The Patient Immortal, who was Shakyamuni Buddha cultivating patience, said, "If you want to look at my heart, go right ahead. But now I'll give you some proof. You have to cut off my four limbs. If I have any anger, then in the future I will not become a Buddha. Instead, I will fall into the hells, become a hungry ghost, or become an animal. If I don't have any anger, then the ears you cut off will grow back, and the nose you cut off will become the way it was before you cut it off. Not only that, my four limbs will also return to being just as they originally were. That's if I don't have any anger. If I was angry, then I won't be able to return to the way I was." After he said that, in fact his ears did grow back, and so did his nose, his hands, and his feet.

When King Kali saw that, he shouted, "It's a monster! It's a monster! Quick, cut him down with your swords! I won't be able to handle him myself." He commanded his generals to chop the Patient Immortal to bits. Right at that moment, what do you think happened? Wei Tou Bodhisattva and the Dharma-protecting spirits were outraged, and said, "You're really going too far!" Then the heavens thundered and pelted down hail on King Kali's head. The King said, "This monster is using spiritual penetrations! His powers are so great, what can I do?"  

The Patient Immortal said, "It's not that I'm using spiritual penetrations; the good Dharma-protecting spirits are punishing you."  

The King said, "What should I do?"  

The Patient Immortal said, "Quickly repent. If you don't repent, you're in for trouble."

King Kali said, "Please help me repent. I'm afraid it won't work if I do it myself."

And so the Patient Immortal asked the good Dharma-protecting spirits not to punish King Kali. He said, "Dharma-protectors, good spirits, don't blame him. He's just a stupid, foolish person. Not only am I not angry with him, but what is more, after I become a Buddha, I will first save this person who cut off my four limbs. I'm going to save him first."

After the Patient Immortal made that vow, King Kali was very moved. He said, "This cultivator is truly great. I treated him so badly, but he is still going to save me first!" Then the King began to cry bitterly, and he said, "After you become a Buddha, I definitely want to be your first, senior disciple. I want to be first." Consequently, when Shakyamuni Buddha realized the Way, he first took across Ajnatakaundinya, whose name means "understanding the basic limit." This disciple had previously committed such heavy offenses against his teacher, and yet his teacher still treated him so well and wanted to save him first. Therefore, in Buddhism, enmity and kindness don't present any problems that cannot be resolved.

After hearing this account, we should think it over. Are we able to be like Shakyamuni Buddha was when he cultivated patience? If someone cut off your hands, feet, ears, and nose, could you remain patient? I hope you could not. Why is that? It's because if you could be patient, then someone would have to cut you up like that. If no one cut you up and you said you could be patient, would it be true or false? There's no way to tell! That's one problem. I also hope you could be patient. If you could be patient, that would indicate you were just like Shakyamuni Buddha when he was practicing as the Patient Immortal. That is why I have those hopes for you.

You may say, "But I don't want to be a Patient Immortal like Shakyamuni Buddha was then. I'd like to be a King Kali. If there were someone practicing patience, I would cut off his hands and feet, slice off his ears, and sever his nose. After that, I hope he would vow to save me first after he became a Buddha. That way I would save a lot of effort in cultivating the Way, and I could certify to the fruition sooner."  

That kind of thinking is unreliable, and it's not even logical. Why is that? If you really met someone like Shakyamuni Buddha, it might work. But ordinary people cannot be compared to the Sages. If you were to cut off the hands, ears, or nose of an ordinary person who had not certified to the fruition, he would feel pain. As soon as he felt the pain, he would get angry. Once he became angry, when he died, it's to be feared he would become an asura. As an asura, he would want to kill you, and then the resentment between the two of you would increase day by day. For that reason, don't imitate King Kali.

It's a good thing the king encountered Shakyamuni Buddha, who made the vow to save him first. Otherwise, what he did to the Patient Immortal would have been very dangerous. What if Shakyamuni Buddha hadn't made that vow? How could the King have been sure that Shakyamuni Buddha would make the vow to save him first? He wouldn't have any control over it. He wouldn't be able to count on it. And so, instead of acting like King Kali, you'd better think of another method.  

 ~ To be continued