Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, a revered Buddhist teacher and author from a monastic background in Northern India, shares profound insights on the art of patience. He discusses the challenges of instant gratification in today’s world and offers practical techniques like meditation and mindfulness to cultivate patience. Rinpoche emphasizes the transformative power of conscious awareness and bodhicitta practice, encouraging universal compassion. He also addresses the impact of technology on our attention spans and provides strategies to navigate distractions while nurturing inner peace.
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insights INSIGHT
Buddhist Patience
Buddhist patience is not simply enduring hardship.
It involves mindfully responding to challenges and finding constructive solutions.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Mindful Responses
Acknowledge arising emotions without blind reactions.
Make wise decisions instead of being controlled by feelings.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Managing Reactions
Use breathing techniques and take time to settle your mind.
Avoid the urge to react immediately, as it often worsens the situation.
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These are not hospitable times for the mental skill of patience. Instant gratification has never been more thoroughly scaled. You can order food, taxis, and shampoo from your phone. Streaming services autoplay the next episode of whatever show you’re binging. You can ask Siri or Alexa for the weather, the latest sports scores, or the dating history of Paul Rudd. And on a deeper level, of course, global tumult is trying our patience -- with the pandemic, political polarization, climate disruption, and cultural divides over race, gender, and more. My guest today comes armed with great tools we can all use to exercise a muscle that, for many, is badly atrophied. As you’ll hear him explain, the Buddhist approach to patience goes way beyond grin and bear it; instead it’s about developing a mind that can work positively with whatever is bothering us. Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche grew up in a monastic environment in Northern India. His father was said to be the third incarnation of a great Tibetan master. His mother was his first teacher -- a renowned practitioner who completed thirteen years of solitary retreat before she got married. Rinpoche now lives in the U.S. -- in southern Colorado, where he has a mountain retreat center called Longchen Jigme Samten Ling. His students include former guests on this show, such as Pema Chödrön, the best-selling Buddhist author, and Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel, a teacher and author who is also his wife. Rinpoche has a new book out called Peaceful Heart: The Buddhist Practice of Patience. In this interview we talk about: how to define patience from the Buddhist lens; what practices he suggests for getting better at patience; the difference between patience and passivity; the challenges he still faces in the patience arena; and the role of patience in eating and in enduring physical pain. Also: We're offering 40% off the price of a year-long subscription for the Ten Percent Happier app until June 1st. Visit https://www.tenpercent.com/may to sign up today. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/dzigar-kongtrul-rinpoche-351
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