Why Anger and Aversion Might Not Be So Different: Insights from Buddhist Teachings

With attachment, we are only trying to get things that we want. And once we have those things, we don’t want them to go away.

When we experience aversion, we push away (usually aggressively) the things that we dislike. Aversion refers to feelings of aggression, anger, and hatred. Let’s spend more time considering aversion as angry and aggressive.

The Second Noble Truth states that there is an origin of suffering and that the origin of suffering is attachment to the three kinds of desire: desire for a sense pleasure (kama tanha), desire to become (bhava tanha), and desire to get rid of (vibhava tanha). 

 To want to get rid of something.

 You may also have heard the three poisons discussed. Or the three unwholesome roots and these are greed, anger, and delusion. Well, the craving for sense pleasures fits with greed, while aversion is a form of anger. And that maps back to the definition of pushing something away aggressively.