Practicing Patience
A student wrote to Rinpoche saying that he had been a monk for 21 years but there had been many interferences in his life. Rinpoche replied as follows.
It is extremely effective to practice patience. That is why you have been able to stay a monk for so many years. Otherwise, your life could be something else.
Anybody who experiences anger needs to practice patience. If you have a sickness, you need medicine. Like that, patience is needed. It is not a burden; it’s necessary. When you practice patience, anger becomes gradually more and more rare. Eventually, there is no anger, and then there is no enemy to destroy your merit. That is how you can achieve liberation. When there is no enemy to destroy your merit, you can have realizations. Realizations come, liberation comes, then enlightenment, and you will be able to liberate so many sentient beings from cyclic existence. That is the benefit. Each time you practice patience, the benefit is as vast as the sky. Think in the long term.
Practicing patience is the path of the bodhisattva. When you meet obstacles, be strong. Then the obstacles won’t last. If you are strong and practice compassion, patience, thought transformation, and emptiness, then obstacles don’t last.