Chapter VI: PATIENCE

1 Whatever wholesome deeds.
Such as venerating the Buddhas, and generosity,
That have been amassed over a thousand aeons
Will all be destroyed in one moment of anger.

2 There is no evil like hatred,
And no fortitude like patience.
Thus I should strive in various ways
To meditate on patience.

3 My mind will not experience peace
If it fosters painful thoughts of hatred.
I shall find no joy or happiness;
Unable to sleep, I shall feel unsettled.

5 By it, friends and relatives are disheartened;
Though drawn by my generosity they will not trust me;
In brief there is nobody
Who lives happily with anger.

6 Hence the enemy, anger,
Creates sufferings such as these,
But whoever assiduously overcomes it
Finds happiness now and hereafter.

7 Having found its fuel of mental unhappiness
In the prevention of what I wish for
And in the doing of what I do not want,
Hatred increases and then destroys me.

9 Whatever befalls me
I shall not disturb my mental joy;
For having been made unhappy, I shall not accomplish what I wish
And my virtues will decline.

10 Why be unhappy about something
If it can be remedied?
And what is the use of being unhappy about something
If it cannot be remedied?

11 For myself and for my friends
I want no suffering, no disrespect,
No harsh words and nothing unpleasant;
But for my enemies it is the opposite.

12 The causes of happiness sometimes occur
But the causes for suffering are very many.
Without suffering tehre is no renunciation.
Therefore, mind, you should stand firm.

14 There is nothing whatsoever
That is not made easier through acquaintance.
So through becoming acquainted with small harms
I should learn to patiently accept greater harms.



Chapter IX, Wisdom
Back to Buddhism Links
Back to Bitty's Home