Patience means waiting well and bearing hard things calmly. Some passages compare it to crops and fruit that take time to ripen. Others tell of people who could not be provoked to anger. Each quote is copied exactly from its book.
8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
The rabbis taught: A man should always be as modest as Hillel, and not as impulsive as Shamai. It once happened that two men laid a wager of four hundred zuz, which would be won by him who could provoke Hillel to anger, but lost if he failed in the attempt.
Said Hillel to him: "Take care of thy temper. A Hillel is worthy that twice that amount be lost through him; a Hillel must not get excited."
153 O ye who believe! Seek help in steadfastness and prayer. Lo! Allah is with the steadfast.
(My course is) comely patience. And Allah it is Whose help is to be sought in that (predicament) which ye describe.
This that irks- Thy sense-life, thrilling to the elements- Bringing thee heat and cold, sorrows and joys, 'Tis brief and mutable! Bear with it, Prince! As the wise bear. The soul which is not moved, The soul that with a strong and constant calm Takes sorrow and takes joy indifferently, Lives in the life undying!
184. The Awakened call patience the highest penance, long-suffering the highest Nirvâna; for he is not an anchorite (pravragita) who strikes others, he is not an ascetic (sramana) who insults others.
320. Silently shall I endure abuse as the elephant in battle endures the arrow sent from the bow: for the world is ill-natured.
Who can (make) the muddy water (clear)? Let it be still, and it will gradually become clear. Who can secure the condition of rest? Let movement go on, and the condition of rest will gradually arise.
The Master said, "Do not be desirous to have things done quickly; do not look at small advantages. Desire to have things done quickly prevents their being done thoroughly. Looking at small advantages prevents great affairs from being accomplished."
Want of forbearance in small matters confounds great plans.
No great thing comes suddenly into being, any more than a cluster of grapes or a fig. If you say to me now, 'I want a fig', I shall answer that it needs time. Let it flower first, then put forth its fruit and then ripen. I say then, if the fig tree's fruit is not brought to perfection suddenly in a single hour, would you gather fruit of men's minds so soon and so easily? I tell you, you must not expect it.
Every quote on this page is checked word for word against the stored text of its book.