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Is that a West-only thing? My admittedly minor experience with some Japanese people is that in many settings they hide any discomfort (including outright anger)

Is that a West-only thing? My admittedly minor experience with some Japanese people is that in many settings they hide any discomfort (including outright anger) in order to not make a scene or lose face. In fact, if can pinpoint being angry in public often to any country it's the US.

foobarian 10y ago
I thought so too until I started watching Russian road rage videos (just use those terms to search on Youtube). I think Russians take the cake for uninhibited anger displays!
- sotojuan 10y ago
  Ha, forgot about Russia. Yes, I guess they and Eastern Europe win.
PravlageTiem 10y ago
I would argue that China, Japan, Korea, and other Buddhist-heavy nations have other cultural mechanisms to prompt one to remodel reality. Buddhist teachings make it very clear the desire is the source of suffering, and this axiom weaves its way through cultural institutions and norms in these countries. If we accept this, then I would argue "anger suppression" in said countries isn't anger suppression in the Western sense ("We have to prevent the next Hitler at all costs!!!! No moar hate guise, kthx love all yaaaaay :) :) :) ") as much as it is part of an overall suppression of desire.
- ue_ 10y ago
  Though I am skeptical of the influence of Buddhism on suchva level (though I am a Buddhist myself), Buddhism does not have at its heart replacing the suppression of one emotion (anger) with another (desire), but rather the mere noticing of the arising and passing away of these emotions and reflecting on their traits as impermanent, unsatisfactory and not-self. Mere suppression leads to inner fementation of emotion, not release from the emotions. However I will grant that Buddhist teachings may have been mis(applied|understood|interpreted) to lead to a suppression of emotion. Let a man remove his anger. Let him root out his pride. Let him overcome all fetters of passions. No sufferings overtake him who neither clings to mind-and-body nor claims anything of the world. — Dhp., v. 221

foobarian 10y ago

I thought so too until I started watching Russian road rage videos (just use those terms to search on Youtube). I think Russians take the cake for uninhibited anger displays!

sotojuan 10y ago
Ha, forgot about Russia. Yes, I guess they and Eastern Europe win.

PravlageTiem 10y ago

I would argue that China, Japan, Korea, and other Buddhist-heavy nations have other cultural mechanisms to prompt one to remodel reality. Buddhist teachings make it very clear the desire is the source of suffering, and this axiom weaves its way through cultural institutions and norms in these countries. If we accept this, then I would argue "anger suppression" in said countries isn't anger suppression in the Western sense ("We have to prevent the next Hitler at all costs!!!! No moar hate guise, kthx love all yaaaaay :) :) :) ") as much as it is part of an overall suppression of desire.

ue_ 10y ago
Though I am skeptical of the influence of Buddhism on suchva level (though I am a Buddhist myself), Buddhism does not have at its heart replacing the suppression of one emotion (anger) with another (desire), but rather the mere noticing of the arising and passing away of these emotions and reflecting on their traits as impermanent, unsatisfactory and not-self. Mere suppression leads to inner fementation of emotion, not release from the emotions. However I will grant that Buddhist teachings may have been mis(applied|understood|interpreted) to lead to a suppression of emotion. Let a man remove his anger. Let him root out his pride. Let him overcome all fetters of passions. No sufferings overtake him who neither clings to mind-and-body nor claims anything of the world. — Dhp., v. 221