Anger Book Review

Anger- Towards the Author
Anger
Robert A.F. Thurman
Oxford University Press
Copyright 2005
125 Pages
Reviewed by: Connell Depatie

The book Anger, written by Robert Thurman, belongs to a series of books individually written by different authors about the “Seven Deadly Sins” and the different ways to conquer them. This particular book tells the reader what anger really is, with a western definition followed by an eastern definition, and goes on to tell the reader several steps through which one could learn to conquer it. The first chapter consists of an initial definition of anger in two different ways- as a “Deadly Sin” (Christian and Islamic definition), and as an addiction or a poison in the Buddhist definition. It tells the reader that it is one of the three “root poisons”, along with greed and delusion, which cause the inability to achieve enlightenment and leave samsara, or the endless cycle of life that is the core belief of both the religions of Buddhism and Hinduism. The author then poses a philosophical question to the reader, asking whether anger is an inevitable part of life or if it can be confronted and overcome, leading to true happiness.

The Author continues the book educating the reader on why anger is considered a ‘deadly’ or ‘mortal’ sin. He says that it is “lethal to the soul’s life in God, fatal to our connection to the divine bliss”. Simply, this means that when we feel anger we are distancing ourselves from the virtues that God tells us to uphold, thus from God himself. Another reason that anger is seen as a sin is because it has the ability to cause even the most pious followers of religion to break religious code, such as killing, slander, and maliciousness. In this way, anger is seen not only as a sin, but also as a gateway to other sins. The author continues to say that without overcoming anger, achieving enlightenment is impossible, thus achieving true happiness is extremely difficult. We are then asked the question: what is anger? According to Thurman, anger derives from the Norse “angr” meaning trouble, affliction and pain. This points to the conclusion that anger is born through pain, and seeks only to cause pain.
The next chapter in the book is entitles “Resigning From Anger- The Western Way”. This chapter draws connections between the Western religions, such as Judaism and Christianity, and the ways in which we can overcome anger. He says that merely hiding ones anger is not enough- that anger must also be overcome in the mind, not just hidden away, destined to one day explode outward in its fiery, destructive nature. Western religion states that the energy used by anger should be transformed into tolerance, and then changed once again into compassion and love. These religions also see anger as “inner murder” and “a virtual killing of the one who angered you”. The next section is also about resigning from anger- this time in the Buddhist way. Buddhists see anger as less of a wrongdoing and more of a vice, or a “mental addiction”. This mental addiction causes suffering by taking away ones ability to achieve true happiness. They say that to conquer anger, one must first realize that anger is not a raw emotion, or a set feeling that everyone will experience once in a while, and as an addiction. They see it as an addiction because those who feel anger, while in the midst of its grasp, believe that if they let it take over and lash out at all those around them that it will help them solve their problems. However, the anger just causes more problems, and once we as humans have an understanding of this, we can begin to let go of the anger, and become closer and closer to enlightenment. This is not too different from the solution to anger within Western religion, where followers are told that when struck on the cheek, instead of getting angry, they shall turn the other cheek and allow their enemy to strike once more. In other words, instead of getting angry when wrong is done to you, feel sympathy for the wrongdoer for they are struggling with the anger within their own mind. The next section gives the reader a middle ground between the two. In this section, the Author states his main point, that “tolerant patience” is the solution to conquering anger. He reminds the reader that anger, in all forms, causes nothing but injury and suffering, no matter how you look at it. He says that there are many more causes for suffering than happiness in the world; thus, we must find a way to turn our suffering into happiness. In other words, “no pain no gain. The rest of the book advises the reader on ways to cultivate patience- the ultimate key to avoiding anger. The purpose of this book is to aid people with controlling their anger, and ultimately finding true happiness. Unfortunately, the book is not effective at this, and at least for this reader, did the opposite. With the smarmy writing, run on sentences and constant attempts by the writer to prove his intelligence, the book did nothing for me but cause frustration. This, plus constant repetition of the same point throughout the book makes it less than a pleasure to read- in fact, it was very difficult to finish. Constantly speaking about “the absolute self” and “the relative self” seems merely confusing, but after consulting a psych major, I learned that it is also nonsensical. The book is confusing, clearly shows the authors self-righteousness and fails completely to get it’s point across. However, the author clearly has a lot of knowledge on the subject, and the book may actually be helpful if it were simplified, and if the author wasn’t constantly seeking self-validation through using pointless allusions and metaphors that make no sense, and words that force the average reader to hunt through a dictionary to understand. Despite all this, Thurman’s insights on Western and Eastern religions, specifically Buddhism are very interesting. Viewing anger as an addiction rather than a set emotion helps the reader think about it in a deeper sense, even convincing us that distinguishing anger within one’s self is an actual possibility. The main thing, however, that I disliked about the book was the fact that about half was written by other people, most prominently Seneca and Aristotle, through quoting these philosophers then merely restating what they said in his own words. I would not recommend this book, but I do acknowledge that it contains a few interesting and thought provoking ideas concerning anger and religion.