The third paramita is patience or ksanti. The Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra (Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom) describes the practice of patience as ‘pacified patience.’ This means that when there is patience, the mind will be pacified. Not only will the mind be stable, but the body will also enjoy a sense of well-being. Patience in one’s livelihood will extend to other aspects of one’s life, and vice-versa. Without patience we could not endure the conflicts and obstacles we encounter in life. Without a pacified mind and body, we can become very agitated and consumed with internal turmoil. A Chinese proverb says, “When tigers fight, death or great injury will result.” With humans, the conflict is often between the external world and the mind within.
I once watched on TV an Olympic event between swimmers from Japan, the USA, and the Soviet Union. A Japanese swimmer came in first. When the winner emerged from the pool a reporter asked him, “Did you know that the Soviet swimmer was only a few inches behind you?” The swimmer replied, “I was absorbed in exerting my whole being and skills in swimming. If I had worried about who was next to me, I would have lost.” The reporter said, “You seem very proud and self-confident.” The swimmer replied, “For months I studied these swimmers from videos. By incorporating their skills into my training, I gained confidence in my own abilities. I would not say that I am proud. I am just learning, not competing.”
This story relates to the perfection of patience because the Japanese swimmer’s mind was at peace through his patient learning from his opponents, and his consequent confidence. To learn from one’s opponents, to be confident without arrogance or pride, is the bodhisattva spirit, and worthy of emulation.
Three Kinds of Patience
There are three ways to practice patience: patience with those who wish to harm us, patience with regard to the environment, and patience in enduring the dharmas.
Patience with Those Who Would Harm Us
If we do not respond in a harmful way when confronted by those who wish to harm us, we can avoid hurting others and ourselves. If we do not habitually respond negatively, it may seem that we always surrender, but we are actually developing the courage and skill to protect ourselves as well as others. In the long run it will be better for everyone. By analogy, if you refrain from chopping down a tree every time you need firewood, in the long run the forest is preserved for future use.
You may question these ideas and say that if you do not fight back, you will be preyed upon and taken advantage of by others. If you are the only one who is practicing patience among a large group, you may feel overwhelmed and even fear bodily harm or your livelihood. In a situation like this, how can you practice patience?
In ancient China, General Sun Tzu mastered the art of war. He taught that the best strategy is to persuade the enemy to surrender without fighting. The same strategy is used in Chinese martial arts, where the skilled fighter does not harm or kill, using the least amount of effort to subdue the opponent. A martial arts axiom says: “Use four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds.” This means using the opponent’s own force to defeat him. This same principle can be used in the perfection of patience, where the critical pivot is in applying of wisdom to turn around difficult situations.
To resolve confrontations, you must extend compassion to those who would harm you. Using wisdom may transform at least half of such difficult times into favorable conditions. This is not to say that if you are the only one practicing patience you should let them take advantage of you. Rather, you should respond with wisdom and compassion. Not all of them may become very good people, but if half of them treat you fairly, this is already very favorable. The sutras say that practicing patience is manifesting wisdom and compassion. Therefore, one should not mistake surrender for patience.
Patience with Regard to the Environment
Patience with regard to the environment means enduring pain and difficulty when faced with natural calamities, hurricanes, great storms, extreme cold or heat, and so on. Furthermore, Buddhists view their physical bodies as being made up of the same four elements that make up the environment: earth, fire, water and wind. When the body is not in harmony, or when we are ill, it is the result of an imbalance of the four elements. Therefore, patience with regard to the environment includes patience with one’s own body and its troubles.
Patient Endurance of Dharmas
Patient endurance of all dharmas is regarding all phenomena, including our own experiences of pleasure and pain, as having the nature of emptiness---that all dharmas lack independent self. This kind of patience encompasses all favorable and unfavorable conditions, and embraces the two previous patience practices.
Contemplating Emptiness
When we practice the three kinds of patience we are actually contemplating emptiness. In principle, the three practices progress from enduring those who wish us harm, to enduring difficulties in our body and in the environment, to enduring the emptiness of dharmas. In a sense, the third kind of patience is the easiest, since you can practice it at anytime and anywhere by contemplating the emptiness of dharmas. As a result you can also perfect the previous two patience practices. When we contemplate the impermanence of all our experiences—whether painful, pleasurable, or neutral—we gain an insight into selflessness. We can understand the meaning of emptiness through this insight of selflessness, and directly engage the Dharma.
Worldly and World-Transcending Patience
Patience can be worldly or world-transcending. Worldly patience is manifested in coping with the environment, enduring extreme heat, cold, hunger, thirst, pain, joy, criticism, and physical and mental fatigue. Worldtranscending patience goes beyond the experiences of pleasure, pain, fatigue, etc. It is forbearance in integrating the Dharma into one’s life, in accepting the difficulties that come with exertion in practice, and in using one’s time wisely and fully.
By its nature, perfecting patience is a long process. I once encouraged an overweight person to engage in more meditation and exercise. Two weeks later he returned and said that he had followed my advice, but had not lost much weight. Besides, he was getting tired of the routine. I countered that I had been a monk for several decades without feeling that I had made any progress. Nevertheless, I had to be patient and continue to fulfill my vows as a monk. I told him that he should also be patient and continue to practice.
On the other hand, yesterday one of my disciples remarked that practicing the Dharma had been much help to him lately. Yet I see him showing up again today. Even though he feels stagnant for the moment, he keeps coming to our center to learn the Dharma. This is world-transcending patience.
The ability to endure, to have forbearance is integral to living; without it we cannot accomplish anything. To practice patience is to integrate it into our daily lives, our careers, our studies, and so on. These all require various degrees of patience, without which it would be very difficult to maintain a basic sense of humanity and to have harmony with others.
In one of the sutras, Shakyamuni Buddha said that patience is the greatest wealth, and without it, he would not have attained buddhahood. We are all probably aware that there has never been a war among Buddhists, or an extended war against Buddhists. This is probably due to the sense of tolerance and patience, which are at the core of Buddhism.
In a Chinese martial arts novel, there was an arrogant master swordsman who used his skills to bully others to get what he wanted. At the same time, there was also a monk who was well-trained in using his cloth belt to defend himself. One day the overbearing swordsman and the monk crossed paths.
The monk knew that this swordsman had evil intentions and decided to block his path. The swordsman demanded that the monk get out of his way or feel the fury of his sword. When the monk stood his ground, the swordsman attacked. The monk simply flicked his belt around the swordsman and his weapon, and tied them both up. When confronted with forbearance and patience, even an expert warrior can be defeated.
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