Having understood anger as the inner enemy, who will tolerate being under its control and getting angry?
The Divisions of Patience a. The Patience of Having Compassion for the Enemy When living and non-living things become harmful antagonists, we should remember the shortcomings of anger and try to be patient. Once there was a disciple who was beating a thief, and no matter how his guru tried to separate them, he could not. Finally, he wagged his finger under the disciple’s nose, saying, “Patience! Patience!” Then, remembering patience, the disciple replied, “What are the benefits of pretending to be patient once the whole angry episode has ended?” Although the practice of patience is difficult at first, by training our mind in the thought of being patient we get accustomed to it, and then in all situations the meditation on patience becomes easier. There are reasons showing why we should not get angry with the enemy. For example, we are hit on the head by a stick wielded by somebody else: instead of being angry with that person, we should check up like this: “To be angry with the object
