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Kshanti


Kshanti (Sanskrit kṣānti) or khanti (Pāli) is patience, forbearance and forgiveness. It is one of the pāramitās in both Theravāda and Mahāyāna Buddhism.

Examples in the Pāli canon identify using forbearance in response to others' anger, cuckolding, torture and even fatal assaults.

Khanti is the first word of the Ovada-Patimokkha Gatha (Pāli for "Patimokkha Exhortation Verse"), also found in the Dhammapada, verse 184:

Unbinding:

He who injures another

He who mistreats another,

Nibbānaṃ

Na hi pabbajito

Samaṇo hoti

Elsewhere in the Dhammapada khanti is found in verse 399:

In the Samyutta Nikaya, the Buddha tells of an ancient battle between devas and asuras during which the devas were victorious and the asura king Vepacitti was captured and imprisoned. When the deva lord, Sakka visited Vepacitti in prison, Vepacitti "abused and reviled him with rude, harsh words," to which Sakka did not respond in kind. Afterwards, Sakka's charioteer questioned Sakka about this, expressing concern that some would see Sakka's response as indicative of fear or weakness. Sakka replied:

The Buddha then commended to his followers Sakka's praise for "patience and gentleness" (khantisoraccassa).

In a Jātaka tale, Exposition on Patience Birth Story (Khanti-vaṇṇana-jātaka: J 225), the Buddha tells of a former life when he was Brahmadatta, a king of Benares. At the time, a courtier of the king "fell into an intrigue in the king's harem." This same courtier was being similarly betrayed by one of his own servants and complained to the king about that servant. In response, the king disclosed his knowledge of the courtier's betrayal and stated:


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