Rèn Jīng (Complete Three Volumes)

Author: Xu Mingkui, Wu Liang (Yuan Dynasty)
Publisher: China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Press
Publish Date: 1999-10-01
Features: The Classic of Forbearance (Reng Jing) is a systematic textbook of Chinese forbearance (ren), a profound and instructive book that advocates kindness, harmony, and a peaceful life. When a commoner is humiliated, he draws his sword to rise and acts with forbearance to surpass the Jin Yu (Record of Jin): "Forbearance is for small people; inability to endure will lead to great chaos." Du Mu once wrote, "There must be forbearance to achieve success, and with tolerance, virtue becomes great." Forbearance with burden allows heaven to bestow great tasks upon a person, first by testing their heart and will, exhausting their muscles and bones, starving their body, and disturbing their actions, as described in the Poem on the Temple of Wujiang. Du Mu also wrote, "Victory in war is uncertain; a man must swallow humiliation and endure to be a true hero. The sons of Jiangdong are talented, and with a chance to rise again, who knows what might happen?"
The Buddha teaches: The Six Perfections (Paramitas) can be practiced; forbearance is the most blessed. When it is unbearable, one must endure longer to achieve success. Adhering to principles leads to many disputes, while encountering difficulties brings much trouble, but bearing anger brings many benefits. Those who can endure humiliation find peace, and those who can endure humiliation survive. It is better to say that victorious people endure until the very end than to simply say they won in battle. Through storms and winds over decades, many comrades fell, but Zhou Enlai alone achieved a peaceful end—most importantly, because of his belief that "forbearance unites the party."
When Mao Zedong had matters to attend to, he would light a cigarette and fall into deep thought, which was actually a form of "forbearance." Chiang Kai-shek, when troubled, would curse loudly—"Damn it"—showing a lack of skill in forbearance. The core of thick and dark (haohēi) is forbearance—thick yet invisible, dark yet colorless, actually the highest realm of forbearance. The Han Chinese are a highly forbearing nation, also recognized as the thick and dark nation, so no matter what foreign races invade, they ultimately assimilate the Han Chinese.