Patience, or forbearance, is the ability to endure difficult or undesired long-term circumstances.[1] Patience involves patience or tolerance in the face of delay, provocation,[2] or stress[3] without responding negatively, such as reacting with disrespect or anger.[4] Patience is also used to refer to the character trait of being disciplined and steadfast. Antonyms of patience include impatience, hastiness, and impetuousness.
See also: Delayed gratification, Reward dependence and Reward system.
In psychology and in cognitive neuroscience, patience is studied as a decision-making problem, involving the choice of either a small reward in the short-term, versus a more valuable reward in the long-term.[5]
In a 2005 study, common marmosets and cottontop tamarins chose between taking an immediate small reward and waiting a variable amount of time for a large reward. Under these conditions, marmosets waited significantly longer for food than tamarins. This difference cannot be explained by life history, social behaviour, or brain size. It can, however, be explained by feeding ecology: marmosets rely on gum, a food product acquired by waiting for exudate to flow from trees, whereas tamarins feed on insects, a food product requiring impulsive action. Foraging ecology, therefore, may provide a selective pressure for the evolution of self-control.[6]
Patience of human users in the online world has been a subject of research. In a 2012 study of tens of millions of users who watched videos on the Internet, Krishnan and Sitaraman showed that users lose patience in as little as two seconds while waiting for their chosen video to start playing.[7] Users who connect to the Internet at faster speeds are less patient than their counterparts at slower speeds, demonstrating a link between the human expectation of speed and human patience. These and other studies of patience led commentators to conclude that the rapid pace of technology is rewiring humans to be less patient.
Patience and fortitude are prominent themes in Judaism. The Talmud extols patience as an important personal trait. The story of Micah, for example, is that he suffers many challenging conditions and yet endures, saying "I will wait for the God who saves me." Patience in God, it is said, will aid believers in finding the strength to be delivered from the evils that are inherent in the physical life.[8]
In the Christian religion, patience is one of the most valuable virtues. The Holy Ghost increases patience in the Christian who has accepted the gift of salvation. While patience is not one of the traditional biblical three theological virtues or one of the traditional cardinal virtues, it is part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, according to the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians.[9] Patience was included in later formulations of the seven virtues.
In Islam, patience with steadfast belief in Allah is called (ar|صَبْرٌ ṣabr), one of the best virtues in Islam. Through, a Muslim believes that an individual can grow closer to God and thus attain true peace. Islam stresses that Allah is with those who are patient, more specifically during calamity and suffering. Several verses in Quran urge Muslims to seek Allah's help when faced with fear and loss, with patient prayers and perseverance for Allah. In Islamic tradition, Job (Arabic: Arabic: أيوب, romanized:) demonstrated patience and steadfast belief in Allah.[10]
In Buddhism, patience (Kshanti) is one of the "perfections" that a bodhisattva trains in and practices to realize perfect enlightenment . The Buddhist concept of patience is distinct from the English definition of the word. In Buddhism, patience refers to not returning harm, rather than merely enduring a difficult situation. It is the ability to control one's emotions even when being criticized or attacked.[11] Verse 184 of the Dhammapada says "enduring patience is the highest austerity".[12]
Patience/forbearance is considered an essential virtue in Hinduism. In ancient literature of Hinduism, the concept of patience is referred to with the word (patience and forbearance, Sanskrit: Sanskrit: परिषहा), and several other words such as (patient toleration, Sanskrit: Sanskrit: सहिष्णुता),[13] (forbearance, Sanskrit: Sanskrit: तितिक्षा), or (suffer with patience, Sanskrit: Sanskrit: सह, Sanskrit: सहनशीलता) and several others. Patience, in Hindu philosophy, is the cheerful endurance of trying conditions and the consequence of one's action and deeds (karma).[14] It is also the capacity to wait, to endure opposites—such as pain and pleasure, cold and heat, sorrows and joys—calmly, without anxiety, and without a desire to seek revenge. In interpersonal relationships, virtuous means that if someone attacks or insults without cause, one must endure it without feeling enmity, anger, resentment, or anxiety.[15] Patience is explained as being more than trust, as a value that reflects the state of one's body and mind. The term is sometimes also translated as test or exam, in other contexts. Some of these concepts have been carried into the spiritual understanding of yoga. Sandilya Upanishad of Hinduism identifies ten sources of patience and forbearance. In each of these ten forbearances, the virtuous implicit belief is that our current spirit and the future for everyone, including oneself, will be stronger if these forbearances are one's guide. The ten are:
| Ahimsa (non-violence) | not being violent to any human being or any living being at any time either through one's action, with words one speaks or writes, or in one's thoughts[16] | |
|---|---|---|
| Satya | expressing and acting with truth | |
| Asteya | not coveting of another's property through any act of one's mind, speech, or body | |
| Brahmacharya | willingness to remain a bachelor by one's actions of mind, speech, or body | |
| Daya | unconditional kindness to everyone and all creatures | |
| Arjava | the refusal to deceive or wrong others either by the performance or by non-performance of actions of one's mind, speech, or body | |
| Kshama | acceptance of suffering while forgiving all pleasant or unpleasant things, such as praise or blows from others | |
| Dhriti | the will to remain of calm mind and spirit during periods of gain or loss of wealth or relatives | |
| Mitahara | moderation and restraint in consumption of food, drinks, and wealth | |
| Saucha | the cleansing of the body by earth and water; and of the mind by the pursuit of understanding oneself |
The spiritual teacher Meher Baba stated that "[O]ne of the first requirements of the [spiritual] aspirant is that he should combine unfailing enthusiasm with unyielding patience.... Spiritual effort demands not only physical endurance and courage, but also unshrinking forbearance and unassailable moral courage."[17]
In his 1878 book Human, All Too Human, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche argued that "being able to wait is so hard that the greatest poets did not disdain to make the inability to wait the theme of their poetry". He notes that "Passion will not wait", and gives the example of cases of duels, in which the "advising friends have to determine whether the parties involved might be able to wait a while longer. If they cannot, then a duel is reasonable [because]... to wait would be to continue suffering the horrible torture of offended honor...".
