Forbearance
Accept the rocks in the road
from 
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With palms together,
Good Morning All,
Anger is a fire in the mind
it can burn up a forest of merit
if you travel the bodhisattva path
forbearance keeps anger away
A Cold Mountain poem (number 89) translated by Red Pine
So, taking the path of a bodhisattva means taking the path of forbearance. We don't use this word much anymore. We don't teach it in vocabulary lessons. It has fallen out of favor in the English language. Pity. Its meaning is transformative.
It means we should tolerate emotions and abstain or refrain from acting upon them. I defined it in this way because its not just that we should be patient with fools, but with ourselves as well. While its synonym may be patience, forbearance moves beyond patient by including endurance.
What the poet, Cold Mountain, is teaching, is that practicing patience with ourselves and others in a way that shows mercy and gives up identification with self, is a way of taming anger and, in fact, propels us along the path toward freedom.
Practicing forbearance, kshanti, is one of the six paramitas of Zen Buddhism. A paramita, or "perfection" is often understood as a going beyond. In other words, the perfection itself, fully embodied, is a state of enlightenment
So, the next time we feel slighted, the next time a fool crosses our path and us in the bargain, we might heed the advice of this ancient poet. In the process we manifest our true nature.
Be well.
Good Morning All,
Anger is a fire in the mind
it can burn up a forest of merit
if you travel the bodhisattva path
forbearance keeps anger away
A Cold Mountain poem (number 89) translated by Red Pine
So, taking the path of a bodhisattva means taking the path of forbearance. We don't use this word much anymore. We don't teach it in vocabulary lessons. It has fallen out of favor in the English language. Pity. Its meaning is transformative.
It means we should tolerate emotions and abstain or refrain from acting upon them. I defined it in this way because its not just that we should be patient with fools, but with ourselves as well. While its synonym may be patience, forbearance moves beyond patient by including endurance.
What the poet, Cold Mountain, is teaching, is that practicing patience with ourselves and others in a way that shows mercy and gives up identification with self, is a way of taming anger and, in fact, propels us along the path toward freedom.
Practicing forbearance, kshanti, is one of the six paramitas of Zen Buddhism. A paramita, or "perfection" is often understood as a going beyond. In other words, the perfection itself, fully embodied, is a state of enlightenment
So, the next time we feel slighted, the next time a fool crosses our path and us in the bargain, we might heed the advice of this ancient poet. In the process we manifest our true nature.
Be well.