“‘…Anger and distress should be given up, relying on not being angry and distressed.’ That’s what I said, but why did I say it?
“It’s when a noble disciple reflects: ‘I am practicing to give up and cut off the fetters that might cause me to be angry and distressed. But if I were to be angry and distressed, because of that I would reprimand myself; sensible people, after examination, would criticize me; and when my body breaks up, after death, I could expect to be reborn in a bad place. And being angry and distressed is itself a fetter and a hindrance. The distressing and feverish defilements that might arise because of beinh angry and distressed do not occur in someone who does not get angry and distressed.’ ‘Being angry and distressed should be given up, relying on not being angry and distressed.’
“That’s what I said, and this is why I said it.…”
Read the entire translation of Majjhima Nikāya 54 Potaliyasutta: With Potaliya the Householder by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net or DhammaTalks.org. Or listen on PaliAudio.com or SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.