法苑珠林 82.58

82.58

It is heard that the virtue of forbearance is supreme and exalted; upholding precepts and ascetic practices cannot match it. Therefore, the monk Kṣānti was dismembered without resentment, and the master of forbearance, the ṛṣi, suffered mutilation without anger. Moreover, in the path of compassion, saving and delivering comes first; in the intention of a bodhisattva, pity and concern are the function. One should constantly travel throughout the hells to endure suffering on their behalf, broadly deliver sentient beings, and bestow peace and happiness upon them. How could one allow slight provocations to give rise to great hatred—even to looking with hostile eyes, raising one's voice, adopting a fierce expression and severe tone, and subsequently beating each other and laying sticks upon them? Or fathers and sons, brothers, mutually harming one another, and friends and kin turning instead to injure each other! Their evil rebellion is worse than owls, and their venom exceeds that of bees and scorpions. That is why across kalpas, animosity and enmity never cease from lifetime to lifetime.