How Your "Enemies" will Help You Reach Adepthood

One thing the Buddhist teacher Thubten Chodron tells her students is that their enemies are some of their greatest allies on their spiritual path. Cultivating patience is an essential part of the process for becoming a better Buddhist. To cultivate patience, you have to practice being patient, and you can only practice being patient when there is an opportunity to do so. Your friends don't provide you with opportunities to practice being patient, because they are always kind and respectful towards you. It is only your "enemies" who give you the opportunity to practice being patient. To clarify, I use the word "enemies" to refer to people who annoy, disrespect, or bully you. Anytime someone annoys you, disrespects you, or bullies you, you should recognize that this is an opportunity to practice being patient. That doesn't mean you can't be assertive or stand up for yourself. It just means you should do so without losing your composure or exhibiting anger.

Of course, cultivating patience is also an essential part of magical training. Regarding what is required in order to successfully work through IIH, Bardon writes "You have to consider it a foregone conclusion that an enormous, almost superhuman amount of perseverance and patience, a tenacious will and reticence about your progress, are prerequisites." For this reason, if you are an aspiring magician, your "enemies" are also some of your greatest allies. Be thankful for them. If it weren't for their presence in your life, you'd have fewer opportunities to practice being patient, and your progress along the magical path would slow considerably.

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