“Conquer anger by letting go of anger; conquer evil deeds with good deeds; conquer stinginess with giving; and conquer falsehood with truth.”
This teaching of the Buddha is a guide for living peacefully and bringing peace to those around us. We tend to easily become attached to the things right in front of us. We constantly stop and let our minds be captured by immediate events. However, what happens right before our eyes is actually already in the past; it is not the present moment.
When people get angry, they certainly have their reasons. But holding onto that anger means staying stuck in that exact moment. Letting go of anger does not mean never getting angry. When there is a reason to be angry, it is only natural to feel it. To “let go of anger” means to leave the emotion behind at that moment. It means not carrying that anger around with you like a precious possession. When you look out the window of a moving train, you do not try to hold onto each passing scene. In the same way, everything is in a constant flow of change, and we cannot remain fixed in a single moment.
We cannot change the bad behavior of others. The only thing we can do is make our own actions a little better. Stinginess is attachment to material things itself. Giving is an act that detaches ourselves from that material attachment. As for falsehood, it goes without saying.
These are things we feel we might be able to do to some extent if we are mindful. However, the next teaching is incredibly difficult.
“Hatred is never appeased by hatred; hatred is appeased only by letting go of hatred.”
This is the realm of someone who has completely eliminated all attachment—an enlightened being, so to speak. For ordinary people like us, it may be a state we cannot reach even in a lifetime. Yet, looking at today’s world where the cycle of retaliation continues, I believe that being aware of this universal truth could make the world a slightly better place. I feel this phrase holds that kind of hope.