Buddhism in Plain Terms Vol. 3 Chapter 31 (An Excerpt)
The first type of tolerance is to tolerate man-made harm. You must learn to endure the harm and humiliation when others spread rumours about you. Be strong, you don’t have to believe or take in any of those words that are meant to dishonour you. Otherwise, you are only causing harm to yourself.
For you young couples, please remember, arguments happen. Things uttered in the middle of such fights should not be taken in. I have reminded you time and again, if you take those words too seriously, you will be troubled.
The second type of forbearance is being patient in enduring the changes in nature. This includes changes in the weather, whether it’s cold or hot. When you can’t bear the cold or hot weather, it means you have not cultivated well.
When the monks and nuns meditate and if the weather turns cold, it is unlikely that any one of them would get up to don a sweater. Would you have this level of endurance? Besides, one must also endure thirst, dry mouth, and natural disasters.
When a natural disaster strikes, you may lose your home. Such a loss may be too much to bear for some people and they may end up taking their own lives.
Assuming one’s home is right opposite a factory that operates from 8am till 5pm during which the noise of the machines can get really loud, making it no longer tolerable. This may induce the person to commit suicide – an example of the consequence of not exercising endurance.
The third type of forbearance: both mind-cultivation and Buddhist practice requires patience. It is never too late to be accomplished in your spiritual practice, as long as you are diligent. All of you who are sitting down here listening to me, are you experiencing any discomfort? You may wish to stand up and move about, but you can’t. This is patience, isn’t it? Having sat for so long, do you wish to get a sip of water?
There may be times when you, am I right to say that you may find it hard not to talk back? When I reprimand my disciples, I may make mistakes in my speech, do you think they will be angry? Even if I have made a mistake and you know you have been wronged, you still have to think, “Yes, I need to be more careful”. This is what being “well-cultivated” means.
On the flip side, if you are someone who is fond of justifying your position, talk back or claim that others are in the wrong, this is what “lack of cultivation” means. Spiritual cultivation is about overcoming our shortcomings. What’s there to explain?
< Success comes to those who Endure Hardship >
Master Jun Hong Lu’s Public Talk, Sydney, Australia – 27 January 2019
Up in a mountain, there were two identical looking stones with very different endings in life. The first one was carved into a Buddha statue and was regarded with veneration by the people; while the second one was made into a non-significant stone step.
With much grievance, the second stone said, “My friend, since we are stones of the same type, why is there such great disparity between our fate?” The first stone answered, “Do you still remember? A few years ago, when a sculptor came along, you were terrified by the pain inflicted on you from the sculptor’s knife. You couldn’t bear the suffering.
Hence, with that few cuts from the chisel, you ended up as a stone step. As for me, I lived through the pain that turned me into a statue of a Buddha. Success comes to those who can endure hardship – which explains why today I am held in veneration by the people while you, unfortunately, is just their stone step.”
< The Essence of True Forbearance >
A tolerant person does not think of the need to exercise tolerance.
Neither does a person who practises restraint,
as their daily practice has been perfected thus.
Just like with true meditative concentration,
where no concentration is aspired as all phenomena is empty thus.
— Buddhism in Plain Terms Vol. 2 Chapter 38 (An Excerpt) —
< The Importance of the Cultivation of Forbearance >
— Master Jun Hong Lu’s Public Talk, New York, USA | 14 Oct 2018 —
Read more about the Perfection of Forbearance here:
Buddhism in Plain Terms | The Six Paramitas | Perfections of Forbearance | 29 Aug 2020
< Buddhism: Your Questions Answered