This Yoga Life column is dedicated to the Buddha and his teachings.
Once in a while our Yoga teacher made references the Buddha. He had a lot of wise things to say about how to conduct ourselves while we were with others and with ourselves. Here are the words of wisdom from Buddha on anger.
During his sermon, one of his disciples asked the Buddha: “When I am angry, I want to lash at the one who made me so. How do I manage anger? Please enlighten us.”
The compassionate Buddha, with a gentle smile on his face, responded: “Holding anger in your heart is just like holding burning charcoal in your hand. It will burn the hand that holds it as well as the hand of the one on whom you shower this anger. Let go of it quickly before it burns you and the one with whom you are angry.”
Others words of wisdom came from the Buddha’s mouth:
1. Be a light unto yourself.
2. Get in touch with your inner self.
3. Create your own destiny.
4. Do not be a follower.
5. Use all the mental, physical and emotional power of your being to reach your own destiny.
6. Each one of you is a potential Buddha.
7. Awaken your potential to be what your conscience is.
8. The spirit of the Buddha is all around and in everything: in the leaf, the sun, the moon, stars, clouds, rain, snow, water, sky, every blade of grass, sand in the desert or ocean, the mud and everything else. You are made from-the five elements of earth, water, fire, air and space. You are born as a human being, constructed from these elements. Just like you, animals and insects and the rest of the world are created through them. Death means becoming those elements. Who knows? You may become a cloud to rain and bring a bumper harvest ,or snow on the earth to reflect light back or a drop of water to fall in the mouth of a fish to turn into a pearl to end in the necklace of a princess.
This exercise might help when done on a regular basis:
Meditation with a mantra
While sitting in an easy posture, close your eyes. Become aware of breathing in and out. As you breathe in, think about the sound “so.” As you breathe out, think about the sound “hum.” If other ideas come through your mind, recognize them and then set them aside. Go back to breathing in “so” and breathing out “hum.” Keep your mind on “so,” “hum.” Continue your meditation for two minutes. After you have completed this process, go back to your normal breathing.
This exercise can be done while you have been sitting in front of your computer for an hour. Take a break from work by breathing in “so” and breathing out ‘hum’ for a minute. Resume your work routine. It is a good way to relax your eyes, hands and brain. You can also do this exercise during a plane, bus or train ride, before falling asleep or before getting out of bed in the morning.