Good afternoon to all shi xiongs. I wish to share a bit on my experience, which is a mixture of success and failure, in my practice of forbearance.
Before I start, I would like to express my gratitude to have the affinity to have chanced upon Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door. The journey on this Buddhism path has been a positive one, transforming me from an impatient, easily provoked and temperamental person to a more thoughtful lad.
Firstly, I would like to share about my friendship with one of my classmates. Sometime last year, one of my classmates started to bear grudges towards me over issues that were unbeknown to me. I was clearly upset over this incident as in my opinion, I had not committed anything wrong. I could not hold back my emotion and berated him. My outburst had seemingly ‘mended’ our friendship but not for long. His hatred towards me returned early this year.
Echoing what was shared by shi xiong just now, through understanding the cause and condition (yin yuan) has helped me polish my forbearance. I appreciated the reality that my negative affinity with this classmate could be due to negative karma seeded in my past life, hence I chose to stay calm this time whenever I needed to interact with him. If not for this concept of Buddhism, I would have reacted like how I did previously, that is fight him!
Like the story of the stone being carved by the sculptor, it was very tough for me to tolerate him as he was bad-mouthing me during this period, putting my forbearance to test. However, weeks and weeks of learning Buddhism in Plain Terms have served as a good reminder that I need to remain patient and tolerant in my spiritual cultivation hence I need to persevere in perfecting this paramita. I cannot be hasty in wanting to see the fruit of my forbearance, as what was shared just now, that everything is the best arrangement.
I am glad to say, in recent weeks, the results seem to have borne some fruit. He has started to become friendly again to me. I can imagine, have I not forborne it, I would have let this negative karma reach the ground and even take root and prolong the negative affinity between us. To make matters worse, I could have generated karma of speech and thought in the process.
The following two phrases of words of wisdom from Master Lu have always served as a motivation in my practice of forbearance: “One must be able to endure hardship and be tolerant. Like a sponge that can absorb even dirty and polluted water” and “If you pause and think for five seconds before you take an action, utter any word, or conceive any thought, you will have no regrets“.
The second story relates to a special-need classmate who has some mental disabilities. He is unpopular in school and is a subject of verbal attacks. Notwithstanding, he has taught me the true meaning of the Paramitas of Giving, and Forbearance through having compassion towards others.
He has been assigned to be my internship partner. This has helped me to put some of my Buddhism learning into practice. During the internship, he ruined one of our projects and I ended up having to recheck the nitty gritty. In normal circumstance, this would have put two of us in hot soup and enraged me had I not learned Buddhism. My patience was clearly put to good use as I redid the assignment.
Like what Master Lu says, in one of the cross references today, “When we are compassionate towards others, when we find others are really pitiable, forbearance doesn’t even exist anymore“. I have sympathy for my classmate and appreciate that his current predicament is the consequence of past misdeeds. By having this mindset, our working relationship began to improve. One of Master Lu’s teachings rings very strongly within me: “Patience and Perseverance are the foundation for wisdom”.
To conclude, I would like to share with all shi xiongs this phrase of words of wisdom by Master Lu “If we wish to emulate Bodhisattva, forbearance is an important tool. Do not allow our negative emotions to be easily triggered by external stimuli“.
That is the end of my sharing.
Deepest gratitude to the greatly merciful and greatly compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva.
Deepest gratitude to all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Dharma Protectors.
Deepest gratitude to Master Jun Hong Lu.
If my sharing today was improper in anyway, I seek the forgiveness from Guan Yin Bodhisattva and Dharma Protectors.
Thank you.
For more information on the Buddhism in Plain Terms Group Study, please click the link below:
Buddhism in Plain Terms | The Six Paramitas | Perfections of Giving & Morality | 22 Aug 2020
< Testimony Sharing < 同修分享