Thich Nhat Hanh presents anger as a profound form of suffering rather than an enemy to be destroyed. It is described as a mental formation rooted in ignorance, wrong perception, fear, and past wounds, a kind of inner fire that harms the one who carries it first. Instead of suppressing or exploding with anger, the practitioner is invited to recognize and acknowledge it, to “take care” of it gently, as one would cradle a crying child. This approach treats anger as something impermanent that can be transformed, not as a fixed aspect of identity. Observing anger without judgment allows space for insight into its true causes and conditions.

The primary means of working with anger is mindfulness, especially mindful breathing and calm awareness of body and mind. When anger arises, it is to be named and embraced with conscious breathing, using awareness to prevent it from escalating. Through this steady attention, one looks deeply into the roots of anger, seeing how misperception and unexamined suffering give rise to it. Such insight weakens the impulse toward blame and retaliation, and opens the possibility of compassion for oneself and others. In this way, anger becomes an opportunity for practice and understanding rather than a force that must inevitably lead to harm.

Forgiveness, in this teaching, is not framed as condoning wrongdoing or adopting a posture of moral superiority. It is portrayed as the natural fruit of understanding and compassion, arising when one sees the suffering and conditions that have led another person to act unskillfully. By contemplating these causes and conditions, resentment loosens its grip, and forgiveness becomes a path of inner liberation from hatred and bitterness. This process does not depend on the other person apologizing or changing; it is primarily a way of freeing the heart from the prison of resentment.

Concrete relational practices support this transformation of anger into forgiveness. Loving speech and compassionate, deep listening are emphasized as means to express hurt without aggression and to hear the pain of the other without judgment. Such communication helps clear up wrong perceptions, heal relationships, and make reconciliation genuinely possible. Practices like “beginning anew,” which regularly renews understanding and clears away accumulated grievances, further embody this spirit of forgiveness. In all of this, forgiveness is presented as a lived expression of mindfulness and compassion, protecting both oneself and others from the ongoing cycle of suffering.