Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

‘Impatience jangles my nerves; it severely diminishes my mind and character. More important, it is upsetting to the one I love because in my impatience he can sense a voiceless accusation, an unnecessary and un. helpful insinuation of inferiority. Unconsciously internalizing my impe tience, he becomes even less able to perform the task; he gets frustrated and loses confidence. The effects of my impatience will make it even more difficult for him to make a wholehearted effort in the future. It hardly matters that the harm done is not intended, because it is done and I am it cause. Lacking thoughtfulness, not attending to the destructiveness of this impatient state of mind, I continue to diminish myself and others without taking the time to find the freedom to get out of this state.

Impatience and intolerance imply presumptuous and arrogant states of mind. We are presumptuous when we fail to think about what others need, about the differences between people that must be taken into account. We are arrogant when we assume a posture of superiority and look down on the differences that define everyone. Arrogance reflects a mind out of accord with the world around it, one that misunderstands the situation at hand and unknowingly acts with profoundly destructive consequences. These destructive consequences are widely shared. Both the one being demeaned and the one who shows disdain are diminished by this smallness of character.’ (The Six Perfections)