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user-inactivated  ·  3198 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Anger

It's a part of the point I was making. Human beings are biased from the very beginning of their lives and don't notice it. They think that being angry or irritated over something is their prerogative, while in reality it is nothing more than an extension of that childish tantrum we've been throwing earlier in our lives because we thought of life as unfair.

It's not to say that it's not healthy: it can be an important emotional motivator to change things. Yet it's rare to see people use it effectively, with purpose rather than simply showing the world that they're angry, as if the world cares or should care.

As for the Buddhist approach - they got it wrong in one very important part: it's not life that is unsatisfying - it's the human beings who are unsatisfied. Of course, not many strive towards knowing themselves so much to be able to learn and stomach effectively that they're full of flaws and biases and that it's fine, for they're human. Would be odd to see a popular religion tell its followers about how absolutely and helplessly sinned they are... Oh hold on, we already have Christianity!