Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames

Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames

by Thich Nhat Hanh

Riverhead Books, New York, New York    © 2002    227 pp.

This is a very gentle, practical, compassionate guide to dealing with our anger.  “We have to be there for our anger, we have to recognize its presence and take good care of it. . . . It is wonderful and very important. You have to recognize and embrace anger when it manifests instead of suppressing it.” (p. 118)

But then, Thich Nhat Hanh raises the important question, “who is the one getting in touch with, taking care of, and recognizing anger.” Anger is an energy, and if it overwhelms you, you can become a victim of it. In that situation, you need to generate another energy: the energy of mindfulness.

Mindfulness is there to welcome, to recognize: “Hello, my little anger, I know you are there. My old friend.” (p. 118)

A gifted storyteller, Thich Nhat Hanh generously uses spot-on stories to illustrate his points. And like a true mystic, he is equally generous with a multitude of creative suggestions for practice, to help us meet our anger with grace and mindfulness. I resonated with his image of the sunshine behind the clouds: we are more than the anger; we also have the capacity to love, understand and be compassionate. And the practice helps us to touch the sunshine.

-- reviewed by Sharry Lachman


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