忍耐は、何を対象とし、どう働くのか : 辛苦の甘受

Perseverance and its object are different in each person. Perseverance is always related to pain and accepting pain. When perseverance is at work, people tend to hide their pain from others. Therefore, perseverance within others is not easily recognized in reality, and it is too difficult to define the existence of perseverance in one person simply from external markers. However, each person can clearly perceive their own pain. Thus, there is no ambiguity as to whether he or she is enduring pain: a person is definitely persevering through pain, even if the pain is a hallucination. If an individual feels no physical or mental pain after a terrible injury, then he or she is not persevering through any pain. Naturally, humans tend to avoid pain. We possess a well-functioning reflex to avoid external effects that could harm our lives. However, with perseverance, we can endure physical or mental pain to achieve a greater purpose (excluding those of anti-value). Perseverance consistently has a passive posture, without fighting against pain. When a person receives offense impulses and escape impulses in pain, with perseverance, that person can suppress these impulses and retain a calm manner. Perseverance is one way to achieve a world of freedom beyond (pleasant and unpleasant) nature.