The Zen Guide to Controlling Anger and Anxiety (9784805320686)

You don't need to suppress your anger, you need to know what to do with it.

Difficult relationships, stalled careers, relentless social media, rising costs and an uncertain future. Anger is a reasonable response to an unreasonable amount of pressure, and yet most of us are taught to swallow it, to stay calm, to "be better."

Drawing on the practical wisdom of Zen Buddhism, this book offers a radically different message: Anger is not something to deny, it's something to master and to use. In this book you'll learn to manage anger and turn it to your advantage through four simple techniques:

• Let it flow: Release small frustrations and let go of what you can't control
• Deflect it: Protect your energy from toxic people and overwhelming environments
• Push back: Respond calmly and effectively to unfair demands and hurtful behavior
• Use it: Transform your anger into motivation, clarity and forward momentum

Author Ryushun Kusanagi specializes in applying Buddhist principles to improving human happiness. By following the advice in this book, you'll learn to stop feeling overwhelmed by anger and start working with it—experiencing stress without being consumed by it, and developing techniques to make anger your ally.


About the Author:
Ryushun Kusanagi is a Japanese Buddhist monk from Nara Prefecture. He ran away from home at sixteen, moved to Tokyo, and studied independently to pass the high school equivalency exam, eventually entering the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo. After several years working at a policy think tank, he decided in his mid-thirties to become a monk. He now runs a social improvement NGO in India, along with a kindergarten and elementary school, and works in Japan to promote Buddhism as a rational, practical approach to human happiness and social development.