Temper

A young man was deeply concerned about his fits of rage. He went to visit his father and discuss the matter with him. When he saw his father, he told him he had an uncontrollable anger that flared unexpectedly from time to time. He could not control it and often did not even know when it would emerge. He was afraid he would always be subject to these outbursts of rage.

His father asked him to show him this temper, but the son could not. He said, "I cannot just summon it forth at will. I do not know when it will come out. I do not control it."

The father asked him when he could expect to see it, but again the son told him the same thing. He did not know the answer to such a question.

Then the father told him, "The anger and rage, is not yours, not truly. For if it was, you could command it. You did not have it as an infant, nor a child and your parents certainly did not teach it to you. That is all you need to know."