PÄramitÄ
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PÄramitÄ (Sanskrit, Pali) or pÄramÄ« (PÄli) is "perfection" or "completeness". While technically pÄramÄ« and pÄramitÄ are both PÄli terms, Pali literature makes far greater reference to pÄramÄ«. Bhikkhu Bodhi (2005) states:
The word pÄramÄ« derives from parama, 'supreme,' and thus suggests the eminence of the qualities which must be fulfilled by a bodhisattva in the long course of his spiritual development. But the cognate pÄramitÄ, the word preferred by the MahÄyÄna texts and also used by PÄli writers, is sometimes explained as pÄram + ita, 'gone to the beyond,' thereby indicating the transcendental direction of these qualities." (Velthuis convention lettering replaced with PÄli diacritics.) In Buddhism, the pÄramitÄs refer to the perfection or culmination of certain virtues. In Buddhism, these virtues are cultivated as a way of purification, purifying karma and helping the aspirant to live an unobstructed life, while reaching the goal of enlightenment.These paramitas are divided into 3: Parami, Upa Parami, and Paramattha Parami.[1]
Etymology
Scholar Donald S. Lopez, Jr., describes the etymology of the term:
The term pÄramitÄ, commonly translated as "perfection," has two etymologies. The first derives it from the word parama, meaning "highest," "most distant," and hence, "chief," "primary," "most excellent." Hence, the substantive can be rendered "excellence" or "perfection." This reading is supported by the MadhyÄntavibhÄga (V.4), where the twelve excellences (parama) are associated with the ten perfections (pÄramitÄ).A more creative yet widely reported etymology divides pÄramitÄ into pÄra and mita, with pÄra meaning "beyond," "the further bank, shore or boundary," and mita, meaning "that which has arrived," or ita meaning "that which goes." PÄramitÄ, then means "that which has gone beyond," "that which goes beyond," or "transcendent." This reading is reflected in the Tibetan translation pha rol tu phyin pa ("gone to the other side").[2]

TheravÄda Buddhism
Theravada teachings on the pÄramÄ«s can be found in late canonical books and post-canonical commentaries.
Canonical sources
In the PÄli Canon, the Buddhavaṃsa lists the ten perfections (dasa pÄramiyo) as:
- DÄna pÄramÄ« : generosity, giving of oneself
- SÄ«la pÄramÄ« : virtue, morality, proper conduct
- Nekkhamma pÄramÄ« : renunciation
- PaÃ±Ã±Ä pÄramÄ« : transcendental wisdom, insight
- Viriya pÄramÄ« : energy, diligence, vigour, effort
- Khanti pÄramÄ« : patience, tolerance, forbearance, acceptance, endurance
- Sacca pÄramÄ« : truthfulness, honesty
- Adhiá¹á¹hÄna pÄramÄ« : determination, resolution
- MettÄ pÄramÄ« : loving-kindness
- UpekkhÄ pÄramÄ« : equanimity, serenity
Two of the above virtues, mettÄ and upekkhÄ, also are brahmavihÄras.
Historicity
The TheravÄdin teachings on the pÄramÄ«s can be found in canonical books (Jataka tales, ApadÄna, Buddhavaṃsa, CariyÄpiá¹aka) and post-canonical commentaries written to supplement the PÄli Canon at a later time, and thus might not be an original part of the TheravÄdin teachings.[3][4] The oldest parts of the Sutta Piá¹aka (for example, Majjhima NikÄya, Digha NikÄya, Saṃyutta NikÄya and the Aá¹…guttara NikÄya) do not have any mention of the pÄramÄ«s as a category (though they are all mentioned individually).[5]
Some scholars even refer to the teachings of the pÄramÄ«s as a semi-MahÄyÄna teaching added to the scriptures at a later time in order to appeal to the interests and needs of the lay community and to popularize their religion.[6][7] However, these views rely on the early scholarly presumption of MahÄyÄna originating with religious devotion and appeal to laity. More recently, scholars have started to open up early MahÄyÄna literature, which is very ascetic and expounds the ideal of the monk's life in the forest.[8] Therefore, the practice of the pÄramitÄs in Buddhism is close to the ideals of the ascetic tradition of the Å›ramaṇa.
Traditional practice
Bodhi (2005) maintains that, in the earliest Buddhist texts (which he identifies as the first four nikÄyas), those seeking the extinction of suffering (nibbana) pursued the noble eightfold path. As time went on, a backstory was provided for the multi-life development of the Buddha; as a result, the ten perfections were identified as part of the path for the bodhisattva (PÄli: bodhisatta). Over subsequent centuries, the pÄramÄ«s were seen as being significant for aspirants to both Buddhahood and arahantship. Thus, Bodhi (2005) summarizes:
- It should be noted that in established TheravÄda tradition the pÄramÄ«s are not regarded as a discipline peculiar to candidates for Buddhahood alone but as practices which must be fulfilled by all aspirants to enlightenment and deliverance, whether as Buddhas, paccekabuddhas, or disciples. What distinguishes the supreme bodhisattva from aspirants in the other two vehicles is the degree to which the pÄramÄ«s must be cultivated and the length of time they must be pursued. But the qualities themselves are universal requisites for deliverance, which all must fulfill to at least a minimal degree to merit the fruits of the liberating path.[9]
MahÄyÄna Buddhism
In MahÄyÄna Buddhism, the PrajñapÄramitÄ sÅ«tras, the Lotus Sutra and a large number of other texts list the six perfections:
- DÄna pÄramitÄ: generosity, giving of oneself (in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese, 布施波羅蜜; in Tibetan, སབྱིན་པ sbyin-pa)
- Śīla pÄramitÄ : virtue, morality, discipline, proper conduct (æŒæˆ’波羅蜜; ཚུལ་à½à¾²à½²à½˜à½¦ tshul-khrims)
- Ká¹£Änti pÄramitÄ : patience, tolerance, forbearance, acceptance, endurance (å¿è¾±æ³¢ç¾…蜜; བཟོད་པ bzod-pa)
- VÄ«rya pÄramitÄ : energy, diligence, vigor, effort (精進波羅蜜; བརྩོན་འགྲུས brtson-’grus)
- DhyÄna pÄramitÄ : one-pointed concentration, contemplation (禪定波羅蜜, བསམ་གà½à½“ bsam-gtan)
- PrajÃ±Ä pÄramitÄ : wisdom, insight (般若波羅蜜; ཤེས་རབ shes-rab)
Note that this list is also mentioned by the TheravÄda commentator Dhammapala, who says it is equivalent to the above list of ten.[10]
In the Ten Stages Sutra, four more pÄramitÄs are listed:
- 7. UpÄya pÄramitÄ: skillful means
- 8. PraṇidhÄna pÄramitÄ: vow, resolution, aspiration, determination
- 9. Bala pÄramitÄ: spiritual power
- 10. JñÄna pÄramitÄ: knowledge
Tibetan Buddhism
According to the perspective of Tibetan Buddhism, MahÄyÄna practitioners have the choice of two practice paths: the path of perfection (Sanskrit: pÄramitÄyÄna) or the path of tantra (Sanskrit: tantrayÄna), which is the VajrayÄna.
Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche renders "pÄramitÄ" into English as "transcendent action" and then frames and qualifies it:
When we say that paramita means "transcendent action," we mean it in the sense that actions or attitude are performed in a non-egocentric manner. "Transcendental" does not refer to some external reality, but rather to the way in which we conduct our lives and perceive the world - either in an egocentric or a non-egocentric way. The six paramitas are concerned with the effort to step out of the egocentric mentality.[11]
The pure illusory body is said to be endowed with the six perfections (Sanskrit: á¹£adpÄramitÄ).[12]
See also
- Pañca-Parameá¹£á¹hi – "Five Perfections" in Jainism
References
- ↑ http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/wheel409.html
- ↑ Lopez 1988, p. 21.
- ↑ "[Prose portions of the JÄtakas] originally did not form part of [the TheravÄdins] scriptures": Nalinaksha Dutt (1978) Buddhist Sects in India. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (Delhi), 2nd Edition: 224
- ↑ Regarding the CariyÄpiá¹aka, Horner (2000), CariyÄpiá¹aka section, p. vi, writes that it is "[c]onsidered to be post-Asokan...."
- ↑ "[the TheravÄdins’] early literature did not refer to the pÄramitÄs." Nalinaksha Dutt (1978) Buddhist Sects in India. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (Delhi), 2nd Edition: 228
- ↑ "The incorporation of pÄramis by the TheravÄdins in the JÄtakas reveals that they were not immune from MahÄyÄnic influence. This happened, of course, at a much later date[.]" Nalinaksha Dutt (1978) Buddhist Sects in India. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (Delhi), 2nd Edition: 219
- ↑ "It is evident that the HinayÄnists, either to popularize their religion or to interest the laity more in it, incorporated in their doctrines the conception of Bodhisattva and the practice of pÄramitÄs. This was effected by the production of new literature: the JÄtakas and AvadÄnas." Nalinaksha Dutt (1978) Buddhist Sects in India. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (Delhi), 2nd Edition: 251. The term "Semi-MahÄyÄna" occurs here as a subtitle.
- ↑ "As scholars have moved away from this limited corpus, and have begun to explore a wider range of MahÄyÄna sutras, they have stumbled on, and have started to open up, a literature that is often stridently ascetic and heavily engaged in reinventing the forest ideal, an individualistic, antisocial, ascetic ideal that is encapsulated in the apparently resurrected image of "wandering alone like a rhinoceros." Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (2004): p. 494
- ↑ Bodhi (2005). (Converted the document's original use of the Velthuis convention to PÄli diacritics.)
- ↑ The passage is translated in Bodhi (1978), p. 314.
- ↑ Ray, Reginald A. (ed.) (2004). In the Presence of Masters: Wisdom from 30 Contemporary Tibetan Buddhist Teachers. Boston, Massachusetts, USA: Shambala. ISBN 1-57062-849-1 (pbk.: alk. paper) p.140.
- ↑ Keown, Damien (ed.) with Hodge, Stephen; Jones, Charles; Tinti, Paola (2003). A Dictionary of Buddhism. Great Britain, Oxford: Oxford University Press. P.270. ISBN 0-19-860560-9
Bibliography
- Apte, Vaman Shivaram (1957-59). Revised and enlarged edition of Prin. V. S. Apte's The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Poona: Prasad Prakashan.
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu (1978). The All-Embracing Net of Views. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society.
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed.) (1978, 2005). A Treatise on the Paramis: From the Commentary to the Cariyapitaka by Acariya Dhammapala (The Wheel, No. 409/411). Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society.
- Horner, I.B. (trans.) (1975; reprinted 2000). The Minor Anthologies of the Pali Canon (Part III): 'Chronicle of Buddhas' (Buddhavamsa) and 'Basket of Conduct' (Cariyapitaka). Oxford: Pali Text Society. ISBN 0-86013-072-X.
- Lopez, Donald S., Jr. (1988). The Heart Sutra Explained: Indian and Tibetan Commentaries. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-88706-589-7.
- Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary. Chipstead: Pali Text Society.
External links
- Renunciation by T. Prince, a free distribution article on the Buddhist conception of renunciation
- Lama Zopa Rinpoche's view of the Six Perfections
- A Zen view of the Six Perfections
- Six paramitas, Chinese Buddhist website
- Theravada Buddhist Dhamma Talk Album: "Ten Paramitas (Suc 06)", By Ajahn Sucitto
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