How do I control my anger?

According to Mahaguru's teachings, the approach to anger is not simply suppression or willpower, but turning the anger itself into a meditation subject.

Watch the anger as it arises

When anger comes up, the teaching says this is actually the best moment to practice Vipassana (insight meditation), rather than waiting for a quiet sitting session. In that very moment, ask yourself with awareness why you got angry and what kind of thing this anger is. Instead of being swept along by it or acting it out, look closely at it: at the body's sensations, at the feeling that arose, at the thoughts building on top of it. This is described as doing meditation on the anger as it happens, while working, talking, or dealing with people, not only on a cushion.

Early on, most people only notice anger after it has already peaked and passed, catching it as a memory of having got angry like that. With practice, awareness moves closer: you catch it as it peaks and declines, then as it is rising, until eventually you can see it arising live, in the present moment. This gradual sharpening of awareness is itself the training; it isn't something to force with heavy effort or pressure, since forcing it just turns awareness into another mental construct.

Set a daily intention

A concrete daily practice given is this: each morning before even getting out of bed, set a clear intention for the day, such as not getting angry today, or making today a day to practice loving-kindness (Maithriya). This means that if someone scolds you, honks at you, or cuts you off in traffic, you remind yourself that today you have taken up the practice of patience or loving-kindness, so you have, in effect, given up your "right" to get angry for that day. Taking up one such resolve at a time, for one day at a time, is given as a very effective and practical place to build awareness.

Learn to manage the mind rather than just the symptom

The teaching also points out that reactions like anger come from not having trained ourselves to manage our own minds, what we think about, what we let in, what we drop. Just as the body naturally processes and expels toxins, the mind can be trained to do the same with the "trash" that enters it, if we practice managing it rather than just labelling the problem (as stress, overthinking, or a mental illness) and leaving it there.

What anger ultimately points to

Underneath this, the teachings point to anger, like craving and pride, as something rooted in the construction of "me": the practice of watching yourself closely over time is meant to help you see this self-construction directly, not merely to calm the anger on the surface. Seeing yourself clearly, as things arise, including anger, is described as one of the most valuable things you can do, more valuable even than long hours of formal sitting if it is not paired with this kind of self-seeing.