From Anger to Kindness

As a mirror reflects an object,
As a still lake reflects the sky,
Take care that what you speak or act is for good.
For goodness will always cast back goodness,
And harm will always cast back harm.
       - The Buddha

Today's children's elementary lesson drew from a Buddhist story about how to handle the very strong emotion of anger.  In the story, the Buddha responds to someone's anger in an unconventional way that teaches the power of love, both in disarming the anger of another, and in refusing to take on the anger that another person attempts to inflict.  Children discussed various ways to rely on love and faith to move themselves - and thereby others - from anger to love.

Anger was affirmed as a normal, healthy feeling.  It is our body's way of alerting us to problems.  "Righteous anger" can even give us the energy we need to right wrongs in the world.  However, anger can also be misdirected or expressed in hurtful ways.

In exploring anger and ways to defuse it, the children experimented with non-verbal communication to express anger and empathy.  In a mirroring activity, they paired up and practiced mirroring their partners arm and hand movements.  This exercise was designed to cultivate awareness of another person, and to be present with them.  This simple practice can go a long way to defusing anger both in another person, and within oneself.

The children heard a story about the Buddha and his unexpected reply to a surly young man who began angrily ranting at him.  Instead of taking in the insults and anger, the Buddha calmly told the man that he did not accept his "gift" of curses and anger; therefore, the "gift" stayed with the owner.  The children then explored the cryptic lesson of the Buddha about actions being mirrored back to the one who acts - and his gentle admonition to make sure that what you speak or act is always for good, for just as right action reflects back kindness to the owner, if anger and hatred is what comes forth that is what will be returned.

The activity concluded with children creating their own sets of calming beads, or "counting your blessings" beads which they could run through their fingers to help defuse their own feelings of anger and bring about a sense of calmness and control.