Human endurance exists at four levels:
1. Endurance of hardship and physical exertion — simply put, enduring sun, wind, and rain; enduring the elements and unfavorable natural conditions. This is the most basic level of endurance that a person must train in.
2. Endurance of painful sensations — not becoming feeble or self-pitying over minor illness or discomfort; when the time comes to work, carrying out one’s responsibilities without feeling discouraged or despondent.
3. Endurance of conflict and friction with others — for no person can live in isolation; one must inevitably live alongside others. Just as two objects occupying the same space will inevitably come into contact, people living together with differing temperaments and dispositions will inevitably encounter friction. Without endurance, quarrels will ensue and harm will follow.
4. Endurance of temptation and enticement — that is, endurance against the power of defilements; endurance against infatuation with gain, status, and praise, which cause one to lose the wisdom needed for careful and thorough reflection. This is the highest level of endurance, and requires meditation and mental cultivation as its essential foundation — without which it cannot be achieved.
Without endurance at all four of these levels, success in life will be difficult to attain. Moreover, the absence of such endurance will give rise to a multitude of problems and hardships throughout one’s life.
The Lord Buddha was able to contend with, subdue, and overcome the defilements and Māra precisely because he had previously trained in all these forms of endurance — making him the supreme embodiment of patience and perseverance — until at last he attained Enlightenment. These four levels of endurance are what the Lord Buddha wished for all Buddhists and all people of the world to possess.
