The Six Bodhisattva Characters: Patience

The Six Bodhisattva Characters are Generosity, Discipline, Patience, Concentration, Meditation, and Wisdom.

For more details, please see this explanation of the Heart Sutra.

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Patience

Patience is staying calm, or take things easy while seeing different points of view, or doing things step by step without involving our ambition or ego.

Most people confuse patience with forbearance. Patience comes from free will, but forbearance is when we have no choice.

So, they are opposites, but they still have something in common: to handle situations with a long period of discipline. Another way to say this is that long-term discipline is patience. In that sense, forbearance is one type of human-style patience and is normally for our ego’s needs.

The other type of human-level patience is to be patient from our free desire. Still, because our position, situation, or ability is weak, we have to be patient with humility. However, there are different types of patience.

1. Human Patience

• Forbearance (no choice).
• Free desire patience (with choice).

2. Rohan Patience

• A Rohan is a Buddhist monk living with pure discipline and reached Empty Enlightenment.

3. Bodhisattva Patience

• Also known as Convenient Compassion and Wisdom System Patience.
  This high level of patience is to wisely observe each case without “I”, though not yet having complete wisdom to help every life form.
  Bodhisattva-level patience is not for their ego needs but for compassion while helping others. They understand that even though someone’s level is low, there is still the potential to help them develop wisdom by using the Convenient System with patience and a joyful heart.
  Though the bodhisattva’s compassion is unlimited, their wisdom still has limitations. Because of that, they still have to patiently develop the Convenient Compassion and Wisdom System until they reach unlimited perfection.

4. Buddha’s Patience

Also known as No Beginning, No End Patience

A Buddha’s heart is the pure force of compassion, with the wisdom to understand that even compassion is an illusion. There’s no need to be compassionate with patience any more because compassion is the Buddha’s natural eternal being, without limitation of time and space, always remaining calm, free and joyful.