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Summary: Words to live by.
Review: "The Buddha said that a monk has the right to be angry," Thich Nhat Hanh tells us, "but not for more than one night" (p. 72). Thich Nhat Hanh is a Buddhist monk and respected peace activist who was nominated for the Nobel Prize. He has written more than 100 books, and he is a trusted teacher. In this book, he explains in simple terms how Buddhist teachings "can remove the heat of anger, and the fever of suffering" (p. 52). The dharma provides us with very effective methods of extinguishing the fire in us: mindful breathing, mindful walking, embracing our anger, looking deeply into the nature of our perceptions, and looking deeply into others to realize that they suffer too, and need our help (pp. 24-25). "Your savior doesn't come from the outside," Thay writes, "it comes from inside" (p. 111).Understanding nonduality and interbeing allows us to restore peace and harmony in ourselves and in our relationships with others (p. 124). Before making deep changes in our lives, "we have to look into our diet, our way of consuming. We have to live in such a way that we stop consuming the things that poison us and intoxicate us" (p. 50). The food we eat can contribute to our anger, our frustration, and our despair (p. 15). Reading magazines and watching television can also be toxic (p. 17). Consuming alcohol also causes suffering and death (p. 22). "Enlightenment is not separate from washing dishes or growing lettuce," Thay writes. "To learn to live each moment of our daily life in deep mindfulness and concentration is the practice" (p. 202). This book also teaches us how to establish good relationships. Taking care of ourself, we take care of our brother, our sister, our father, our mother, our community, and our society, "with utmost tenderness" (p. 70). Thich Nhat Hanh encourages us to look deeply not only as individuals, "but as a city, as a nation" (p. 133). "When you drop bombs on your enemy, you drop the same bombs on yourself, on your own country" (p. 134). With wisdom and clarity, this book reveals the relationship between personal inner peace and world peace, and it offers us words to live by especially during these troubled times. G. Merritt
Rating: 
Summary: A Jewel of a Book
Review: Although at times I found it a bit repetitive, and so a little too long, I loved this book because it is written so invitingly and is so filled with numerous simply transformational teachings. I was carried along by Nhat Hahn's masterful style right through to the excellent appendix detailing wise practices for cultivating mindfulness, insight and compassion to use in privacy or with a companion. Definitely a cool oasis for assuaging the tides of anger.
Rating:
Summary: I didn't consider myself angry until I read this book
Review: And then I found what anger really was. So much more than a feeling, but really a state of mind. This man speaks the truth with insight about life, relationships, and just everything. A truly altering book that is readable for any age. It can really help anyone who wants less anger in general. So read it, you might be angry and not even know it.
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Summary: Anger and Wisdom
Review: Anger, Wisdom for Cooling the Flame. In the West we are not taught the details for living...the inseparateness of body and spirit. The wisdom of the ages is the wisdom of love and nurturing. If we were to learn this from childhood the lessons would be simple. We do not. Therefore Western living is complicated. Perhaps for some so is Eastern living. What we want to learn is the simplicity of life. To do this we must learn that everything is One. I am that I am. Life and its details engage us if/when we become aware of the separation that has taken place. We yearn for the joining and the completness of body and spirit. We yearn for peace because that is the word for completeness. Giving up anger is but one step in the process. But to do that "giving up" aye, that is the challenge. To do that we must have the "intent" for oneness. To do that we must be willing to give up all to gain all that is.
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Summary: FINDING INNER PEACE IN A TURBULENT TIME!
Review: As a counsellor I have seen first hand how people react when tragedy and loss invade our lives. First we weep, we grieve and then that grief often gives way to anger. It is okay to feel all those emotions; it is part of human nature. What is important is that we deal with our emotions in a positive, constructive manner. Violence leads to more violence, hated breeds more hate, revenge does not bring us true happiness. Thich Nhat Hanh has been a Buddhist monk since the age of sixteen and has written hundreds of books aimed at helping us deal with the trials and tribulations of day-to-day living. This particular book focuses on anger and quelling the raging fires within. No doubt, there are many fires burning within many citizens around the world as a result of the horrendous terrorist acts in America. Reading this particular book will not resolve the world's problems; it does, however, have the potential to help the reader deal with anger. Anger can be one of the most powerful, all-consuming, self-destructive emotions known to mankind if not dealt with in a constructive manner. It has destroyed relationships and divided countries. Left untethered, it eats away little by little at the soul and very core of our being. Thich Nhat Hanh is a learned, compassionate man who has the ability to make people see the positive light in virtually every situation. This book is no exception. He reminds us that anger begins and ends with ourselves. Nhat Hanh has the ability to take a complex situation, wrap it up with a bow and deliver it to us as a saving grace. His words of wisdom will help soothe the ravaged soul. Also recommended reading by this author are "Peace is Every Step", "The Heart of Buddha" and "Teachings on Love"; all are five-star books, highly recommended and well worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: A different prospective
Review: As a social worker, this book presented a different prospective of how to "deal with" anger. In Western society we seek to expel anger from ourselves. Yet, in Eastern thought anger is embraced and nourished as being a part of the whole of a person, and kept in check so as not to be unleashed to harm one's self or another. I highly recommend it. Even if you are unfamiliar with Buddhism, as I am also unfamiliar, it was still easy reading and enlightening.
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Summary: Learning how to love.
Review: How timely - a book on Anger that arrives just after the tragedy of Sept. 11. Timely, yet timeless. To me, this book titled "Anger" is really a book about love in every possible meaning of the word. What are the things that usually make us angry, but those things that make us feel unloved - those things that make us, or those people or beliefs that we cherish, feel dishonored, disrespected, excluded and ignored. This books shows how to get into the heart of those feelings and into the heart and soul of those who treat us this way. But most important of all is the simplicity of the language and honesty of the message. I have read a lot of deeply spiritual books by many authors of many different religions and belief systems - but none are as PRACTCAL and REAL as this. This is written by a person who clearly has shared these very human feelings that we all have and yet he is a monk. How often have we NEEDED to have our spirtual teachers be perfect and yet find that perfection impossible to reach ourselves. Yet here is a monk who has clearly felt these same feelings as we have - looked deeply into them and learned how to transform them into love. These simple methods he shares in this book. There is NO judgement, NO criticism, NO shame only pure heartfelt and deep understanding of the human condition by a human being who is sharing very real ways for all of us to HEAL.
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Summary: Life changing
Review: I am not a Buddhist and knew nothing about it when I picked up this book at the airport. I am glad that it does not require you to be any certain religion to enjoy it - the book has so many great ideas for everyone. He uses simple and powerful examples that I found helpful and easy to remember to improve your outlook and life.
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Summary: The book that changed my life
Review: I am still learning how to cool the flames...and appreciate the wisdom of Nhat Hanh shared in these guiding words.
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Summary: Embracing Anger
Review: I believe I understand why many people have a hard time identifying with some of Thich's writings due to repetition in many of his works. Perhaps also a few would like a more "intellectual" approach to the Buddha's teachings. We must truly get past this, he "repeats" himself because he knows how easy it is to "forget." In Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames, I found a lot of worthwhile advice one can implement in their mindfulness practice. Reiterating the importance of not running or wishing our anger away, but rather, embracing our anger. Really, in essence, embracing any emotion that comes our way. Here we are allowed to see the emotion's inherent transperency. He provides metaphors as his examples on explaining the importance of this. "If a mother is working in the kitchen and hears her baby crying, she puts down anything she is holding, and she goes into the baby's room. Nothing is more urgent than the baby's cries. The first thing she does is pick up the baby and embrace the baby." That's perfect, emracing another's emotional turmoil should be like embracing our own. In Mahayana Buddhism, those who accept the precepts take the Bodhisattva vow. This vow is one of saving all beings. Interdependence makes it clear that you are not seperate from this all, that indeed you are part of it. Applying the same "therapy" you would to another in turmoil should be likewise applied to yourself. Then you neglect no one. This book can really help us grow in our practice. Sogyal Rinpoche, author of "The Tibetan Book of the Living and Dying",says, "Thich Nhat Hanh writes with the voice of the Buddha." I must say, I have no other choice but to agree. Enjoy this book:)
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