I attended a meeting at the Japan Society recently with some other Tricycle staff members, and several people who work at the fine organization on Manhattan’s east side, to talk about potential future collaboration. While in discussions, one of the staff members at Japan Society said, “Well I know I shouldn’t be angry, but…” and someone there replied, “It’s ok to be angry.” The two distinct notions presented raised the obvious question. Is it ok to be angry? “Many Buddhists get very skilled at pushing anger away, at sitting at a distance from their anger, but it’s not extinguished. They need help bringing it back into the center of their awareness and owning it again,” Psychotherapist and author Mark Epstein shares his views about anger in an interview from the summer 1998 issue of Tricycle. “From a Buddhist point of view, one could say that the ideal stance, even in the face of overwhelming negative emotions, is the same – not to rush to judgment – and to make space for whatever is being presented,” says Epstein.

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