Question

I'm really impatient to gain that virtue, and what's the name of it, oh yes, patience. Please tell me how to gain it instantly!

Answer

Hmm, impatient to gain patience, seems like a contradiction. Well perhaps this person could reflect on Cause and Effect and the non-selfness nature of things. The 3rd reflection, Cause and Effect, helps us to understand that nothing is really ours, that things arise due to causes and pass due to causes, and that if we just want patience, then we are not sowing the causes for the arising of it. Nothing arises without a cause.

As we understand the non-selfness nature of things, and especially Cause and Effect, we will have more patience because we realize that many things are beyond our power to control. We understand that we have to sow the causes for the arising of beneficial qualities, and that desire and craving are the cause of suffering. I'm afraid that if you want beneficial qualities instantly, they will not arise. As we see how much Dukkha arises from craving, we may have enough compassion for ourselves to simply sow the causes for the arising of beneficial qualities. So developing more wisdom will help bring more patience, understanding that this mind follows according to Cause and Effect and that we will try to investigate into the causes for the arising of beneficial things, and learn how to sow them.

Our apologies if there are any errors in the above text. If anything seems to be wrong or confusing in any way, please feel free to contact the teachers for further clarification.