Mastering the Six Perfections(Paramitas): The Key to Achieving the Bodhisattva Path
The Six Perfections, or Six Paramitas (Sanskrit: Satparamita; Tibetan: Parol Tu Chinpa Drug) are the guiding practical teachings of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, used by those who want to reach the ultimate state of enlightenment. While other Buddhist traditions, such as the Theravada, may focus primarily on the liberation from personal suffering and the cycle of samsara, the Mahayana path is defined by a more expansive goal: achieving full Buddhahood for the sake of helping every sentient being reach that same exalted state. It is a path referred to as the Bodhisattva path.
The term Paramita is often translated as "perfection" or "completeness," but its etymology offers a deeper spiritual insight. In Tibetan, it is translated as parol tu chinpa, where para means "beyond" or "the further bank," and mita (or ita) refers to "that which has arrived" or "that which goes". Such perfections are not just character traits, but the essential trainings of a Bodhisattva, a Buddha-to-be, put into practice by Bodhichitta.
The Essential Foundation: Bodhicitta
One can never really learn to master the Six Perfections without knowing the engine that pushes them, and that engine is Bodhicitta. Without this specific motivation, even the most virtuous actions remain mere "positive qualities" rather than "perfections."
Bodhicitta is defined as a mind motivated by great compassion to help all sentient beings attain enlightenment. In the Mahayana tradition, simply being a "good person" or being generous because it makes one feel better is not enough to reach the "transcendent" level of a paramita. A quality only becomes a "perfection" when it is practiced with the Mahayana motivation, the sincere wish to reach enlightenment solely to benefit others.
The development of this spontaneous, non-action oriented Bodhicitta is only developed through intense training, according to Lamrim (The Graduated Path to Enlightenment). Practitioners usually start with the Lower and the Medium scope, thinking about such topics as impermanence, death, sufferings of different realms, and the Four Noble Truths. After a firm grounding has been made, there are two primary methods of meditation, which produce Bodhicitta: The Cause and Effect Instruction and the Seven-Point Mind Training.
The root of these practices is compassion, which Buddhism defines as the wish to alleviate the suffering of all beings without exception. This begins with a training in immeasurable equanimity, or the skill of looking on friends, enemies, and strangers with the eyes of an equal, without the prism of attachment or hate. From this equanimity, one develops "affectionate love," which holds all beings dear, and eventually "great compassion," which naturally awakens Bodhicitta. This transformation shifts the focus away from one's own spiritual journey toward a tireless commitment to universal liberation.
The Six Perfections: A Comprehensive Guide
The Six Perfections are generally categorized into two types of accumulation: the first five (Generosity through Concentration) are the accumulation of merit, and the sixth (Wisdom) is the accumulation of wisdom. Together, they provide a clear, integrated method for practicing perfect compassion and perfect understanding.
1) The Perfection of Generosity (Dana Paramita)
The first of the perfections is generosity, and Lama Tsongkhapa has frequently likened it to a wish-fulfilling jewel which fulfils the desires of other people and a sharp sword which cuts through the root of miserliness. The Mahayana perspective of generosity extends beyond the material sense of giving and therefore is an intentionality to give up on which we are attached. It serves as an antidote to attachment and desire.
There are three primary categories of Generosity:
- Giving Material Items: This involves offering anything physical, from food to high wealth. However, practitioners are encouraged to retain what they need to live and practice the Dharma, while letting go of unnecessary possessions that create attachment. Meritorious giving consists of giving to the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha), giving to the parents, and giving to those who are in desperate need (poor, sick, and handicapped).
- Giving the Dharma: This is considered the highest form of generosity, because it involves sharing spiritual teachings with a pure motivation. Even a single word of Dharma or correctly dedicating one's merit for the benefit of all beings falls under this category.
- Giving Fearlessness: This entails protecting others from fear and harm. Examples include rescuing animals from slaughter, saving insects, protecting people from natural disasters, and making prayers so that others may be free from the "Three Poisons" (ignorance, attachment, and hatred).
2) The Perfection of Morality (Sila Paramita)
Ethical discipline or morality is the internal desire and habit of avoiding activities that destroy oneself or other people. Not only is it the restraint of negative behavior with force, but it is also the process of giving up the intention to harm in the first place. This perfection cleanses the mind and accumulates the good that is needed to have a good rebirth.
The Perfection of Morality is split into three types:
- Avoidance of Misdeeds: It includes making and keeping oaths (including vows of refuge or five precepts or Bodhisattva vows) to prevent the production of negative karma.
- Gathering Ethical Dharma: This refers to any action performed in accordance with the Dharma while holding Bodhisattva vows, such as studying, meditating, and making offerings.
- Serving Sentient Beings: This is the active component of morality, where thoughts and speech are motivated by the benefit of others. This is commonly accomplished by use of the Four Ways of Gathering (generosity, pleasant speech, teaching to the level of the hearer, and practicing what one preaches) together with the Eleven Ways of Working with Sentient Beings that cover helping the suffering, the homeless, and the people on the wrong path.
3) The Perfection of Patience (Ksanti Paramita)
Patience is the mental power that allows one to stay unperturbed in case of harm, suffering, or the reality of unsatisfactoriness of life (dukkha). It is the direct antidote to anger, which is considered one of the heaviest negative karmas, capable of destroying years of accumulated merit in a single moment.
There are three facets of Patience:
- Not Retaliating: Maintaining mindfulness so that when provocation arises, we immediately apply methods to eliminate anger rather than acting on it.
- Accepting Suffering: Instead of fighting against hardship, the practitioner views it as the result of their own past karma or uses it as a tool to build compassion by thinking they are taking on the suffering of others.
- Gaining Confidence in the Dharma: This is the "patience of learning." It involves the endurance required to study, debate, and gain deep insight into the teachings, leading to lasting change rather than superficial behavior.
4) The Perfection of Joyous Effort (Virya Paramita)
Joyous Effort, also known as diligence or energy, is the enthusiastic perseverance in virtuous actions. It is the "wind in the sails" that empowers all other perfections. Without effort, we remain stagnant; with it, any project we embark upon becomes meaningful and purposeful.
This perfection is specifically created to overcome three types of laziness:
- Procrastination: This is the unwillingness to practice right now, which can usually be cured by reflecting on death and the importance of human life.
- Craving Meaningless Activities: Wasting time in things that have no spiritual end, like over-socialization or mindless entertainment.
- Pessimism or Defeatism: The mistaken belief that we are incapable of achieving enlightenment, which is countered by remembering that all enlightened beings were once ordinary like us.
Three Types of Joyous Effort:
- Armour-like Effort: The fierce determination to succeed despite difficulties, even to the point of being willing to enter the lower realms to help others without suffering from the environment.
- Effort of Gathering Virtues: Persistent application in purification, making offerings, and gaining spiritual realizations.
- Effort of Benefiting Sentient Beings: Consistent, gentle perseverance in helping others, likened to a river that flows day after day without force.
Benefits: Effort gives us the ability to complete what we start and ensures that our virtuous actions consistently benefit others.
5) The Perfection of Meditation (Dhyana Paramita)
Concentration, or mental stabilization, involves focusing the mind single-pointedly on a virtuous object. This practice is often referred to as Shamata (Calm Abiding). An unstable or distracted mind cannot experience the ultimate truth directly; therefore, concentration is the stable foundation required for the sixth perfection: Wisdom.
By being focused in meditation, a practitioner becomes more aware of their thoughts and can adjust the "busy-ness" of the mind, leading to peace during daily affairs. In its advanced stages, concentration can even lead to "miraculous feats" that allow a Bodhisattva to aid others in extraordinary ways.
6) The Perfection of Wisdom (Prajna Paramita)
Wisdom is the supreme of the perfections; it is the "spiritual vision" that allows a practitioner to distinguish between virtuous and non-virtuous actions. The ultimate meaning of the Perfection of Wisdom is the understanding that there is no independent existence, and things are interdependent phenomena.
Wisdom is what transforms the first five practices into "perfections". Without the awareness of emptiness, acts of generosity or morality are still bound by the "grasping" of a solid "I" who is performing the action. When combined with the stability of single-pointed concentration, wisdom allows for a direct experience of the true nature of reality, propelling the practitioner toward complete Buddhahood.
Benefits: Wisdom protects the practitioner from creating bad karma and allows them to provide excellent advice to clear the doubts of others. It is the primary cause of enlightenment.
The Synergy of the Path
While each perfection has its own specific characteristics, they are not meant to be practiced in isolation. They form a progressive and interdependent chain where each perfection builds upon and supports the others.
As an example, Generosity reduces the bond with material goods, and being more relaxed in practicing Morality. By being morally upright and non-violent, one gets to easily exercise patience with the people who may mistreat us. To this stability is permitted Joyous Effort, which leads to the "calm abiding" of Concentration. Finally, a concentrated mind is the only tool capable of meditating on the nature of reality to gain Wisdom.
In some systems, these six perfections are further expanded into Ten Paramitas by dividing the Perfection of Wisdom into four additional categories: Skillful Means (Upayakaushala), Strength (Bala), Aspiration (Pranidhana), and Primordial Wisdom (Jnana).
Achieving the Bodhisattva Path Today
The Six Perfections are complicated and advanced, and cannot be perfected in a short period of time and need dedication of many lifetimes or even lives. Nevertheless, these perfections are a simple guide to day by day change even to those beginners.
When we move our motivation away from self-interest towards the well being of others (Bodhicitta), all our life activities will be a step towards enlightenment. When we look out in order to assist other people based on our present capabilities, we experience a tremendous spiritual change. This path, or the stage of the Bodhisattva, between the swamp of samsara and the dry shore of liberation, is the core of the Bodhisattva path, which will ultimately result in the utmost state of Buddhahood, which is beneficial to all sentient beings.
