Ringu Tulku Rinpoche
Teachings on Bodhicharyavatara
Session 50
Chapter 6: Patience
Stanzas 133-134. Conclusion of Chapter 6.
Rinpoche returns to the concluding verses on Patience, in particular the karmic result that practising patience brings; developing patience brings an inner beauty that shows itself externally in physical appearance, in beauty, in longevity and these are some of the 32 major and 80 minor marks of the Buddha––the signs of enlightenment. This he says doesn’t preclude causal conditions, but these signs are seen as a temporary result in this life and can also carry into future lives. He reminds us that practising patience can bring hardship and difficulties, so an open mind, tolerance and forbearance are very important. A person who carries anger shows it in their face and behaviour, citing the story of the patience of a rishi when a Chakravartin King hacked the rishi to death.
Rinpoche notes there are many repetitions in his personal teaching style and this he says can be annoying, but are useful, as re-reading the verses helps to understand and memorise them.
He says that practising patience is not only essential to the developing bodhisattva, it will lead very directly to Buddhahood.
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Is there a text available in the Buddhist secondary literature(shastras, commentaries) counting up the different kinds of virtues, like Patrul Rinpoches text about maras? I can imagine a little, that practically all Buddhism is about it, that is about accumulation of merit, but maybe you know another answer to my question. That would help to imagine the Buddhafields.
Andrzej