The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva
Chapter 8: The Perfection of Patient Acceptance

“Now, Śāriputra, what is the bodhisatva’s perfection of patient acceptance, by which he wholeheartedly practices the way of the bodhisatva? Śāriputra, the bodhisatva’s patience comes from a natural ability for endurance. He can patiently accept cold and heat, starvation and thirst, wind and scorching heat, [MS.81.a] insects and reptiles, and people speaking to him in unpleasant and unwelcome ways. He is patient with painful sensations that are related to or produced by the physical body and endures them easily, whether they are intense, strong, sharp, life threatening, or deadly.

“Previously, Śāriputra, when I had not yet attained complete awakening and was practicing the way of the bodhisatva, I cultivated patience.”

Śāriputra inquired, “How then, Lord, did you cultivate patience as a bodhisatva?”

The Lord replied, “I recall, Śāriputra, that in a past existence, when I was practicing the way of the bodhisatva and encountered sentient beings who spoke to me harshly and abusively out of anger, speaking harsh and slanderous words, because I was a bodhisatva no anger, hatred, confusion, miserliness, or distress arose in me. As I stand here in the midst of cyclic existence, there would be nothing so easy to resort to as anger and speaking in harsh ways. This is why we should cultivate equanimity. In such encounters we should cultivate compassion. Why is this? The more one displays anger and speaks in harsh ways, the more one will experience the ripening of the fruits of these actions. One will receive anger and harsh words in return. Wherever one is reborn, [F.96.b] one will be ugly and disfigured. I do not wish to be ugly. I do not wish to be angry and speak in harsh ways. Why is this? It is because these things are improper. These are improper ways of acting. They are immature actions. They are small-minded actions. They are not the actions of good men. They are actions that bring unwanted results. With anger and harsh words one falls into the hell realms; one falls into the realms of animals. This is the nature of actions such as anger and speaking harsh words. One falls into the spirit world governed by Yama. This is the nature of actions such as anger and speaking harsh words. One becomes enslaved in hell. This is the nature of actions such as anger and speaking harsh words. One becomes an impoverished yakṣa. This is the nature of actions such as anger and speaking harsh words. Such actions are the root cause of the poverty of a yakṣa. This is the nature of actions such as anger and speaking harsh words. One becomes an impoverished preta. This is the nature of actions such as anger and speaking harsh words. Such actions are the root cause of the poverty of a preta. This is the nature of actions such as anger and speaking harsh words. One becomes an impoverished human being. This is the nature of actions such as anger and speaking harsh words. Such actions are the root cause of the poverty of a human being. This is the nature of actions such as anger and speaking harsh words. One will become a small-minded being. Such actions are the root cause of becoming a small-minded being. This is the nature of actions such as anger and speaking harsh words. We do not wish to become small-minded beings.

“What then? How can we distinguish between what is proper and improper and see what their different features are? In order to do this, Śāriputra, a bodhisatva, a great being, should cultivate himself by following the same training I followed. [MS.81.b] How is this to be done? Śāriputra, when the bodhisatva is abused and spoken to harshly by another, he keeps these sorts of instructions in mind and patiently accepts the abuse. [F.97.a] The roots of virtue that one obtains from mastering the practice of patience in this way is much greater than those that would come from making an offering of as much money, coins, jewels, pearls, lapis lazuli, shells, coral, gold and silver as could fill the four continents of the world. Why is this? Śāriputra, an honorable man progresses successfully and displays the power of patience. It is usually the case, Śāriputra, that sentient beings who allow themselves to be governed by anger and harsh words will not be able to turn away from cyclic existence.

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva should be aware of his own resilience, ‘Am I able to keep the Buddha, awakening, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha in mind when I am abused and spoken to harshly by others? If I am, that will be a good thing. If I am not, I should employ various means to keep the Buddha, awakening, the Dharma or the Saṅgha in mind. When I am not able to keep them in mind, I should reflect in the following way, “What is the difference between myself and these sentient beings? As they are filled with malice, they are not able to keep the Buddha, awakening, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha in mind, just as I am not able to keep them in mind. What, then, is the difference? What is the distinction? Why is this so difficult?” On this basis, both we and they should come to the following conclusion: that when malice arises, we should react with equanimity, and in these contexts we should keep the Buddha, awakening, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha in mind. Then we will come to know the power of patience.

“ ‘How will we come to know this? We will not abandon any of all sentient beings on account of focusing on one single being, but we will declare, “I will realize unsurpassed perfect awakening so that I can teach the Dharma to all sentient beings. Let the lords, the buddhas, be my witness, that I, a son of good family, will work toward unsurpassed perfect awakening so that I can teach the Dharma to sentient beings. The knowledge and insight of the lords, the buddhas, is unimpeded and [F.97.b] unobstructed, so let the lords, the buddhas, be my witness that I may never fail to meet malice with equanimity and never fail to keep the Buddha, awakening, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha in mind.

“ ‘ “To the east reside as many tathāgatas, arhats, and perfectly awakened buddhas as there are grains of sand in the river Ganges. [MS.82.a] The lords, the buddhas, who live there, who dwell there, know of my commitment. They know that this son of good family has made the commitment to attain unsurpassed perfect awakening so that he can teach the Dharma to all sentient beings.

“ ‘ “Furthermore, to the south, to the west and to the north, and to the southeast, the southwest, the northwest and the northeast, as well as above and below and in the intermediate directions, in all ten directions, there reside as many tathāgata, arhat, perfectly awakened buddhas as there would be grains of sand in as many Ganges rivers as there are grains of sand in the river Ganges. Living there, dwelling there, they know of my commitment. They know that this son of good family has made the commitment to work toward unsurpassed perfect awakening. I will attain unsurpassed perfect awakening so that I can teach the Dharma to all sentient beings and so that I can praise patience. We will praise it with the roar of the lion, and not with the bark of the jackal. It is truly with the lion’s roar that we will make the power of patience known. The bark of the jackal is for anger and verbal abuse.

“ ‘ “Sentient beings help those who help them. If I were to help those who help me, then what would be the difference between us? What would be the difficulty in that? What would the distinction be?

“ ‘ “Sentient beings are hostile to those who are hostile to them. [F.98.a] If I were to be hostile toward those who are hostile toward me, then what would be the difference between us? What would be the difficulty in that? What would the distinction be?” ’

“The bodhisatva, Śāriputra, trains in this way: ‘All these sentient beings are mutual enemies, but if they can gain an advantage by becoming friends, they will consider one another friends. They are, however, still happy to harm and kill one another. I will not be oblivious to the fortunes of sentient beings. Let harm befall me. I will still work for the benefit of sentient beings.’ ”

The Lord then spoke these verses:

“This then, Śāriputra, is how the bodhisatva will approach the training. If someone beats him with stones, sticks, or weapons for a hundred thousand million billion eons but does not kill him, his reaction will be, [F.98.b] ‘It is wonderful that these noble sentient beings do not rob me of my life.’ Furthermore, he will approach the training in this way: [MS.82.b] ‘Even if they were to chop off my head as many times as there are grains of sand in the river Ganges before I could take the first seven steps, I would still not become annoyed or angry. Why is this? Anger, that which is called anger, destroys the roots of virtue that have been accumulated over a hundred thousand eons. Then, I would have to accumulate roots of virtue for another hundred thousand eons, and unsurpassed perfect awakening would be that much harder to achieve. It would be that much harder to meet with the Dharma. Therefore, we must don the armor that is the power of patient acceptance.’

“Śāriputra, Māra will surely appear to the Mahāyāna practitioner who is aggressive and create obstacles to the attainment of unsurpassed perfect awakening. Someone who is aggressive will lose his focus on awakening, and with a scattered mind, he will be vulnerable to evil Māra’s demonic ways. What are the demonic ways of Māra? They are to have a demonic attitude toward the begging bowl, to have a demonic attitude toward the monastic robes, to have a demonic attitude toward begging for alms, to relate to success, honor, and praise in a demonic manner, the demonic attitude of being disinclined to become a renunciant, the demonic attitude of being disinclined to act in beneficial ways, the demonic attitude of being disinclined to remain in retreat, the demonic attitude of being disinclined to attain unsurpassed perfect awakening, and the demonic attitude of heedlessness toward preceptors and teachers. Śāriputra, one who is aggressive will lose his focus on awakening, and when his mind is scattered, Śāriputra, the evil Māra [F.99.a] will lead him in the direction of these demonic ways. Śāriputra, the evil Māra looks for his weak points for a long time. He searches for anger and aggression.

“Śāriputra, I recall a certain occasion in the past when I was a seer by the name of Cāritragocara, and the evil Māra produced five hundred aggressive and powerful men. They hounded me continually for five hundred years. They abused me at night. They abused me during the day. They abused me when I was leaving. They abused me when I was coming. They abused me when I was standing and sitting. They abused me when I was sleeping. They abused me when I was walking. They abused and verbally attacked me when I was resting, when I was in the village, when I was traveling, when I was at home, when I was resting on the road, when I was resting at home, when I was going on retreat, when I was staying in retreat, and when I was resting in retreat. They spoke evil and harsh words to me in these various situations, hounding me continually for five hundred years. Still, Śāriputra, I recall that throughout these five hundred years, not only was it not an option for me to have any antipathy toward them, but I would look upon them with an attitude of love.

“At that time I would think, ‘It is not only for the sake of those sons of good family who are moral and whose character is virtuous, whose nature it is to have little desire, little anger, and little confusion, that I will attain unsurpassed perfect awakening. Rather, it is for the sake of those sentient beings who are unruly, undisciplined, and immoral, whose character is evil and whose nature it is to experience much desire, much anger, and much confusion, [MS.83.a] that I will attain unsurpassed perfect awakening. It is these beings, first and foremost, who I will help toward nirvāṇa.’ Śāriputra, this was the attitude of nonaggression that I kept in mind at that time. This, Śāriputra, is how the Tathāgata perfected his abilities of helpfulness [F.99.b] as he pursued the practice of the way of the bodhisatva in the past.

“Śāriputra,92 imagine that there was a bodhisatva who was well on his way to unsurpassed perfect awakening and had in his possession a piece of meat, and imagine that some hungry and thirsty person then came to ask him for this meat, but in asking they said, ‘Anyone who gives me a piece of meat will destroy all the roots of virtue he has cultivated in the past. He will displease a thousand buddhas in eons to come. He will roast in the great hells for a hundred thousand eons.’ In a situation like this, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva should ask for that person’s attention: ‘My good man, I am fully aware of these states of misery, but you will have a pleasant experience.’ If he accepts the piece of meat with the words ‘This will give me pleasure,’ then the bodhisatva should give the meat to that person without concern, with the strength of an undiscouraged mind, an unrelenting mind, an undepressed mind, with a mind free of impurities and miserliness. How so? He thinks, ‘Let trouble come to me. Let this person experience pleasure. I will make sure that all sentient beings are happy, and this applies equally to this situation. We should make the person who is in front of us happy.’ This, Śāriputra, is the quality of limitless compassion that bodhisatvas possess. It preserves and guards one’s morality. It enables one to attain awakening.”

The Lord then spoke these verses:

“Śāriputra, any bodhisatva who aspires to attain unsurpassed perfect awakening must master patient acceptance and have a natural ability for endurance. He must be patient with and have a natural ability to endure cold and heat, starvation and thirst, wind and scorching heat, insects and reptiles, and people speaking to him in unpleasant and unwelcome ways. He must be patient with and have a natural ability to endure painful sensations that are related to or produced by the physical body, whether they are intense, strong, sharp, life threatening, or deadly.

“Thus, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva who comes to master such patient acceptance achieves ‘bodhisatva patience.’ What is bodhisatva patience? The absence of malice is a sign of bodhisatva patience. The absence of anger is a sign of bodhisatva patience. Nonviolence is a sign of bodhisatva patience. The absence of disputes is a sign of bodhisatva patience. The absence of aggression is a sign of bodhisatva patience. Guarding oneself is a sign of bodhisatva patience. Guarding others is a sign of bodhisatva patience. Guarding one’s body is a sign of bodhisatva patience. Guarding one’s speech is a sign of bodhisatva patience. Guarding one’s mind is a sign of bodhisatva patience. Investigating everything thoroughly is a sign of bodhisatva patience. [MS.84.a] Not wishing for nirvāṇa is a sign of bodhisatva patience. Accepting the ripening of the fruits of previous actions is a sign of bodhisatva patience. Being physically pure is a sign of bodhisatva patience. Being verbally pure [F.100.a] is a sign of bodhisatva patience. Being mentally pure is a sign of bodhisatva patience. Experiencing the excellent states of a god or a human being is a sign of bodhisatva patience. Coming to possess the major and minor marks of a tathāgata is a sign of bodhisatva patience. The attainment of the resounding speech of a tathāgata and the voice of Brahmā is a sign of bodhisatva patience. Following the way of the bodhisatva and never allowing one’s roots of virtue to perish is a sign of bodhisatva patience. Being beyond any attack from others is a sign of bodhisatva patience. Delighting in setting one’s opponents on the right path is a sign of bodhisatva patience. In short, possessing the powers, confidence, unique qualities, great compassion, great love, great empathetic joy, and great equanimity of a tathāgata and being replete with all the characteristics of a buddha is a sign of bodhisatva patience.

“Śāriputra, because of this bodhisatva patience, he truly understands that any outburst is just like an echo and will not retort when he is verbally abused. He sees the body as being like a reflection and will not strike back when he is struck. He understands that the mind is like an illusion and will not become angered, even when others are angry. He knows his own level of achievement and is neither downcast if he is not praised nor flattered if he is complimented. He is disciplined and tranquil and is neither exhilarated by gain nor depressed by loss. He sees the bigger picture and is neither fascinated by fame nor troubled by anonymity. He is firm and unshakeable and is neither bowed by blame nor elated by praise. His focus is sentient beings, and so suffering does not trouble him. As conditioned happiness is impermanent, he does not allow himself to become intoxicated by happiness. [F.100.b] He is beyond any type of birth and is therefore untarnished by worldly matters. As he does not cause others any agony, he is able to bear the agony that befalls him. As he possesses all the factors of awakening in their fullness, he can bear it when his major and minor limbs and his head are chopped off.98 As his goal is the buddha body, he can bear it when his body is cut to pieces. He is able to patiently bear any difficulties, as it is this that provides one with the power of having acted in positive ways. This, Śāriputra, is what is called bodhisatva patience.

“Moreover, Śāriputra, this bodhisatva patience is limitless patient acceptance. In what way? One can be patient, reflecting, ‘Who is abusing? Who is being abused?’ Patience that involves this sort of duality, though, is not limitless patient acceptance. There is the patience where one asks, ‘Who is abusing here?’ This patience, though, which involves contemplating phenomena, is not limitless patient acceptance. One can be patient, reflecting, ‘Is it the eye that abuses the eye?’ This patience, though, which involves examining the sense fields, is not limitless patient acceptance. One can be patient, observing, ‘There is nothing there to abuse.’ This patience, which does not involve any sentient being, though, is not limitless patient acceptance.99 One can be patient, observing, ‘The anger is communicated through words.’ [MS.84.b] This patience, though, which perceives any outburst as being like an echo, is not limitless patient acceptance. One can be patient, observing, ‘That is impermanent and I am impermanent.’ This patience, though, which alights on impermanence, is not limitless patient acceptance. One can be patient, observing, ‘He is mistaken, I am not mistaken.’ This kind of patience that belittles others, though, is not limitless patient acceptance. One can be patient, observing, ‘I am doing what is right, he is doing what is wrong.’ This patience that makes distinctions, though, is not limitless patient acceptance. One can be patient, observing, ‘I am on the path. He is on the wrong path.’ This dualistic patience, though, is not limitless patient acceptance. One may think, ‘I can be patient with emptiness, but I have no patience with those who hold views. I can be patient with freedom from attributes, but I have no patience with sophistry. I can be patient with freedom from aspirations, but I have no patience with ambitions. I can be patient with the unconditioned, but I have no patience with the conditioned. I can be patient with the state in which the vices have been eliminated, but I have no patience with vices. I can be patient with wholesomeness, but I have no patience with what is unwholesome. [F.101.a] I can be patient with the irreproachable, but I have no patience with the reproachable. I can be patient with the undefiled, but I have no patience with the defiled. I can be patient with the transcendent, but I have no patience with worldly things. I can be patient with the state of purification, but I have no patience with the state of corruption. I can be patient with nirvāṇa, but I have no patience with cyclic existence.’ This sort of patience, though, where one avoids that which is disagreeable, is not limitless patient acceptance.

“What, then, is limitless patient acceptance? It is to understand emptiness while neither discarding views nor attributing emptiness to things. It is to understand emptiness while neither discarding logical investigation nor attributing freedom from attributes to things. It is to understand emptiness while neither discarding ambitions nor attributing freedom from aspirations to things. It is to understand emptiness while neither discarding the conditioned nor attributing unconditionality to things. It is to understand emptiness while neither discarding the vices nor attributing the elimination of corruption to things. It is to understand emptiness while neither discarding the unwholesome nor attributing wholesomeness to things. It is to understand emptiness while neither discarding the reproachable nor attributing the quality of being irreproachable to things, and so forth; one may here supplement all the elaborations found above. It is to understand emptiness while neither discarding cyclic existence nor attributing nirvāṇa to anything. Patience in this manner is called limitless patient acceptance.

“That which is unborn, which is not created, which has not arisen, and which does not take place cannot have any sort of existence. As it does not exist, it cannot perish. That which is imperishable is limitless patient acceptance. [MS.85.a]

“That which is not conditioned and yet not unconditioned, cannot be subject to attribution, and cannot be located, expanded, increased,100 accumulated, or reduced is not something to which one can attribute arising. [F.101.b] That which does not arise is imperishable. One who is patient in this way is said to possess the patient acceptance of nonarising.

“This is the kind of patient acceptance, Śāriputra, by means of which the bodhisatva, the great being, practices the way of the bodhisatva. When bodhisatvas, great beings, apply themselves to this in their practice of the way of the bodhisatva, they cannot be overpowered by Māra and his retinue, nor by the gods. They cannot be overpowered by any opponent.” [B12]