Kshanti
Kshanti (Sanskrit kṣānti) or khanti (Pāli) is patience, forbearance and forgiveness. It is one of the pāramitās in both Theravāda and Mahāyāna Buddhism.
Canonical sources
Examples in the Pāli canon identify using forbearance in response to others' anger, cuckolding, torture and even fatal assaults.
Dhammapada verses
Khanti is the first word of the Ovada-Patimokkha Gatha (Pāli for "Patimokkha Exhortation Verse"), also found in the Dhammapada, verse 184:
Elsewhere in the Dhammapada khanti is found in verse 399:
Lord Sakka's restraint
In the Samyutta Nikaya, the Buddha tells of an ancient battle between devas and asuras during which the devas were victorious and the asura king Vepacitti was captured and imprisoned. When the deva lord, Sakka visited Vepacitti in prison, Vepacitti "abused and reviled him with rude, harsh words," to which Sakka did not respond in kind. Afterwards, Sakka's charioteer questioned Sakka about this, expressing concern that some would see Sakka's response as indicative of fear or weakness. Sakka replied:
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