There are times when I don't have patience at all. There are times when I have lots of patience. It depends on the situation and how it will affect others.
Everyone in Panama is late for everything. You would think after 12 years of living here, I would be used to that. But no. I still have in my Stateside trained head that it's rude to be late and that it is best to start events and meetings on time. This is not the Panamanian way. Very few events start on time. Very few people show up early so the event can start on time. Most people wander in whenever they happen to arrive.
Patience will be a challenge for me to practice. "Patience means having a tranquil mind with the antagonist, and compassion for him." Can I be compassionate to those who are continually late and who are not bothered by it? I can understand the cultural differences and how unpredictable the traffic can be at times.
According the the article "The Six Perfections Part 1" patience is learning to stop the angry thoughts before they disturb the mind.This is another area in which I would like lots of work.
Lucky for me the article has a method for following patience. However, the method sounds more like learning the benefits of patience as a way to encourage oneself to develop patience.
Why would I want to require patience? One good reason is to create good karma, "to have less enemies in this and future lifetimes," to die without worry, to be "reborn in the upper realms such as those the gods," for happiness in this lifetime and in future lifetimes.
Anger is a really ugly behavior, even if it's justified. The article states that it is "the worst of the non-virtues." I know of one person who doesn't get angry. Everyone else I know gets angry at some time or another, some more often than others. What I'm gathering from the article, when we get angry, that anger destroys any "merits we have created in a hundred eons."
Yet, those who are antagonistic are here to help us practice patience by becoming our teacher. It is suggested that we think of the shortcomings of anger when it arises and replace that anger with patience.
As we all know, there is no peace in anger. There is no serenity, happiness or beauty. There is only restlessness, suffering, pain, hatred. It that what I want? No. I choose serenity, happiness, peace and beauty. What do you choose?
More next time.
Our perspective will change our perception. Our perception will change our experience. Our experience IS our life.
Serenity isn't freedom from the storm; it is peace within the storm.
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