The possibility of change
02 Working with Anger
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Working with Anger 
May 11, 2025 Part of a series of talks based on Working with Anger given at Sravasti Abbey’s monthly Sharing the Dharma Day starting in April, 2025. Written by Venerable Thubten Chodron the book presents a variety of Buddhist methods for subduing anger, not by changing what is happening, but by working with our minds to frame situations differently.
- Guided meditation on how anger distorts our perception of others
- Shantideva’s teachings on anger are relevant today
- We can’t change others, we can change ourselves
- We can change because we don’t have fixed, solid personalities
- The basic nature of our mind is pure like a clear sky
- Negative emotions are based on ignorance which can be eliminated
- The internal fire of anger
- Anger is inaccurate in its assessment of reality
- What is going on in our mind when we’re angry
An audio recording of the guided meditation is also available.
Venerable Thubten Chodron
Venerable Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners. She is well known for her warm, humorous, and lucid teachings. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1977 by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche in Dharamsala, India, and in 1986 she received bhikshuni (full) ordination in Taiwan. Read her full bio.
