Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

‘Why is it important to remember that patience is empty of patience? Because it reminds us not to get too worked up about our practice of patience. If patience is empty of patience, then practicing it ought to be relaxing. Why get upset because we think we are not patient enough, when in the end there is no such thing as patience anyway? We practice patience the best we can, because to do so is delightful and its benefits are great. It would be silly to be impatient with our impatience when patience – and therefore impatience – is an empty concept. Isn’t this the trouble with religious life as we usually think of it: we take it so seriously, we get so intense about it, and we end up in a mess. Appreciating the emptiness teachings helps immensely with this problem.’ (The World Could Be Otherwise)

See also: compassion, forbearance, mindfulness and so on.