Gaman (term)

Gaman (我慢) is a Japanese term of Zen Buddhist origin which means "enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity". The term is generally translated as "perseverance", "patience", or "tolerance". A related term, gamanzuyoi (我慢強い, gaman-tsuyoi), a compound with tsuyoi (strong), means "suffering the unbearable" or having a high capacity for a kind of stoic endurance.

Gaman is variously described as a "virtue", an "ethos", a "trait", etc. It means to do one's best in distressed times and to maintain self-control and discipline.

Gaman is a teaching of Zen Buddhism.