Master Hanshan’s Essential Instructions on Mind Cultivation: Why We Fail To Cultivate Forbearance?
The Ming-dynasty Chan master Hanshan once said that the practice of Chan requires great resolve , great diligence, and great forbearance, without allowing hesitation over weighing gains and losses or any trace of timidity or fear. Even the practice grounded in a one-sided view of emptiness is no different in this regard. Yet many who study Buddhism find themselves unable to endure even slight offenses from others. They easily fall into struggles of “you are wrong and I am right,” or become entangled in inner conflicts. This is precisely a manifestation of a lack of forbearance.
What is meant by an inability to practice forbearance mainly falls into two aspects. First is the inability to endure inner affliction: one cannot bear inner states such as loneliness, restlessness, or emotional turbulence, and thus becomes eager to seek engagement and distraction through external conditions. Second is the inability to endure external affronts: one cannot withstand the impact of outer circumstances, and is unwilling to accept even the slightest loss. One is unwilling to suffer disadvantage, unwilling to be looked down upon, and unable to tolerate even a single harsh word or a contemptuous glance.
Let us reflect for a moment: when we feel distressed at being looked down upon, what is it that actually causes this distress? Is it bodhicitta? Certainly not. Our discomfort arises from self-grasping, arrogance, or ingrained mental habits formed in the past. Perhaps there was once a time when others treated us with respect; when that respect is no longer given, we find it difficult to accept. If we had never been respected in the first place, it would not trouble us in the same way. This, too, is a manifestation of insufficient forbearance.
Another manifestation of insufficient forbearance is the habit of weighing gains and losses. Why does this occur? It is nothing more than a fear of suffering loss, or a desire to obtain some form of benefit. The fundamental driving force behind such calculation is attachment—especially the many forms of selfish, self-serving attachment.
A person like this expends all of their mental energy protecting a petty and fragile sense of “self.” How, then, could enlightenment ever be possible? Enlightenment lies precisely in dismantling self-clinging. Yet to remove this clinging through practice is, in fact, a painful process, for we have long been accustomed to grounding our happiness and well-being in the gratification of the ego. When the desires of the self are fully satisfied, one is readily labeled a “winner in life.”
If we look again at the world around us, we see that people often measure their sense of self-satisfaction according to standards set by social norms, customs, and prevailing trends. For example, by dressing in accordance with contemporary fashion and attracting many admiring glances while walking down the street, one may feel pleased, as one’s vanity is gratified.
Yet in certain periods of the past, women were regarded as beautiful precisely when they were broad-shouldered, full-waisted, and possessed of a robust, imposing presence. In fact, even having a waist broader than one’s shoulders could invite admiration. Why was this so? Because in those times, being able to gain weight signified that she came from an affluent family and lived a comfortable life. Today, however, aesthetic standards have completely reversed. The fashionable ideal is now an ultra-slim “A4 waist,” so slender that one can reach around from behind and touch the navel. Achieving this has, for some, become a source of pride and social validation.
All of these dominant social phenomena revolve around desires and the sense of security of the “self.” Many popular short videos even proclaim: when one grows old, nothing else truly matters except whether there is money in one’s pocket—that alone is taken as the foundation of ease and confidence. Why is this so? Because the ego depends on such conditions for its sense of fulfillment. Buddhist practice, however, calls precisely for the relinquishment of this attachment and asks us to move against the current. This is also one of the reasons why the Dharma is difficult to propagate widely, and why genuine realization is not easily attained.
Therefore, practitioners must not be timid. To relinquish attachment to this life is the undertaking of a person of great resolve. Although it may sound easy to say, it is exceedingly difficult to truly live out in daily life. These words are not a mere slogan; rather, they demand that one bear everything within real-life circumstances—whether humiliation or the shocks that run counter to one’s desires—with calm acceptance. As Master Hanshan observed, practice requires great resolve, great diligence, and great forbearance. This, and this alone, is what genuine “mind cultivation” truly means.
