Product Description

Under a bodhi tree in India 2500 years ago, Buddha achieved the insight that three states of mind were the source of all our unhappiness: ignorance, obsessive desire and anger. All are equally difficult to control but, in one instant of anger lives can be ruined and our spiritual development can be destroyed. Now, in the 21st century, medical science tells us Buddha was right: anger can also ruin our health. This text offers a different perspective on taking care of our anger, by treating the anger as we would a crying baby - by picking it up and talking to it, trying to find out why the baby is crying. Filled with stories and techniques this book offers a wise and loving look at transforming anger into peace in order to bring harmony and healing to all areas of our lives affected by this difficult emotion.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39956 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-20
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .39" h x .39" w x .39" l, .66 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 227 pages

From the Publisher
Nobel Peace Prize Nominee and internationally bestselling author shares the tools for overcoming anger

About the Author
Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese poet, bestselling author and peace activist, has been a Buddhist monk for over 40 years. He was chairman of the Vietnamese Buddhist Peace delegation during the Vietnam War and was nominated by Dr Martin Luther King for the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1966 he visited the US and Europe on a peace mission and was unable to return to his native land. Today he heads Plum Village, a meditation community in south-western France, where he teaches, writes, gardens and aids refugees worldwide.

Customer Reviews

Deceptively simple, but life-changing - an inspiring read
Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk, writes with gentle compassion on how to care for the anger which is within all of us, and transform its negative energy into positive energy. His guidance on breathing, walking and acting 'mindfully', with stillness and concentration, is the most clear and helpful I've ever read.

And this book is not relevant to anger alone. I have long been unsuccessfully fighting the craving to overeat - and found that when I simply noticed the craving lovingly and non-judgmentally, it lost its hold over me.

For anyone who has wrestled unsuccessfully with anger and its consequences, I recommend this compassionate, practical book with all my heart.

A wonderful book!
If anger flares up in you and you have no technique for dealing with it, other than punishing yourself and others, then this book is for you. Bhuddist psychology is not quackery or pseudo-science, it's practicle and applicable to everyday life. I have met the author, and he genuinely lives the life that he recommends to you - a life of love and compassion for yourself and others.
By the end of this book I saw the suffering that I have caused myself and loved ones through my anger, and the futility of holding onto it with righteous pride. Anger is suffering, there is no nobility in it, just pain, and this book teaches you not to combat anger with yet more hatred and self loathing, but to transform it with wisdom and compassion.

Inspiring and very important. Please read this book even if feel you don't need to.
I am skeptical of most "self-help" books as I believe in most cases the author has an ulterior motive or that the book has been constructed on a flawed and potentially damaging basis (such as pure "positive thinking"). However, this is different.

On first opening "Anger..." I read half of it without being able to put it down. I didn't even buy the book for me, rather because I thought it might help a friend.

This book is not just about anger in terms of shouting or saying hurtful things. It encompasses so much more and may help you recognise hidden anger in yourself and others, and as importantly, help you take positive steps to address it.

Read past the first part about "consuming anger" and don't let it put you off. TNH gives advice in straightforward terms and it is clear that what he says is what he believes and what he lives.

This is not a quick-fix. You can put the principles into practice straight away but it will take months or more (well-spent) to really understand.

This book has excited me enough to take action. I hope it inspires you.