Wise Awareness (​Kumāra Bhikkhu's Blog)

Unless we’re highly awakened, it’s normal for us to get angry sometimes. However, if we somehow think we’re not supposed to be angry, we naturally shove down our anger, locking it away in our subconscious. This is suppressed anger, and it can cause trouble to our mental and physical well-being. To understand anger theoretically and practically, see Understanding Anger with Kindness . In this article, however, let me deal with venting suppressed anger. Now, we generally have the idea that it’s not good to vent our anger on someone. That’s plain common sense. However, if we have the idea that it’s not good to vent our anger at all, that’s taking an extreme view, which naturally makes us suppress our anger. Over time, this can lead to a host of issues, from anxiety and depression to headaches and high blood pressure. It may also cause chronic eczema. Recognizing the Signs of Suppressed Anger When we have suppressed our anger, we may cease to be conscious of the anger. In Buddhist speak, ...

You may have heard of some Buddhist cults, but do you know what makes a group a cult? Psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton, a highly regarded cult expert, defines a cult as having these characteristics in his paper Cult Formation : A charismatic leader, who increasingly becomes an object of worship as the general principles that may have originally sustained the group lose power. A process call[ed] coercive persuasion or thought reform. Economic, sexual, and other exploitation of group members by the leader and the ruling coterie. If your group has all these, it’s a full-blown cult. If it has only one of these, though not yet a full-blown cult, it can be considered cultish. I think the first and the last characteristics are clear enough. The second however needs some elaboration. Coercive persuasion or thought reform is more commonly known as “brainwashing” . It's a process in which a group or individual systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to co...

You can take this article as me cautioning the Buddhist community. Having been active in the Buddhist circle for 30 years, I’ve met some ‘Buddhist’ teachers who knowingly lead their followers into more suffering, while having them believe the opposite. By showing good behaviour, they gain trust. Then, they tell stories of themselves to gain sympathy or admiration, or both. Bit by bit, the victim changes: from believing “this is a good person” to “this is a great person”, whom he eventually feels very lucky to be associated with. He notices that followers of this teacher also seem to think the same, and that strengthens his belief. And so he joins their group. Unknowingly, he has become a member of a cult led by a psychopath. See 13 Clear Traits of a Psychopath : Now, of course the “great person” you are following may not be a psychopath at all, but how can you be sure? There’s only one way: Fact-check their stories . If they tell you fascinating stories of themselves related to th...

The fascination is understandable. Psychics, with their extrasensory perception and glimpses into the future, can be very enticing. But while the fascination can be a fun indulgence, it’s important to be aware of the potential dangers. Buddhists and followers of other faiths don’t need much convincing that psychic abilities are real, because psychicism is usually part of their belief system. Thus they are at a higher risk of being exploited by psychics. So, what are the dangers if you tend to be fascinated with psychics as a Buddhist? The ‘psychic’ may actually be a sociopathic psychopath Some people who appear to be psychic are actually psychopaths. People tend to think of psychopaths as cold-blooded killers due to how they are usually portrayed in the media, but most psychopaths aren’t physically violent. They are however necessarily good at mind-reading through facial expression, body language and way of speaking. As such they can easily pass themselves off as psychics. If a pe...