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The Patience of Rahula
Rāhula, the son of Prince Siddhartha, was only seven or eight years old when he joyfully met his father and followed him back to Nigrodha Park, asking to be ordained as a novice monk with a small robe sewn by Shariputra. The boy once had the habit of telling lies and was taught by the Buddha not to lie (the fourth precept), and later received full ordination as a bhikshu at the age of twenty.
The Dharma talk on the perfection of patience (kṣānti pāramitā) uses four natural elements:
- Earth: receives all that is clean and unclean, transforms it into nourishment so that flowers and trees may grow.
- Water: washes and transforms both fragrant and foul-smelling clothes without discrimination.
- Wind (air) and Fire: burn away all things, keeping them pure, just as suffering is transformed into peace and happiness.
The path of practice consists of three steps:
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Understanding
- our heart is still small, easily wounded
- the other person is also suffering
- Practicing to bring happiness to ourselves and others
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Daily practice
- in the morning: bring joy to at least one person
- in the afternoon: help one person suffer less
- write in your journal, asking yourself, “What have I done today to bring happiness?”