"Patience [khanti] and equanimity [upekkha] are the mainstay for the other perfections [paramis]. Only when one has established these two can one expect to fulfill the rest. Just as a newborn infant can only survive with the care of its parents, the remaining eight perfections can only be fulfilled under the constant care of patience and equanimity. Patience may be likened to the mother and equanimity to the father.'
"If patience and equanimity are present, and the other good deeds are forthcoming under their benign influence, if there is an absence of renunciation [nekkhamma], these good deeds will not properly become perfections. Lacking the guidance of renunciation, one is liable to be overcome by attachment to the merit derived from them and yearn for mundane benefits. Then the meritorious deeds merely prolong rebirth because they are dependent on existence. They do not then qualify as perfections. Therefore, if patience and equanimity are the parents, renunciation should be called the family doctor who takes care of the child’s health." Ledi Sayadaw
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