“When you have been entertaining negative emotions such as anger, unless and until you acknowledge that you are controlled by these negative emotions, you continue to give negative emotions room for further growth. But as soon as you begin to see that your actions have been mean, terrible, that it’s not the everyday you, then you suspect that it’s not you doing it, that it’s negative emotions pushing you to it. So check. The way you check is to ask yourself, “Is this my normal behavior or is it unusual? If it’s unusual, then why am I doing it? Because I’m angry, hurt, and I want to make trouble for the other person.” This confirms that it’s your anger, not you. Then it’s time for you to take charge. And once you confirm that this is the negative emotion of anger, then it is your job, your duty, and your responsibility to yourself to decide that you will not let yourself fall under the control of any one of those negative emotions. And resolve, “I must free myself from the clutches of this terrible emotion called anger. I pray that I may be protected from anger. I reject anger, help me to reject it, and bless me to end all anger and its root and causes, once and for all.”
Bite off what you can chew. When you resolve on Friday that you will not entertain Dr. Frankenstein till Monday, yet you find yourself yearning for him on Saturday, then you pray. Visualize that light and liquid come from the enlightened beings, filling your body completely, washing away all negativities in general and, in particular, hatred, anger, and even irritation. Tell yourself that it is all completely washed away and your body has become of pure light nature and your mind is happy, open, and wise. This visualization was recommended by the great masters and spiritual practitioners who have used it for thousands of years to help themselves and others defeat anger.”
~ Gelek Rimpoche from “Good Life, Good Death: One of the Last Reincarnated Lamas to Be Educated in Tibet Shares Hard-Won Wisdom on Life, Death, and What Comes After”
