Chapter 6 - Patience

Summary

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In chapter 6 Śāntideva presents the topic of patience as the antidote to the most destructive emotion of anger. The chapter consists of verses on overcoming anger, cultivating patience, and respecting all sentient beings. Anger, according to Śāntideva, is never justified and is an emotion wholly destructive of positively accumulated karma. As this is the case, Śāntideva instructs through rational argument why the spiritual aspirant should see enemies not as objects worthy of anger or retaliation but as beings caught in the grips of their own afflictive emotions.

Concise Summary of Essential Points

With a strong grounding in ethical discipline, and with our minds guarded by mindfulness and vigilant introspection, Śāntideva now moves on to another essential factor in protecting ourselves from the harm caused by our own internal negative emotions—the practice of patience.

Chapters 4 to 6 cover the second major section of the Bodhicaryāvatāra, which deals with how to prevent the bodhicitta which we have developed from declining. As the structure of the text unfolds, Śāntideva combines this structure of progressive development of bodhicitta with the main practices on the bodhisattva’s path, that of the six perfections (pāramitās).

The first two of the perfections, generosity and ethical discipline, are discussed earlier in chapters 1 to 5. From chapter 6 onward, Śāntideva devotes each of the next four chapters (from chapter 6 to chapter 9) to how to train in the remaining four perfections of patience, diligence, meditative absorption, and wisdom.

Chapter 6 is devoted to the perfection of patience (kṣānti pāramitā) and the identification and methods of overcoming the direct antagonist of patience, anger. The reason that Śāntideva devotes such a long chapter to overcoming anger is that it is the mental factor that most clearly prevents us from developing the mind of enlightenment, bodhicitta. If we have angry thoughts toward others running through our minds, then how will we be able to develop the wish to attain the highest state of perfection in order to benefit all beings? This is impossible. Therefore, Śāntideva stresses the vital importance of the cultivation of patience.

As Śāntideva clearly puts it in one of the opening verses, there is no mental state worse than anger, and there is no greater positive practice than that of developing patience in the face of challenging circumstances.

No evil is there similar to anger, No austerity to be compared with patience. Steep yourself, therefore, in patience, In various ways, insistently.

Verse 6.2

[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006)
Page(s) 77
Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.

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ཞེ་སྡང་ལྟ་བུའི་སྡིག་པ་མེད། །

བཟོད་པ་ལྟ་བུའི་དཀའ་ཐུབ་མེད། ། དེ་བས་བཟོད་ལ་ནན་ཏན་དུ། །

སྣ་ཚོགས་ཚུལ་གྱིས་བསྒོམ་པར་བྱ། །

Patience is the third of the perfections and an essential building block in the bodhisattva path. Without patience, we will quickly destroy all the good we have done through all our other virtuous practices.

The Pain of Anger

What is it that acts in opposition to patience and disturbs our mental calm and balance? It is anger in all its forms, says Śāntideva.

Those tormented by the pain of anger, Never know tranquillity of mind— Strangers they will be to every pleasure; They will neither sleep nor feel secure.

Verse 6.3

[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006)
Page(s) 77
Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.

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ཞེ་སྡང་ཟུག་རྔུའི་སེམས་འཆང་ན། །

ཡིད་ནི་ཞི་བ་ཉམས་མི་མྱོང་། ། དགའ་དང་བདེ་བའང་མི་འཐོབ་ལ། །

གཉིད་མི་འོང་ཞིང་བརྟན་མེད་འགྱུར། །

States of mind such as irritation, obstinacy, belligerence, and resentment are all different shades of anger. With these constantly arising, our minds are turbulent and cannot find even temporary peace. We can never really feel at ease, we are constantly on edge, and finding restorative sleep will be impossible. When anger is present, there will always be mental suffering.

But how can we cope with anger? How can we avoid it? And how can we confront it and eventually destroy it? In this chapter Śāntideva argues that there is hope, and he reveals to us the tools that we can use to take on anger and eventually vanquish it.

The first line of defense in stopping anger from arising is to prevent unhappy states of mind from taking hold of us. Maintaining a cheerful state of mind and making sure that we do not become despondent are vital methods in preventing anger.

In the following famous verse from this chapter, Śāntideva speaks to this point and encourages us with a very pragmatic way to think when unwanted circumstances arise.

If there’s a remedy when trouble strikes, What reason is there for dejection? And if there is no help for it, What use is there in being glum?

Verse 6.10

[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006)
Page(s) 78
Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.

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གལ་ཏེ་བཅོས་སུ་ཡོད་ན་ནི། །

དེ་ལ་མི་དགར་ཅི་ཞིག་ཡོད། ། གལ་ཏེ་བཅོས་སུ་མེད་ན་ནི། །

དེ་ལ་མི་དགའ་བྱས་ཅི་ཕན། །

According to Śāntideva, when we encounter difficulties, we should never feel a sense of dejection and apathy. There is no reason to get upset. If there is something that can be done to change the situation, what need is there to worry? he asks. Just act. And if there is nothing that can be done to remedy a situation, then why worry? If there is really nothing to do, then what reason could there be for feeling despondent? Such a pragmatic approach runs counter to how we actually live our lives. In such circumstances, we typically become paralyzed with doubt and feel downcast by constant problems, which cause us tremendous mental unhappiness.

Three Different Kinds of Patience

The sixth chapter is arranged according to the methods to practice three different kinds of patience: (1) patience in the face of our own suffering, (2) patience in developing certainty in regard to the teachings, and (3) patience in the face of harm.

Patience in the face of Our Own Suffering

Śāntideva points out that once we have taken birth in samsara under the sway of karma and mental afflictions, then all states of existence will be characterized by suffering. The causes for happiness will be few, and therefore he implores us to find ways to prevent our minds from being provoked to anger by difficult circumstances. We need to be resilient in spite of what comes our way.

He reminds us that there is nothing that cannot become easier with practice and familiarity.

There’s nothing that does not grow light Through habit and familiarity. Putting up with little cares I’ll train myself to bear with great adversity!

Verse 6.14

[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006)
Page(s) 79
Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.

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གོམས་ན་སླ་བར་མི་འགྱུར་བའི། །

དངོས་དེ་གང་ཡང་ཡོད་མ་ཡིན། ། དེ་བས་གནོད་པ་ཆུང་གོམས་པས། །

གནོད་པ་ཆེན་པོའང་བཟོད་པར་བྱོས། །

If we are able to train to withstand smaller injuries and worries, then in the future we will be able to bear much greater difficulty and suffering.

Patience in Developing Certainty in regard to the Teachings

In the next section of the chapter, Śāntideva discusses how to develop patience in relation to the Dharma. In practicing the Dharma, we will have to endure many hardships, and we must learn to have forbearance with these difficulties. Particularly, we may face problems in relation to others getting angry at us, and at this crucial time when we must protect our bodhicitta and implement the teachings, patience is vital.

In particular, Śāntideva seeks to show us how all phenomena, and especially our suffering, do not come about causelessly but arise due to the operation of specific causes. If the things that happen to us are not causeless but instead happen to us because of a network of conditions, then, as he has mentioned above, there will be no reason to get upset. If we stop creating the causes of unwanted suffering, then the results will cease to come to us, and there will be no reason to get angry.

All things, then, depend on other things, And these likewise depend; they are not independent. Knowing this, we will not be annoyed At things that are like magical appearances.

Verse 6.31

[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006)
Page(s) 81
Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.

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དེ་ལྟར་ཐམས་ཅད་གཞན་གྱི་དབང་། །

དེ་ཡི་དབང་གིས་དེ་དབང་མེད། ། དེ་ལྟར་ཤེས་ནས་སྤྲུལ་ལྟ་བུའི། །

དངོས་པོ་ཀུན་ལ་ཁྲོ་མི་འགྱུར། །

Śāntideva encourages us to see that all things are dependent on their causes and that the solid existence of all things is an illusion. All things are essentially like a mirage. In the case of anger, both the one getting angry and the object of that anger are like apparitions, and because of this there is no valid reason to get angry.

Patience in the face of Harm

Everyone wants to be happy and to not experience suffering. Unfortunately, this is not usually how life turns out for us. Not knowing the way things are, we engage in actions that either directly or inadvertently bring us suffering.

If things could be according to their wish, No suffering would ever come To anyone of all embodied beings, For none of them wants pain of any kind.

Verse 6.34

[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006)
Page(s) 82
Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.

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གལ་ཏེ་རང་དགས་འགྲུབ་འགྱུར་ན། །

འགའ་ཡང་སྡུག་བསྔལ་མི་འདོད་པས། ། ལུས་ཅན་དག་ནི་ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱང་། །

སུ་ལའང་སྡུག་བསྔལ་འབྱུང་མི་འགྱུར། །

We may pursue what we think is happiness by chasing power and money. We may even bring physical harm to ourselves in pursuit of our goals, and we are often prepared to win at others' expense. If this is our own situation, then it is not surprising that we will meet others who will, in the pursuit of their own happiness, deliberately or accidentally bring harm to us. Śāntideva reminds us of the importance of being able to withstand and make light of this harm. He advises us to understand that in these moments the other person is overcome by temporary afflictions and that they are not normally this way. Therefore, he asks, why should we have hard feelings toward them?

And if their faults are fleeting and contingent, If living beings are by nature mild, It’s likewise senseless to resent them— As well be angry at the sky when it is full of smoke!

Verse 6.40

[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006)
Page(s) 83
Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.

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འོན་ཏེ་སྐྱོན་འདི་གློ་བུར་ལ། །

སེམས་ཅན་རང་བཞིན་དེས་པ་* ངེས་པ་ in the source text. ནའང་། ། འོ་ནའང་ཁྲོ་བར་མི་རིགས་ཏེ། །

མཁའ་ལ་དུད་འཐུལ་བཀོན་པ་བཞིན། །

He counsels us to learn to bear any suffering they bring and also relates in the following verses how, from a Buddhist perspective, the causes of the harm we receive now lie in actions that we ourselves performed in the past. In fact, it is our own karma that creates these ripening results, and so we should look inside for the cause and not outside.

Patience in the face of Slander

At times, in life, we may be treated with contempt or become subject to abuse. People may spread unfair rumors and gossip about us, and we may be tempted to respond with anger. But Śāntideva points out that no amount of verbal abuse or name-calling can actually harm the body or the mind.

Scorn and hostile words, And comments that I do not like to hear— My body is not harmed by them. What reason do you have, O mind, for your resentment?[p.85]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006)
Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.

Verse 6.53

[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006)
Page(s) 84
Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.

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བརྙས་དང་ཚིག་རྩུབ་སྨྲ་བ་དང་། །

མི་སྙན་པ་ཡི་ཚིག་དེ་ཡིས། ། ལུས་ལ་[p.54]Byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa rtsa ba dang 'grel pa (1990)
Slob dpon zhi ba lha and Mkhan po kun dpal. Byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa rtsa ba dang 'grel pa. Khreng tu'u: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1990. གནོད་པར་མི་འགྱུར་ན། །

སེམས་ཁྱོད་ཅིའི་ཕྱིར་རབ་ཏུ་ཁྲོ། །

Such words are reminiscent of the childhood phrase "Sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but calling names won't harm me." But here Śāntideva takes the meaning a step further and uses such words as a reason to encourage us to not become resentful or angry.

The second half of the chapter is devoted to a detailed explanation of the different kinds of patience that are required in situations where anger and resentment may arise. For instance, when others mistreat our loved ones, it is easy for anger to arise. But anger and irritation may also arise when people do positive and helpful things for those whom we consider to be our enemies. Both of these situations are likely to increase our resentment, and yet both situations are worthy of our patience.

Likewise, we may feel anger arise inside of us when others act as obstacles to us getting what we want. We will never feel irritation when they obstruct our enemies, but as soon as we see them helping our foes, or something happens to prevent harm befalling an enemy, immediately we feel upset. But what, Śāntideva asks us, is the use of these kinds of thoughts?

If unhappiness befalls your enemies, Why should this be cause for your rejoicing? The wishes of your mind alone, Will not in fact contrive their injury.

Verse 6.87

[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006)
Page(s) 89
Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.

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བམ་པོ་གཉིས་པའོ། གལ་ཏེ་དགྲ་ཞིག་མི་དགའ་ནའང་། །

དེ་ལ་ཁྱོད་དགར་ཅི་ཞིག་ཡོད། ། ཁྱོད་ཀྱི་ཡིད་སྨོན་ཙམ་གྱིས་ནི། །

དེ་ལ་གནོད་པའི་རྒྱུར་མི་འགྱུར། །

Even if we are misguided enough to wish the other person harm, our thoughts can never contrive to create that suffering for the other.

Respect for Other Beings

The last part of the chapter ends with Śāntideva urging us to have reverence and respect for other beings, whether they interact with us positively or negatively. He argues that it is they who actually offer up to us the opportunity to be able to put the training of patience into practice. Therefore, he argues, we must hold them in a place of reverence and consider them to be on par with the buddhas and the teachings of the Dharma.

Thanks to those whose minds are full of malice I engender patience in myself. They therefore are the causes of my patience, Fit for veneration, like the Dharma.

Verse 6.111

[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006)
Page(s) 93
Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.

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དེ་བས་རབ་ཏུ་སྡང་སེམས་ལ། །

བརྟེན་ནས་བཟོད་པ་སྐྱེ་བས་ན། ། དེ་ཉིད་བཟོད་པའི་རྒྱུ་ཡིན་པས། །

དམ་པའི་ཆོས་བཞིན་མཆོད་པར་འོས། །

For most of us, who are quick to vilify anyone who dares to harm us even in the smallest of ways, this way of thinking may seem completely alien. Our culture often praises righteous retaliation and vengeance. And yet here Śāntideva turns the whole situation, and our reaction to it, on its head. He suggests that anyone who is hostile to us should instead be honored almost on the level of a guru, for they have come to aid us on the path to enlightenment. Indeed, he presents the opportunity for an incredible transformation of our minds and our experience of everything that happens to us.

In conclusion, Śāntideva vows that it will be his life's work to implement these practices and ways of transforming the mind, practices which delight the buddhas and bring about our own welfare as well.

This very thing is pleasing to the Buddhas’ hearts And perfectly secures the welfare of myself. This will drive away the sorrows of the world, And therefore it will be my constant work.

Verse 6.127

[ src citation ]The Way of the Bodhisattva (2006)
Page(s) 95
Blankleder, Helena, and Wulstan Fletcher (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyāvatāra. By Śāntideva. Rev. ed. Shambhala Classics. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2006.

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འདི་ཉིད་དེ་བཞིན་[p.64]Byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa rtsa ba dang 'grel pa (1990)
Slob dpon zhi ba lha and Mkhan po kun dpal. Byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa rtsa ba dang 'grel pa. Khreng tu'u: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1990. གཤེགས་པ་མཉེས་བྱེད་ཡིན། །

རང་དོན་ཡང་དག་སྒྲུབ་པའང་འདི་ཉིད་དོ། ། འཇིག་རྟེན་སྡུག་བསྔལ་སེལ་བའང་འདི་ཉིད་དེ། །

དེ་ལྟས་བདག་གིས་རྟག་ཏུ་འདི་ཉིད་བྱ། །

Additional resources

Learn About Śāntideva's Texts

Bodhicaryāvatāra
The Way of the Bodhisattva

The Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra is considered to be one of the most influential Buddhist classical writings. Combining highly inspirational exhortations and incisive philosophical arguments in an evocative poetic language, the book, it is safe to claim, has shaped the lives of millions throughout the centuries.

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Śikṣāsamuccaya
The Compendium of Training

The Compendium of Training is an anthology of excerpts from the Mahāyāna sūtras that discusses the bodhisattva path and principles in much greater length and detail.

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Recommended Texts Related to Chapter 6

Mañjuśrīvikrīḍitasūtra

The Miraculous Play of Mañjuśrī presents a series of profound teachings within a rich narrative structure involving a beautiful courtesan’s daughter, Suvarṇottamaprabhāśrī. A banker’s son has purchased her favors, but while they are riding together toward a pleasure garden the girl’s attention is captivated instead by the radiantly attractive Mañjuśrī, who gives her instructions related to the meaning of the mind set on awakening. She then expresses her new understanding in a dialogue with Mañjuśrī, in the presence of King Ajātaśatru, his retinue, and the citizens of Rājagṛha. Meanwhile the banker’s son, with the help of Mañjuśrī and Śakra, experiences his own realization and receives teaching from the Buddha himself. The sūtra deals with well-known Mahāyāna themes, but places special emphasis on the emptiness and sameness of all phenomena. (Source: 84000)

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Suhṛllekha

Letter to a Friend (Skt. Suhṛllekha; Tib. བཤེས་པའི་སྤྲིང་ཡིག་, shepé tring yik, Wyl. bshes pa'i spring yig) — a śāstra by Nāgārjuna, which belongs to his Collection of Advice.

Nāgārjuna (1st-2nd century A.D.) wrote this celebrated poem as a letter of advice to his friend King Gautamiputra/Satavahana.

This advice gives a concise and comprehensive introduction to the entire path and practice of Buddhism. It guides both householders and the ordained onto the path leading to liberation and enlightenment. The instructions are of special interest to those who wish to take up spiritual activity while continuing to live and work in society; they are meant to convey the whole meaning of the Dharma to the ordinary person in a language and style that are easy to understand.

Despite its short length (123 verses), it covers the whole Mahāyāna path with unusual clarity and memorable imagery; thus it is widely quoted by Tibet's great masters and scholars in the many commentaries they have written on the Buddhist path. (Source Accessed Feb 13, 2026)

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Rājaparikathāratnāvali

Ratnāvalī. (T. Rin chen phreng ba; C. Baoxingwang zheng lun; J. Hōgyō ō shöron; K. Pohaengwang chöng non 寶行王正論). In Sanskrit, "Garland of Jewels," a Sanskrit work by the Madhyamaka philosopher Nāgārjuna. The work consists of five hundred verses arranged in five chapters. While the Ratnāvalī contains many of Nāgārjuna's fundamental philosophical ideas, grounded primarily in the notion of emptiness (śūnyatā), the work is more focused on issues of ethics. The Ratnāvalī is addressed to King Gautamīputra of Āndhra, a friend and patron of Nāgārjuna, and much of the text discusses the proper conduct of the laity, particularly those in administrative positions such as ministers and kings. In particular, the fourth chapter is devoted to an exploration of kingship and the proper management of a kingdom. The work also contains a defense of the Mahāyāna as the word of the Buddha (buddhavacana), an exposition of the collection of merit (puṇyasaṃbhāra) and the collection of wisdom (jñānasaṃbhāra), a description of the ten bodhisattva stages (bhūmi) based on the Daśabhūmikasūtra, and a correlation of the practice of specific virtues with the achievement of the thirty-two marks of a superman (mahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa). There are complete versions of the work extant in Tibetan and Chinese translations, but only parts survive in the original Sanskrit. (Source: "Ratnāvalī." In The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 704. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)

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Dharmasaṃgītisūtra

Dharmasaṃgīti. (T. Chos yang dag par sdud pa; C. Faji jing; J. Hōjūkyō; K. Pǒpchip kyǒng 法集經). In Sanskrit, "Recitation of Dharma," a sūtra that contains references to doctrines that become emblematic of Mahāyāna and especially Yogācāra thought, such as the notion of the nominal reality of all dharmas and the eight levels of consciousness (vijñāna). The sūtra does not survive in Sanskrit, and is extant only in Tibetan and Chinese. The Chinese translation was made by the Indian monk Bodhiruci (fl. sixth century) in 515 CE, during the Northern Wei dynasty, at its capital Luoyang. The Dharmasaṃgīti, translated in six rolls, is one of over thirty Mahāyāna sūtras and treatises that Bodhiruci translated during his sojourn in China, most of which reflect the latest developments in Indian Mahāyāna. Besides the Dharmasaṃgīti, Bodhiruci's translations that were related to the developing Yogācāra tradition include the Laṅkāvatārasūtra, the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra, and the Shidijing lun; his translation of the latter treatise led to the development of the Yogācāra influenced Di lun zong in China. (Source: "Dharmasaṃgīti." In The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 251–52. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)

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Recommended Books Related to Chapter 6

Shantideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way Of Life: An Oral Explanation of Chapter 6

This book is a moderately edited transcript of oral explanations given by Kyabje Gelek Rimpoche on Chapter Six of Shantideva's Bodhisattvacharyavatara, A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life. Rimpoche gave these teachings on Tuesday nights in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from May 2000 to August 2002. . . .

Throughout this transcript, Rimpoche uses the English translation by Stephen Batchelor, published by the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. Since Rimpoche frequently makes reference to Tibetan words and phrasing, the Tibetan translation of the Sanskrit original is included in Wylie transliteration in the Appendix.

Rimpoche did not introduce a traditional extensive outline in giving this teaching. For those interested, an outline of this sort may be found in Geshe Kelsang Gyatso's Meaningful to Behold. The headings, subheadings and footnotes in this present volume have been added by the editor for ease of reference, and to help delineate changes of topic. A brief bibliography is included. For a glossary, see the transcript on Chapters One through Three in this series.

The transcription of these teachings from recordings was done by Hartmut Sagolla. (Anne Warren, acknowledgements, i–ii)

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Patience: A Guide to Shantideva's Sixth Chapter

The sixth chapter of Shantideva’s classic A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life (here in translation by the great scholar Luis Gomez) is a beacon of inspiration that shows what patience—one of the essential actions of the bodhisattvas—can really mean, leading us to profound self-realization and a heightened determination for awakened action in the world.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche—a teacher whose very name means “patience”—explores Shantideva’s teachings verse by verse, unpacking its lessons for the modern reader:

Overcoming anger
Accepting suffering
Respecting others and finding happiness in their happiness

In explaining this quintessential quality of a bodhisattva, Rinpoche shows us ordinary beings the profundity of the practice of patience and the relevance it has in our everyday lives.

“Shantideva was like us, but he worked on his mind until he became completely free from delusions . . . A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life has inspired countless people since it was written over thirteen hundred years ago. It tells us that we too can develop our mind to the levels of realizations that the great masters have attained—and it shows us how to do it.”—Lama Zopa Rinpoche

(Source: Wisdom Publications)

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Perfecting Patience

All of the world’s major religions emphasize the importance of love, compassion, and tolerance. This is particularly true in the Buddhist traditions, which unanimously state that compassion and love are the foundation of all paths of practice. To cultivate the potential for compassion and love inherent within us, it is crucial to counteract their opposing forces of anger and hatred. In Perfecting Patience, the Dalai Lama shows how, through the practice of patience and tolerance, we can overcome the obstacles of anger and hatred. He bases his discussion on A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life, the classic work on the activities of bodhisattvas—those who aspire to attain full enlightenment in order to benefit all beings. This book was previously published under the title Healing Anger. (Source: Shambhala Publications)

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Explore All Resources Related to Chapter 6

Chapter 6 Topics Page

A complete list of sources related to Bodhicaryāvatāra chapter 6

Topic

Key Terms for Chapter 6

Bodhicitta

The altruistic thought to seek enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. It is said to have two aspects: compassion aimed at sentient beings and their problems and the wisdom of enlightenment as the solution.

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Abhidharma

Abhidharma generally refers to the corpus of Buddhist texts which deals with the typological, phenomenological, metaphysical, and epistemological presentation of Buddhist concepts and teachings. The abhidharma teachings present a meta-knowledge of Buddhist sūtras through analytical and systemic schemas and are said to focus on developing wisdom among the three principles of training. The Abhidharma is presented alongside Sūtra and Vinaya as one of the three baskets of the teachings of the Buddha.

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Bibliography: Works on Chapter 6 - Patience

Chapter 6 - Patience

Contents

Concise Summary of Essential Points

The Pain of Anger

Three Different Kinds of Patience

Patience in the face of Our Own Suffering

Patience in Developing Certainty in regard to the Teachings

Patience in the face of Harm

Patience in the face of Slander

Respect for Other Beings

Additional resources

Learn About Śāntideva's Texts

Recommended Texts Related to Chapter 6

Recommended Books Related to Chapter 6

Recommended Articles Related to Chapter 6

Notes

Recommended Videos Related to Chapter 6

Explore All Resources Related to Chapter 6

Key Terms for Chapter 6

Bodhicitta

Abhidharma

Notes

Bibliography: Works on Chapter 6 - Patience