Fires of hate and wide-traveling waves of fear and violence threaten to engulf humankind. Also the grass roots of society are poisoned by conflict and discord, manifesting in angry thoughts and words and violent deeds. Is it not time to end this self-destructive slavery of our impulses of anger and aggression, which only serve demonic forces?

This story reveals how these hateful demons can be exorcised by the power of gentleness and love. If this power of love can be tested and proven, at a grassroot level, in the widely spread net of personal relationships, society at large, the world at large, will not remain unaffected by it.

What about our money/economy? (comedy)

Jimmy Dore, Mike MacRae, Prof. Mark Blyth (jimmydorecomedy.com); Wisdom Quarterly

Angrynomics

Is there any sensible use of anger? Revolution?

Why are measures of stress and anxiety on the rise when economists and politicians tell us we have never had it so good?

While statistics tell us that the vast majority of people are getting steadily richer, the world most of us experience day in and day out feels increasingly uncertain, unfair, and ever more expensive.

In Angrynomics, Mark Blyth and Eric Lonergan explore the rising tide of anger -- sometimes righteous and useful, often destructive and ill-targeted -- and propose radical new solutions for an increasingly polarized and confusing world.

Angrynomics is for anyone wondering, Where the h*ck do we go from here? More

How to deal with family: meditation (Dec. 5)

Ananda (Dharma Meditation Initiative), Dhr. Seven, Ellie Askew (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Our family is the second worst family ever.

"My family drives me crazy!" What can I do or what can anyone do? The Buddha had three answers:

1. mindfulness (sati)
2. forgiveness (khanti)
3. deeds (karma). 

Ahh, noting can bother me now.

We'll talk about the first two and leave the why (Number 3) out of it. This is about being proactive and doing something right now for immediate results.

Meditators seek truth. Our quest is to see for ourselves, not just to hear nice words, ideas, and smart answers to life's problems. So we'll undertake to practice guided visualization, serenity meditation, mindful walking, and the cultivation of boundless loving-kindness (metta). Followed by sharing, discussion and vegan refreshments. Free/by donation. Suitable for beginners. More

• "How to deal with family: mindfulness and forgiveness"
• Dharma Meditation Initiative, Los Angeles
• 150 N. El Molino Ave., Pasadena, CA 91103
• Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019, 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM

Pleasure can lead to pain (Thich Nhat Hanh)

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (Lion's Roar); Ellie Askew, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Internal knots

Gee, this is tough. Pleasure can lead to pain.

"Not all internal formations* are unpleasant. There are also pleasant internal formations, but they can still make us suffer.

"When you taste, hear, or see something pleasant then that pleasure can become a strong internal knot.

"When the object of your pleasure disappears, you miss it and you begin searching for it. You spend a lot of time and energy trying to experience it again.

• *Internal formation: crystallization (Sanskrit samyojana = “fetter,” lit. “to crystallize”), knot, constriction. Everyone has formations (knots) we need to take care of by the practice of meditation, to undo them and experience freedom, transformation, and healing.

"If you smoke marijuana or drink alcohol and begin to like it then it becomes an internal formation in your body and in your mind. You cannot get it off your mind. You will always look for more.

"The strength of the internal knot is pushing you and controlling you. So internal formations deprive us of our freedom." More

.

Get the best of Buddhist wisdom delivered to your inbox! Free gift! (lionsroar.com)

• Excerpt from the article "Loosening the Knots of Anger" by Thich Nhat Hanh in Lion's Roar magazine
• Deer Park Monastery, Southern California
• Plum Village Mindfulness Practice Center

Forgiveness Meditation (free, June 6)

Ananda (Dharma Meditation Initiative), Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly

I hate you. I hate you. I know I shouldn't.

Reaching states of meditation (heart/mind cultivation) has more to do with letting go than "doing."

We are released by releasing. If we were unable to let go of old resentments, ill will, thoughts of revenge and harming, how would we make progress toward enlightenment and liberation from all suffering?

Fortunately, we have the power to do something right here, right now -- without anyone's permission or help other than ourselves. We can let go/forgive (khanti). And we can do it for our own and everyone's benefit.

Karma and consequences (fruit and ripening) will take care of the suffering others "deserve" or are are in line for as they carry on as they've been doing. Come find freedom. Bring tissues. Vegan refreshments served.

Dharma Meditation Initiative - Dharma Nature Center - PasaDharma - UCLA

• Dharma Meditation Initiative, Los Angeles
• Thursday, June 6, 7:00-8:30 PM
• 301 N. Orange Grove Bl., Pasadena 91103

Forgive and forget?

Wait! Do I have to forgive AND forget?

QUESTION: After I forgive, do I have to forget, too?
 
ANSWER: It doesn't matter. If you really forgave, it wouldn't matter. You wouldn't be hurt, angry, raging, paralyzed. You'd be free, free to remember, free to forget. Freedom is like that.

Better you remember without all the emotional baggage you're carrying around right now, right?

Guided Meditations for Difficult Times (audio)

Jack Kornfield (soundstrue.com); Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly

Guided Meditation for Difficult Times: A Lamp in Darkness (AUDIOBOOK)

The Elimination of Anger

Ven. K. Piyatissa Thera edited by  Amber Larson, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; Gaia (GaiamTV); Centerpointe Holosync Meditation, "If Your Brain Could Talk" (CenterpointeVideo)

Golden Buddha statue towers over Thailand, Southeast Asia (Hatoriz/flickr/com)

The Elimination of Anger, with two stories retold from the Buddhist texts

The ultimate goal of Buddhism is the deathless unconditioned element of nirvana, ultimately the only reality. So one who aspires to it is wise to renounce mundane pursuits and attachments, which are ephemeral, for the sake of reality.

But there are very few who are sufficiently mature to develop themselves to achieve it in this very life. So the Buddha does not push the life of renunciation upon anyone who lacks the spiritual capacity and internal motivation to embark upon the higher life to make a final end of suffering.

Instead, one should follow the path of mundane advantage, which is twofold, namely, the advantage obtainable here in this very life and the advantage obtainable in future lives, as steps on the path to the spiritual life and nirvana in the future.
 
Although one may enjoy many pleasures in life, one still regards one's body as an instrument with which to practice virtue for one's own and others' benefit; in brief, one lives usefully with moral integrity, a life of simplicity and few wants. So one gains ease now and progress in the future.

As regards the acquisition of wealth, the Buddha said: "One must be diligent and energetic," and as regards the safeguarding of wealth, "one must be mindful and economical."
 
It is possible that even the life of such a person may be somehow or other disturbed and harassed as a result of the actions (karma) of "unskillful" people. Although this might induce one to abandon the chosen path, it is at such times that one must remember the steps to be taken for the purpose of establishing peace.

According to the Buddha's teaching this includes the reflection: "Others may be harmful, but I shall be harmless; thus will I train myself." We must remember that the whole spirit of Buddhism is one of pacification (and purification of heart and mind). In the calm and placid atmosphere of the Buddha's teaching there is every chance, every possibility, of removing greed, hatred, and delusion that surface from the mind in many ways as lust, jealousy, annoyance, violence, and confusion.
 
It is no wonder if we, at times, in our everyday life, feel angry with somebody about something. But we should not allow this feeling to reside in our heart/mind. We curb it at the very moment it has arisen and prod it out, replace it with its opposite or give our attention to other things.



How to handle anger
Generally, there are eight ways to curb and control our anger.
 
1. The first method is to recollect the teachings of the Buddha. On many occasions the Buddha explained the disadvantages of an angry temper. Here is one of his admonitions:
 

"Suppose some bandits catch one of you and sever this body limb from limb with a two-handled saw; if one should feel angry even on that account, one is no follower of this teaching." — Kakacupama Sutra (MN 21)

"As a log from a [cremation] pyre, burned at both ends and fouled [by bodily ooze] in the middle, serves neither for firewood in the village nor for timber in the forest, so is such a wrathful person. — AN II, 95

Further, we may consider the Buddha's advice found in the Dhammapada:

"He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me of my property! Whosoever harbors such thoughts will never be able to still his or her enmity."

"Never indeed is hatred stilled by hatred; it will only be stilled by non-hatred — this is a timeless truth." — Dhp., vv. 4-5

"Do not speak harshly to anyone. Those who are harshly spoken to might retaliate against you. Angry words hurt other's feelings, even blows may overtake you in return." — Dhp., v. 133

 

"Forbearance is the highest observance. Patience is the highest virtue. So the Buddhas say." — Dhp., v. 184

"Let one remove anger. Let one root out pride. Let one overcome all the fetters of the passions. No suffering overtakes one who neither clings to mind-and-body nor claims anything of this world." — Dhp., v. 221

 

"Conquer anger by non-anger. Conquer harm by good. Conquer greed by generosity. Conquer a liar by truthfulness." — Dhp., v. 223

 

"Guard mind against an outburst of ill feelings. Keep mind controlled. Renouncing harmful thoughts, develop purity of mind." — Dhp., v. 233

 
If by repeatedly reflecting on the Buddha's advice in this way one cannot curb anger, then try the second method.

2. Naturally, any "bad" person may also possess some good quality. Some people are bad in mind but speak well or perform their actions well. Some are coarse in words, in language, but not in mind or deeds. Some are coarse and cruel in deeds but their speech is sweet or their mind. Some are good in all three ways.
 
When we feel angry with anyone, we can usually find some good in the person, and by focusing on that good, anger subsides, There are, of course, some people bad in all three ways. In that case, reflect how this person will fare in the future with such karma, and compassion will spring up. In the case of someone who is good in all three, a rare individual, focus on any quality.

While we think thus, our mind will soften. We may even feel kindly towards the person. If we develop this way of thinking toward all (including ourselves), we will be able to curb or eliminate our anger altogether.

3. At times, this method may be unsuccessful, and we can try the third method. This entails reflecting in this way: "That person has done some wrong to me and in so doing has spoiled his or her mind. So why should I spoil or impair my mind because of that person's foolishness?

"Sometimes I decline or ignore support offered by my friends and relatives; sometimes they even shed tears because of my actions. Being a person of such type myself, why should I not therefore ignore that foolish person's deeds?
 

"That person has done that wrong, being subject to anger. Should I follow that person, making my mind subject to anger? Is it not foolish to imitate that person? One harboring hatred destroys oneself internally. Why should I, on that account, destroy my reputation?

"All things are momentary. Both that person's mind and body are momentary, too. The thoughts and the body with which the wrong was done to me are no longer existing. What I call the same person now are the thoughts and physical aspects which are different from the earlier ones that harmed me although belonging to the same psychophysical process.

"So one thought together with one mass of physical parts did me some wrong and vanished there and then, giving way to succeeding thoughts and material parts. So with which am I getting angry? With the vanished and disappeared thoughts and physical parts or with the thoughts and material parts which did not do me any wrong? Should I get angry with things which are innocent, whereas other things that did me wrong have already vanished?
 
"The so-called 'I' is not the same for two consecutive moments. At the moment the wrong was done there was another thought and material mass which were regarded as 'I,' whereas what are regarded as 'I' at the present moment are a different thought and material collection, though belonging to the same process.

"Therefore, some other being did wrong to someone else, and another gets angry with someone else about it. Is this not a ridiculous situation?"
 

If we scrutinize the exact nature of our lives and occurrences in this manner, our anger may subside and vanish there and then.
 
4. There is another way to eliminate the upsurge of anger. Suppose we think of someone who has done us wrong us. On such occasions we should remember that we suffer harm or loss as a result of our previous karma (the store of intentions willed and carried out through endless previous lives).
 
Even if others were angry with us, they could not harm us if there were no latent force of past unwholesome karma committed by us which took advantage of this opportunity to arouse our adversary. So it is I who am responsible for this harm or loss and not anybody else [the meeting of the two, someone's actions and our susceptibility brought about by our past actions].

At the same time, while I am suffering the result of past karma, if I on account of this should get angry and do any harm to him, by that do I accumulate much more unwholesome karma which would bring me correspondingly unwholesome results in the future.
 
If we call to mind this impersonal law of karma, this orderliness of the universe, anger may subside immediately. We can consider such a situation in another way, too. As the followers of the Buddha, we believe that the Bodhisatta (Bodhisattva or "Buddha-to-be") passed through an incalculable number of lives practicing virtues before attaining buddhahood.

Two sutras

The Bodhisatta became the Buddha.

The Buddha related the history of some of these past lives as illustrative examples to teach us how he managed to practice these virtues. The lives of Prince Dhammapala and the ascetic Khantivadi are most illustrative and draw our attention.
 
At one time the Bodhisatta [before he became the Buddha in a life as Siddhartha] had been born as the son of a king named Mahapatapa. The child was named Culla Dhammapala. One day the queen sat on a chair playing with her child and did not notice the king as he passed by. The king thought the queen was so proud of her child as not to get up from her chair even when she saw that her lord the king passed. So he grew angry and immediately sent for the executioner. When he came the king ordered him to snatch the child from the queen's arms and cut off his hands, feet, and head, which the executioner did instantly.

The child (the Bodhisatta) suffered all that with extreme patience and did not grow ill-tempered or relinquish his impartial love (upekkha-metta) for his cruel father, lamenting mother, or the executioner. So far had he matured in the practice of forbearance and loving-kindness by that time.

At another time, our Bodhisatta was reborn and became an ascetic well-known for the virtue of forbearance and consequently people named him Khantivadi, a "teacher of forbearance." One day he visited Benares (ancient Varanasi) and took his lodgings at the royal pleasure park. The king passed one day with his harem and, seeing the ascetic seated under a tree, asked what virtue he was practicing.

The ascetic replied that of forbearance. The king was a materialist who regarded the practice of virtue foolish and/or fraudulent. So on hearing the words of the ascetic, he sent for the executioner and ordered him to cut off the ascetic's hands and feet. Then he questioned the ascetic as to whether he could hold to forbearance at the severing of his limbs.

The ascetic did not feel ill-tempered but even at that time he lay down extending his loving-kindness and holding forbearance undiminished. He gently spoke to the king in reply to the effect that his forbearance and other virtues were not in his limbs but in his mind.
 
The king, unsuccessful in his attempts to disturb the ascetic's feelings, grew angrier and kicked him in the stomach with his heel and went away. The king's minister, seeing what had happened, came over, bowed before the dying ascetic, and begged him saying:
 
"Venerable one, none of us agreed to this cruel act of the king, and we are all sorrowing over what has been done to you by that devilish man. We ask you to curse the king but not us." At this the ascetic said: "May that king who has caused my hands and feet to be cut off, as well as you, live long in happiness. Persons who practice virtues like me never get angry." Saying this, he breathed his last.
 
Since the Buddha in past lives, while yet imperfect like us, practiced forbearance and loving-kindness to such a high degree, why can we not follow a little of his example?
 
When we remember and think of similar noble characters or "great souls" (maha atmas), we should be able to bear any harm, unmoved by anger. Or if we consider the nature of the round of rebirths in this beginningless and infinite universe, we may be able to curb the upsurge of anger. For it is said by the Buddha:

"It is not easy to find any being who has not [already]  been one's mother, father, brother, sister, son, or daughter." Hence with regard to the person whom we have now taken to regard as our "enemy," we should think:

"This one now in the past has been my mother who bore me in her womb for ten [lunar] months, gave birth to me, cleansed me of impurities, hid me in her bosom, carried me on her hip, and nourished me. This one was my father in another life and spent time and energy, engaged in some toilsome business with a view to maintaining me, even sacrificing life for my sake," and so on. When we ponder in this way, it is expected that our anger against enemies will subside.
 
5. Furthermore, we can reflect on the advantages of the development of mind through the practice of extending loving-kindness in all directions to all, beginning with one direction and only to some. For the Buddha has expounded 11 advantages to be looked for from its development. What are the 11? More