AboutJoe McSorley Expertise I can answer questions dealing with Taoist philosophy and Zen and not the historicity and religion of Buddhism and its different schools. I studied under Dr. Richard DeMartino and Masao Abe of the Kyoto School of Zen.
Question QUESTION: Hello Joe, I know different schools oaf Buddhism have different thoughts. I have come across the term Patient Endurance. I am in constant physical pain and have found the 4 nobel truths useful. But I don't know what patient endurance means. Anything you say will be helpful. Thanks.
ANSWER: Hello Marc,
Patient endurance refers to the attitude while practicing, to quote my teacher, “no matter what, put one foot in front of the other”. It means to keep at it no matter what and do it without anticipation, just constant enduring practice. I know from experience that we get very frustrated with our practice and then begin to question everything because nothing seems fruitful. Through these times and times of physical or psychological suffering we need to just continue on patiently though we might not seem to experience any progress. It is often the fact that when we get results they come out of nowhere, seemingly spontaneously, yet it was all building invisibly outside of our conscious being/mind.
I hope this helps you. Take care,
Joe
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QUESTION: Thank you for your reply Joe. I have only one follow up question. How would one practice patient endurance, in a practical way, as it relates to physical pain?
Answer Hello Marc,
Sorry for the slow reply here, for some reason I just got this follow up. I cannot speak from my own experience as far as pain and patient endurance goes but I can tell you that Shin ichi Hisamtsu, one of the great Zen masters of all time who died a few decades ago, spent a life dealing with sickness and pain. Through all of this his unswerving practice led him to enlightenment. I don't know if he wrote about his illness anywhere. There is a peer of mine who lived in Japan for decades and practiced zazen daily for hours. For most of the first 20 years of knew him he was in constant physical distress and pain. I saw him recently for the first time in about 15 years and it appears his health issues have somehow become resolved through his practice. He told me that his practice has allowed him to see what true beauty is.
I don't know if this helps you at all.
Take care,
Joe
