Regular Dharma listening, merit-making, good deeds — and yet still angry, with craving as strong as ever. Many lay practitioners find themselves in this cycle without understanding why. In Nepal on February 22, 2026, Master Minh Tue identified the root cause most of us overlook.
Buddhist disciple asks: Why are there people who have an affinity with the Dharma, like to listen to the Dharma, read sutras, do good deeds… but in their daily lives, their greed, anger, and delusion are intensely uncontrollable? How can one perfect their merit? (February 22, 2026 – Nepal)
Master Minh Tue answers:
One must practice a lot, learn and habituate.
When we cannot be patient, it is because we have not yet eliminated that karma, so we must do good deeds to overcome it.
If you don’t want to be angry and greedy, you must practice; you must have merit to fight against it, otherwise, you will be dominated by worldly desires.
The bad habits that have been acted out repeatedly have corroded inside.
You must see the true nature to be able to let go of it.
If you don’t see the true nature, you cannot erase it.
* Master Minh Tue always gives brief and concise answers suitable for the listener in each circumstance. Below is a deeper explanation and analysis so that those who wish to learn can thoroughly grasp the Master’s teachings.
The terrifying power of “Habituation”
The most important keyword in the Master’s answer is “habituate” and “corroded inside”. From countless lifetimes until now, we have continuously planted the seeds of greed, anger, and delusion. They become habits (habitual tendencies) rooted deep in our consciousness. Just like a shirt worn for a long time covered in grease, it cannot become completely clean just by washing it once with plain water (a few sutra chantings, a few Dharma talks).
That is why even though your reasoning (conscious mind) knows that getting angry is wrong, you are still angry when an incident occurs — the old habit (unconscious mind) immediately flares up strongly. The karmic force of anger is much stronger than the moral principles you just heard. The Master addresses this same struggle in his teaching on what to do when anger surges during meditation.
Using “Merit” as a weapon against “Worldly Desires”
How to change this? The Master points out the core solution: “If you don’t want to be angry and greedy, you must practice; you must have merit to fight against it.”
Listening to the Dharma or reading sutras is only creating conditions and gaining surface-level understanding (Wisdom from hearing). To turn theory into a transformation of mindset, you must Practice (Wisdom from thinking and Wisdom from practicing). You must continuously do good deeds, give charity, and observe precepts to accumulate Merit. When the block of merit grows larger and the purity in your mind increases, the “worldly desires” will naturally be pushed back and weakened. This gradual path of accumulating merit is also central to the Master’s teaching on finding the fastest method for patience.
Seeing through the true nature of Greed, Anger, and Delusion
“You must see the true nature to be able to let go of it.” Seeing the true nature here means using Wisdom (Vipassana meditation) to look deeply into the anger: Where does it come from? What is it clinging to (The Ego being insulted)? How does it bring burning and suffering? When you truly see the meaninglessness and destructiveness of Anger, you will automatically let it go, just like automatically pulling your hand back when accidentally grabbing a red-hot coal. For a deeper exploration of this contemplative approach, see the Master’s teaching on releasing attachment when studying the Dharma.
Have you ever felt that despite studying the Dharma, your mind hasn’t changed much? Share your experience below.
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