Bit by Bit - Chapter 6, Part 6

Trey Smith

Since he is like this, his mind forgets; his face is calm; his forehead is broad. He is chilly like autumn, balmy like spring, and his joy and anger prevail through the four seasons. He goes along with what is right for things and no one knows his limit. Therefore, when the sage calls out the troops, he may overthrow nations but he will not lose the hearts of the people. His bounty enriches ten thousand ages but he has no love for men. Therefore he who delights in bringing success to things is not a sage; he who has affections is not benevolent; he who looks for the right time is not a worthy man; he who cannot encompass both profit and loss is not a gentleman; he who thinks of conduct and fame and misleads himself is not a man of breeding; and he who destroys himself and is without truth is not a user of men. Those like Hu Pu-hsieh, Wu Kuang, Po Yi, Shu Ch'i, Chi Tzu, Hsu Yu, Chi T'o, and Shen-t'u Ti-all of them slaved in the service of other men, took joy in bringing other men joy, but could not find joy in any joy of their own.
~ Burton Watson translation ~

Notice how Zhuangzi writes that "joy and anger prevail"? I think it's important to note that, too often, we get this idea that the perfect person would never be angry. The perfect person would be ever content and just skip through life singing, la-dee-da-dee-da.

In my mind, there is no question that much of our anger is ego-based. If we could free ourselves from this, then we would lessen a great deal of the stress in our lives. Sometimes, however, anger does not spring from our ego.

Ever stub your toe or accidentally hit yourself with a hammer? Not only does it hurt, but it sometimes produces anger. I see nothing wrong with that PROVIDED we don't hang onto it and then use that anger as fuel to injure others or ourselves.

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