The Buddha taught that we should never operate from a basis of anger. Yet, many of us notice that anger can be a powerful motivator for taking action. Outrage that a group of fellow humans, animals, or the environment are suffering can get us off our duffs and into the streets. Students often ask, therefore, isn’t some anger okay, even useful?
One way to think about anger–and similar strong emotions such as hatred and fear–is to think of them in the same way that we think about energy sources for our cars, buildings, etc. There are two categories: dirty fuels, such as oil and gas, are non-renewable, create pollution when burned, and cause pollution through the extraction process. On the other hand, clean energy, such as solar power, is renewable, doesn’t create pollution when used, and causes minimal pollution to generate.
Likewise, anger is a powerful energy source for activism. But, operating from anger pollutes the atmosphere in the organization we work for, it comes from a source that takes considerable energy to renew, and it can burn us out. What, then, would be clean energy sources for activism? How about compassion? Love? A vision of healing? Joy? These energies not only don’t pollute, but they potentially heal and brighten the space of the collective. These are energies that won’t burn us out: indeed, they lift us up in powerful and sustaining ways.
True, anger can be effective for the short term. But, for the long haul that activism demands, we’ll need the sustainable energies of love and compassion to fuel our efforts.