"THE THREE POISONS" is a guide to using Buddhist principles to resolve the conflicts (both internal and inter-personal) in your life. It outlines how conflict is viewed from the perspective of Buddhist psychology, how the Buddha himself resolved the conflicts in his life, and provides the reader with tools and techniques to convert the poisons of anger, greed and delusion as they show up in various conflict situations into loving-kindness, compassion, and tranquillity.

The resolution of conflict in its truest and fullest sense is the conversion of the Three Poisons of anger, greed and ignorance into the Four Sublime States of Loving Kindness, Compassion, Appreciative Joy, and Equanimity. In fact, in deference to the Four Noble Truths expounded by the Buddha upon his enlightenment, and the Buddha’s Noble Eight-Fold Path which is laid out in the Fourth Noble Truth, and by which he declared suffering to be resolved, we might fashion the schema for the arising and full resolution of any conflict as follows:

The Four Truths of Conflict

1)      Life is Conflict

2)      Conflict is caused by Attachment

3)      Conflict can be resolved and reconciled through transformation of  Attachment

4)      The way to resolve and reconcile conflict is the Eightfold Path To Resolve Conflict.

     These truths acknowledge that conflict is unavoidable in human life, and that attachment in one form or another is the root cause of all conflict. This attachment can be released and transformed, through using Mindfulness to convert  and transform destructive emotions into Loving Kindness and Compassion. This conversion process is the one referred to in the Fourth Truth of Conflict, to wit:

         Eightfold Path To Resolve Conflict:

1) a Situation causes Attachment and thereby conflict

2) which is the arousal of one or more of the Three Poisons

3) which persist through a Refractory Period  (a period where they are highly resistant to change) leading to stasis

4) after which the parties can Acknowledge to themselves and each other – through the development of personal or inter-personal Mindfulness -the nature of the Three Poisons present in the situation, making possible

5) a Settlement of the (external) Situation, during which process

6) the parties can develop Loving Kindness  and Compassion for themselves and the others, which allows for

7) Appreciative Joy in the benefits that each side has gained through the Situation, which allows each person to achieve

8) Equanimity and peace with themselves, the others, and the outcome of the process.

Ross McLauran Madden is an attorney and mediator in San Francisco, California. He has an LLM Master's Degree in Dispute Resolution from the Straus Institute at Pepperdine University, where he studied mediation from many of the foremost practitioners in the field. In addition to being a practicing Buddhist, he has studied Aikido since 1980, and taught it since 1988.