Many people love the idea of righteous anger. This way they can enjoy the delicious egotism of anger AND feel virtuous about it.

I witnessed a charming moment once between a (lay) Buddhist teacher and student, while in a group. The teacher said, in answer to a question, “There’s no such thing as righteous anger. It’s just anger.” The student said, “Did you say there’s no such thing as righteous anger?” “Yes,” replied the teacher. “I was afraid of that,” the student concluded. Laughter rang through the room. The student knew that righteous anger was just anger with an excuse, but found it hard to let it go. This has certainly been a problem for me.

At base, righteous anger says, about anything, “It shouldn’t be that way.” True enough. Lot’s of things appear wrong, bad, out of place or objectionable. If one looks closely enough, nothing in this world is perfect; but different things cause pain for different people. People we know are treated unkindly or even cruelly. People we don’t know are starved or beaten or left homeless, sometimes through others’ malign efforts, but often through no personal agent. Drought, flood, earthquake and simple poverty account for a terrific amount of misery in the world.

The world of politics seems to invite condemnation and righteous anger by many people, and every other social institution has its enthusiastic detractors. Strong opinions form about what should and shouldn’t be allowed to be said or done in different contexts. Actions that seem beneficial to some seem equally detrimental to others. Let’s not even talk about religious differences! Based on how often our minds dwell in these realms, it seems we love to condemn people, institutions, the weather, and even fate.

The Buddha taught that if we could see things as they really are, anger, greed and delusion would evaporate. This sort of deep seeing is exceedingly rare, but there are degrees of blindness, so all is not lost.

How can we recognize righteous anger, and what can we do about it? In my opinion, it mostly has to do with how tightly we hold on to our own opinions. If I think the wealthy are getting away with paying less than their fair share of taxes, I can either hold that view lightly, or I can work myself into a lather about it, or maybe something in between. I can use that view to guide my voting, to write a letter, or to join an interest group. I believe that my contributions will be worth more if I’m not out of my mind with anger.

If I can hold that view (or any other) lightly, I might discover a broader view that includes a degree of acceptance of things as they are. Many situations in the world are unfair and harmful – that’s just true. But what can I do about this particular one that I really care about? Your answer will be different, depending on the situation and what you think is helpful, but if you’re coming from compassion and care rather than anger, you’re more likely to arrive at a response that’s satisfying for you and non-harmful in the world.