The Legend of the Ascetic Kshanti and King Kali and the Virtue of Forbearance

King Kali once went hunting accompanied by his harem of concubines. After pausing to eat lunch, the king lay down and took a nap, while the women wandered into the forest to gather flowers. Eventually, they came upon the place where the ascetic Kshanti was sitting in meditation. They were so overcome by his serenity, they laid their flowers before him as an offering. Kshanti then proceeded to talk to them about things they had never heard and about which they were eager to learn more. On waking, the king went looking for his concubines, and when he saw them sitting before an ascetic, he flew into a rage. When Kshanti tried to explain that he was teaching them about forbearance, the King decided to test Kshanti and proceeded to cut off his hands, then his feet, and finally his ears and nose. When the king saw that Kshanti remained unmoved, he realized the cruelty of what he had done and asked Kshanti's forgiveness. Kshanti said he was not angry and there was no need to ask for forgiveness. The king asked Kshanti to prove that he wasn't angry. Kshanti said, "If there is no anger in my heart, may my body be restored to its original condition." And as a result of the merit Kshanti had accumulated over many lifetimes, his body was instantly restored. He then told the king, "You have just used the sword of delusion to cut off the parts of my body. When I attain buddhahood, I shall use the sword of wisdom to cut off your passions." (Nirvana Sutra: 31) Kshanti was a previous incarnation of Shakyamuni, and King Kali was reborn as Kaundinya, the Buddha's first disciple.

The word kali in Sanskrit means "strife," as in the expression kali-yuga (age of strife), which is, according to Hindu mythology, the final age in this present kalpa. Kali is also the son of Krodha, whose name means "anger." The name is also given to the wife of Shiva, the Hindu personification of destruction. Hence, the choice here is intended to emphasize the forbearance of what upsets us the most: losing what we love and meeting what we hate. The word kshanti, meanwhile, means "forbearance" and is also the name of the third of the Six Perfections.

---Red Pine, in his commentary on The Diamond Sutra---