Khanti is the first word of the Ovada-Patimokkha Gatha, 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: The Buddha then commended to his followers Sakka's praise for "patience and gentleness".
A cuckold's forbearance
In a Jātaka tale, Exposition on Patience Birth Story, the Buddha tells of a former life when he was Brahmadatta, a king of Benares. At the time, a courtier of the king "fell into an intrigue in the king's harem." This same courtier was being similarly betrayed by one of his own servants and complained to the king about that servant. In response, the king disclosed his knowledge of the courtier's betrayal and stated: Shamed by the king's awareness of their deeds, the courtier and his servant henceforth ceased their betrayals.
Parables of torture
The Majjhima Nikaya has a classic parable of Buddhist forbearance, the Buddha's Simile of the Saw: Similarly, in the Jātaka Tale, Patience Teacher Birth Story, a jealous king repeatedly asked an ascetic what the ascetic taught, to which the ascetic replied, "Patience," which the ascetic further defined as "not to get angry when injured, criticized or struck." To test the ascetic's patience, the king had the ascetic struck two thousand times with a whip of thorns, had the ascetic's hands and feet axed off, cut off the ascetic's nose and ears, and then kicked the ascetic in the heart. After the king left, the ascetic wished the king a long life and said, "Those like myself do not feel wrath." The ascetic died later that day.
