No matter what temptations arise, we must be able to control ourselves and
not fall victim to those temptations which come from other people, or our
own defilements. In this way, we have to be more patient to bad people or
bad things around us.
Again, in Buddhism, there are four things we should practice endurance
(Phrabhavanaviriyakhun, 2012):
x Environmental hardship: such as wind, weather, storm, etc.
x Physical suffering: such as sickness, pain, etc.
x Other people: such as to live and to work together and learn how to be
neutral from praise and criticism from others
x Defilements/Temptations: such as people/things that arouse us to do bad
things and learn how to manage with one’s own inappropriate desires
Having habits of discipline, respect, and endurance not only satisfies the
characteristics of a pursuer of perfections, but they are also the basic habits in the
practice of the Noble Eightfold Path.
One who will be able to acquire all three good habits of discipline, respect, and
endurance, must spend every second of the day pursuing perfections because to have
these good habits, one must be pure in body, speech and mind throughout the day until
it sticks and becomes a habit. Even if we come across obstacles, no matter how hard,
we will be determined to fight on and continue doing good deeds until we reach our
ultimate goal.
To acquire these three good habits while living with others in a community,