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Wrathful Compassion in Tibetan Buddhism

Wrathful Compassion in Tibetan Buddhism

Wrathful compassion may seem like an oxymoron and the opposite of Buddhism’s peaceful compassion. However, in Tibetan Buddhism, wrathful compassion is a thing! Sure, whenever someone is open to the skillful application of peaceful compassion, that’s still the go-to. But what about when they don’t? Then, we move to the wrathful form, a profound and powerful concept in Tibetan Buddhism. We can deepen our understanding through a traditional Tibetan Buddhist lens, incorporating deity practice and everyday examples of wrathful compassion.

Let’s begin by establishing an understanding of compassion.

Compassion means to “suffer with.” When you experience the suffering of others, you should be moved to do something about it. This is what separates compassion from empathy. You can also practice this with Tonglen meditation.

What is Wrathful Compassion?

It’s normal and a sign that you see reality if you feel outraged about the world’s suffering. Underneath the outrage is pain—the suffering we feel along with those who are being harmed. The energy that drives you to take action to end suffering is wrathful compassion. It could act as wrath over a social injustice that inspires you to join a movement, call out mistreatment, or stand up to protect someone else. In this case, wrath can even be helpful if it motivates us to end suffering. It teaches us to offer fierce compassion in the moments that call for it. 

What Wrathful Compassion is Not

While anger may look like wrathful compassion, it’s important to distinguish being wrathful from simply being angry—pissed off. One internal test you can use is to ask yourself whether or not you can feel your love, caring, or connection to the person you’ve identified as the perpetrator. If you discover that you can’t feel love, caring, or connection to the person you disagree with, you need to do some inner homework to reestablish your loving connection with them as fellow, lost human beings.

Wrathful Compassion Quote 1
The key is to do that inner work before you take any outer action. Without this crucial piece, you can easily fall into righteous rage, and you and the perpetrator will keep fighting each other from both sides in any disagreement on what’s “right.” And that will keep both of you in a state of disconnection. Sound familiar? 

Wrathful Deities in Tibetan Buddhism

But how do you do that homework? In Tibetan Buddhism, they use archetypes. So, one way to work with our powerful inner forces is to work with wrathful or fierce deities to cultivate that form of compassion and ensure that you act from a place of good intent. You might be wondering how wrathful deities can help you be more compassionate. That makes sense, as their ferocious appearances, often accompanied by fierce expressions and multiple arms and sometimes surrounded by flames, could seem a little intimidating. However, those traits signify their compassion’s intensity and urgency.                    

Lama Tsomo explains this further in her book Deepening Wisdom, Deepening Connection.

Pema Traktung: a wrathful form of Guru Rinpoche, who protects us, especially from modern diseases.

Pema Traktung, a wrathful form of Guru Rinpoche, who protects us, especially from modern diseases, but really any kind. Totally enlightened, full of compassion, and fierce! Image courtesy of Namchak Khenpo and Ewam Sang-ngag Ling.

You might be wondering if Buddhist thought advocates being a doormat. Not at all! To pick an example on the world stage, Thich Nhat Hanh, the famous Vietnamese Buddhist master, was a passionate activist against the Vietnam War. He spoke out passionately and did many protests against the war. Tibetan Buddhism in general gives us wonderful guidance in how to bring out the fiercer parts of ourselves when it’s appropriate. You might have seen images of ferocious beings with long eyeteeth, brandishing weapons and looking perfectly ready to use them. They’re enlightened beings who usually can also appear in peaceful forms . . . but if another being is causing harm and won’t respond to peaceful attempts, they can readily employ their wrathful forms.

They aren’t pissed off in the common way that you and I would be. Being enlightened—coming from the point of view of the whole ocean—they want to spare not only the sentient beings who could be harmed but also the harmdoer. It’s much like a mother dog snarling and nipping one of her puppies when they wander into trouble.

We practice wrathful deities to evoke that archetype in ourselves, and to develop that particular capacity. During the practice, we even experience ourselves as that being. I’ve been Pema Traktung many times!

Carl Jung believed we have all of the archetypes within us. Since they’re principles of reality, therefore pervading all reality, where wouldn’t they be? So it really helped me to embody my own assertive Pema Traktung from within . . . and to bring that powerful universal archetype to bear on various fronts, inner and outer.

Wrathful compassion doesn’t have to take shape as deity practice. Here’s an example of wrathful compassion from an everyday interaction:

On a more mundane, personal level, in a moment when someone has done something hurtful to you, if you can give them constructive feedback so that hurtful thing they did won’t happen again, that’s good preventive medicine. Even after the fact, sometimes it’s just good to let someone know they’ve hurt you—especially in a close relationship, especially if they may not realize how what they’ve done has affected you. Again, this can be preventive medicine for future friction. My favorite form of giving such feedback is a method called Nonviolent Communication (NVC).*

It works, mainly because it turns out that if you’re clear and kind in speaking to them about it, and stick with your own feelings rather than telling them about them, the person is more apt to accept your feedback rather than getting into a shouting match with you.

Now, to bring it all together, here’s an anecdote that applies deity practice to someone we can all relate to. We’ve probably all been “Fred” or know a “Fred.” So here’s how we might apply deity practice to cultivate wrathful compassion as opposed to letting ourselves simmer with righteous rage:

Let’s take Fred, for an imaginary example. He thinks of himself as a Mr. Nice Guy. This means that when people want to walk all over him, he doesn’t have the wherewithal to assert himself in his conscious array of characters.

His Tough Guy or Warrior is in the basement. It’s been lurking there all his life, and isn’t very presentable as a result. Whenever Fred gets cornered, he suddenly bites the person’s head off…then regrets it later and may not even get what he needs.

Sociologist and life coach Martha Beck refers to this as an “exploding doormat.” Fred might do well to practice Hayagriva, a fierce, enlightened being of a class known as protectors. They can act with great ferocity, but always with wisdom and compassion. If he were to inhabit Hayagriva the way we talked of inhabiting/owning Tara, he would find his way to the pure essence of that murky, funky character who popped out when he exploded. Once he’d spent time owning and inhabiting Hayagriva, Fred is much more likely to skillfully, kindly, and firmly ward off people walking all over him.

Whether it’s a peaceful one like Tara or a more wrathful one like Hayagriva, we fully own the archetype. It has gone from something we can’t see or feel, to a pure presence that we fully identify with. Over time, as we get used to owning that presence consciously, we have little need to project it onto someone else. And in owning this purer form, we can often bring forth those qualities in everyday life. They’re much more at our fingertips.

In Tibetan Buddhist deity practice, the goal is to take us from our usual banal, confused state to dak-nang, or pure vision—seeing things as they really are. Imagine if everyone did such well-honed practices on a lot of different deities. I believe we would then be able to take the various characters out of our basements, develop them, and “play” them in various moments in life. Playing with a full deck, you might say!

Green Tara, the Great Mother archetype.

Green Tara: the Great mother archetype. Image courtesy of Osel Shen Phen Ling: www.fpmt-osel.org

Wrathful Compassion Quote 2

When we see actual reality, we easily extend compassion to others because we can see and feel our connection to them. Living in connection and compassion leads us to live at peace with others. We can disagree with others, feel anger about their behavior, and take skillful steps (inward and outward) to stop harmful behaviors—all from a place of compassion. By cultivating that level of fierce compassion, we step into the highest expression of wisdom and compassion and commit to alleviating suffering for the benefit of all.

Learn more in Deepening Wisdom, Deepening Connection by Lama Tsomo

Deepening Wisdom, Deepening Connection is part of the Ancient Wisdom for Our Times Series by meditation teacher and Namchak co-founder Lama Tsomo. Designed to bring Buddhist teachings, concepts, and ideas together in an accessible and engaging way, this book unpacks Buddhist concepts including the Four Boundless Qualities or Immeasurables, and shares time-tested meditation practices for increasing these innate capacities. The practices and teachings shared help readers clear their lenses so that they can be fully present in their lives and experience satisfying connection.

*For a brief introduction from the founder of Nonviolent Communication, Marshall Rosenberg, here’s a nine-minute introduction he gives on YouTube. Or just go to YouTube and type “The Basics of Nonviolent Communication 1.1” into the search field.

We’re accepting applications and nominations for the 2025-2026 Compassion in Action Fellows Program.

The Compassion in Action Fellows program is a year-long inner & outer change program that supports next-generation leaders in learning meditation practice, building community, and promoting social change. 💟

Inspired by the path of the bodhisattva, awakened beings filled with compassion and committed to ending suffering and benefiting all life. Fellows embark upon a journey that includes personal development, community building, shared learning, and collaborative action as they transform their lives, campus, and society. 🌍

Next-generation leaders ages 18-27 in the United States and Canada who have a meditation practice and commitment to creating inner and outer change are encouraged to apply! If you know an aspiring leader interested in positively impacting the world, consider nominating them for this opportunity.

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Over this in-person weekend retreat, you’ll learn foundational Buddhist meditation practices while enjoying the support and warmth of a like-minded community. Whether new to meditation or looking to refresh your practice, this retreat offers tools to cultivate mindfulness, compassion, and resilience in your daily life. The retreat will be in-person at the Namchak Retreat Ranch: Bodhi House, in Hot Springs, Montana from Friday, April 11 – Sunday, April 13, 2025