Thoughts of anger and revenge are always poisonous ... - Dhamma by Ajahn Jayasāro
Thoughts of anger and revenge are always poisonous. The more we try to justify them as being natural and appropriate, or as being honourable or patriotic or sanctioned by our religion, the more intense the poison becomes. Nothing is more dangerous than a foolish angry person unshakeably convinced that he is right.
There is no lasting victory to be achieved throught acts of vengeance. Everybody loses - both immediately and in the future, in this life and future lives.
Forgiveness doesn't mean that angry vengeful thoughts disappear overnight. It means that we don't act upon them. By not feeding them, we allow them to fade away. We do this because we see that the suffering that occurs when we become poisoned by hatred far exceeds any pleasure that may be derived from hurting someone who has treated us badly.
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