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Have I broken my vow?
minimayhen88
Veteran
I hold a precept / vow to abstain from anger as part of the '10 Good Precepts' / '10 wholesome actions.' The other day I could feel anger rising inside me (because of someones behaviour) .....and each time I felt the anger arising, I would do my best to suppress it and breath deeply until the angry feeling went away. In terms of my vow .... I did feel very slight anger arising .... but I did my best to keep it away ..... would this still be considered a transgression? As I did still feel slight, anger nonetheless......
Or is this vow the same as the other precepts .... in that if there is no intention = there is no transgression. As I was trying my best to keep it away?
Please help xx
Sorry, I'm just rather confused :-/
Or is this vow the same as the other precepts .... in that if there is no intention = there is no transgression. As I was trying my best to keep it away?
Please help xx
Sorry, I'm just rather confused :-/
0
Comments
However, there are techniques in Buddhism for helping us with negative afflicting emotions; but this sounds a little too extreme to me.
Tosh :-) I'ts not impossible :-) I'ts a great thing to master (well from what I have experienced so far, I believe it is) x
why would you make a silly vow like that?
reflect on your mistakes and try to do better in the future instead.
I use mindfulness to try and catch it before it happens, and even when it's happening - if I can still be mindful - I'll tell myself 'this is all my fault, it's nothing to do with anything external, this is an internal problem', and sometimes it short circuits the anger; it causes a bit of confusion in me, because it does REALLY feel like the cause of my anger is my wife or daughter, or some external cause. However, from a logical and rational point of view, I know the anger is an internal problem.
But I still get angry. I agree with you that overcoming anger is not impossible and would be a great thing to master; however it is still an extremely high bar to reach, and we should remember that even though we aim for perfection, in reality it's progress we should be making; progress, not perfection. If you aim for the near impossible, the chances are you're gonna fail, get frustrated, and give it up as a waste of time.
That's just my opinion based on my own experience.
i bet you the vow will be broken,
its better to say i will try my best not tell a lie bcos lying is not good for me,
and i dont like it when people lie to me.
Take your time and decide whether you consider it was a transgression or not.
What makes you say yes? you seem to have just a bare statement there... the meat appears on the No side...
Vow to develop the positive counterpart.
The paramita here is khanti or tolerance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramita
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khanti
The beauty is that when you can accept everything, you can accept your anger too.
You’re angry and defeating anger at the same time. You have an opening.
If you don’t have that opening, you will feel anger and add some anger to it about feeling the anger.
You get into a war on your own emotions; which is not a good idea.
imho
Vows & precepts mimic enlightened action. What is important is ones consistent intent to breath life into them. There is more karma from the miring guilt of falling on ones face in the failed attempt of trying to keep them than from just returning to your practise of keeping them? Being tested by your vows only says that you chose the right ones to take.
That said, I understand Buddhism, no matter what level you are on, to be a lifelong practice, and even a many-lifetime practice. It is not something you just say "i agree to this" and bam, you can do it. It's referred to as a practice for a reason. It sounds to me like you practiced and overall did well. Is there anything you can look back on over the interaction and figure out what points made you angry, and what you can do to understand those points so when they arise in the future you can better control your feelings?
I think the point (I'm fairly new to this, fyi) is to not be consumed by anger. To recognize when it's present so you can take control and not express anger to other people, and not allow the anger to fester and make yourself suffer. Recognizing, accepting and letting go.
I thought caring, like attachment, arose from the root of hanging onto or pushing away anything.
I like the expression of "caring" for its brighter connotation.
I reminds me of one Roshi, who when asked what ever started karma's impetus, answering "slightly saddened love".
It is a pretty difficult precept, I agree .... but I can pretty much completely block anger (i.e. rage) now .... its just irritation and those more mild forms of anger I am currently struggling with! Having taken a vow to abstain from anger, it makes things easier, because it gives me an aspiration, and desire to preserve my vow. If you are very disciplined with yourself for about 3+ weeks (i.e. each time you feel anger arising, take a deep breath, and on the exhale, calm the anger and contemplate 'oneness' or that each living being has enough suffering, so why add to it) after a while you start to be able to recognise even the start of feeling angry and simply breathe through it. Because the more you let a feeling of anger grow, the more tense you become, the more you blood vessles consrict, the more your mind goes into survival mode, and then you find yourself justifying getting angry .... which then leads to full blown anger. Anger is simply an energy, so inhale deeply and let the energy go.
If you look back on times you were angry ... you will most probably feel ashamed or regretful .... so its essentially an empty unproductive emotion. I think in this case, 'anger' is being confused with 'passion' .... passion can be seen as a positive motivational energy .... whereas anger, involves aggression, which is against the Buddhist teachings and little good comes of it x
Claudie
R.
I also think negative emotions can be a great opportunity for learning. They aren't something that an average person can assume they will never experience. It is only how you control them and react to them that matters.