Pāramitā Explained

Pāramitā (Sanskrit, Pali: पारमिता) or pāramī (Pāli: पारमी) is a Buddhist term often translated as "perfection". It is described in Buddhist commentaries as a noble character quality generally associated with enlightened beings. Pāramī and pāramitā are both terms in Pali but Pali literature makes greater reference to pāramī, while Mahayana texts generally use the Sanskrit pāramitā.[1] [2]

Etymology

Donald S. Lopez Jr. describes the etymology of the term:

Theravāda Buddhism

Theravada teachings on the pāramīs can be found in late canonical books and post-canonical commentaries. Theravada commentator Dhammapala describes them as noble qualities usually associated with bodhisattvas.[3] American scholar-monk Thanissaro Bhikkhu describes them as perfections (paramī) of character necessary to achieve enlightenment as one of the three enlightened beings, a samma sambuddha, a pacceka-buddha, or an arahant.[4]

Canonical sources

In the Pāli Canon, the Buddhavamsa of the Khuddaka Nikāya lists the ten perfections (dasa pāramiyo) as:[5]

  1. Dāna pāramī: generosity, giving of oneself
  2. Sīla pāramī: virtue, morality, proper conduct
  3. Nekkhamma pāramī: renunciation
  4. Paññā pāramī: wisdom, discernment
  5. Viriya pāramī: energy, diligence, vigour, effort
  6. Khanti pāramī: patience, tolerance, forbearance, acceptance, endurance
  7. Sacca pāramī: truthfulness, honesty
  8. Adhiṭṭhāna pāramī: determination, resolution
  9. Mettā pāramī: goodwill, friendliness, loving-kindness
  10. Upekkhā pāramī: equanimity, serenity

Two of these virtues—mettā and upekkhā—are also brahmavihāras, and two – vīrya and upekkhā—are factors of awakening.

Historicity

The Theravāda teachings on the pāramīs can be found in canonical books (Jataka tales, Apadāna, Buddhavamsa, Cariyāpiṭaka) and post-canonical commentaries written to supplement the Pāli Canon that therefore might not be an original part of the Theravāda teachings.[6] The oldest parts of the Sutta Piṭaka (for example, Majjhima Nikāya, Digha Nikāya, Saṃyutta Nikāya and the Aṅguttara Nikāya) do not mention the pāramīs as a category (though they are all mentioned individually).[7]

Some scholars refer to the pāramīs as a semi-Mahāyāna 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.[8] However, these views rely on the early scholarly presumption of Mahāyāna originating with religious devotion and appeal to laity. More recently, scholars have started to open up early Mahāyāna literature, which is very ascetic and expounds the ideal of the monk's life in the forest.[9] Therefore, the practice of the pāramitās in Mahāyāna Buddhism may have been close to the ideals of the ascetic tradition of the śramaṇa.

Traditional practice

Bhikkhu Bodhi maintains that in the earliest Buddhist texts (which he identifies as the first four nikāyas), 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 (Pāli: bodhisatta). Over subsequent centuries, the pāramīs were seen as being significant for aspirants to both Buddhahood and arahantship. Bhikkhu Bodhi summarizes:

Sarvāstivāda

The Sarvāstivāda Vaibhāṣika school's main commentary, the Mahāvibhāṣā, teaches the bodhisattva path based on a system of four pāramitās:[10]

The Mahāvibhāṣā also mentions the system of six pāramitās, arguing that patience () is classified as a kind of discipline and that meditation (Dhyāna) is to be seen as a mode of wisdom (prajñā).[11]

Mahāyāna Buddhism

Religious studies scholar Dale S. Wright states that Mahāyāna texts refer to the pāramitās as "bases of training" for those looking to achieve enlightenment.[12] Wright describes the Buddhist pāramitās as a set of character ideals that guide self-cultivation and provide a concrete image of the Buddhist ideal.

The Prajñapāramitā sūtras (प्रज्ञापारमिता सूत्र) and a large number of other Mahāyāna texts list six perfections:[13]

  1. Dāna pāramitā (दान पारमिता): generosity, giving of oneself (in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese, 布施波羅蜜; in Tibetan, སྦྱིན་པ sbyin-pa)
  2. Śīla pāramitā (शील पारमिता): virtue, morality, discipline, proper conduct (持戒波羅蜜; ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས tshul-khrims)
  3. pāramitā (क्षान्ति पारमिता): patience, tolerance, forbearance, acceptance, endurance (忍辱波羅蜜; བཟོད་པ bzod-pa)
  4. Vīrya pāramitā (वीर्य पारमिता): energy, diligence, vigour, effort (精進波羅蜜; བརྩོན་འགྲུས brtson-’grus)
  5. Dhyāna pāramitā (ध्यान पारमिता): one-pointed concentration, contemplation (禪定波羅蜜, བསམ་གཏན bsam-gtan)
  6. Prajñā pāramitā (प्रज्ञा पारमिता): wisdom, insight (般若波羅蜜; ཤེས་རབ shes-rab)

This list is also mentioned by the Theravāda commentator Dhammapala, who describes it as a categorization of the same ten perfections of Theravada Buddhism. According to Dhammapala, Sacca is classified as both Śīla and Prajñā, Mettā and Upekkhā are classified as Dhyāna, and Adhiṭṭhāna falls under all six.[14] Bhikkhu Bodhi states that the correlations between the two sets shows there was a shared core before the Theravada and Mahayana schools split.[15]

In the Ten Stages Sutra, four more pāramitās are listed:

7. Upāya pāramitā (उपाय पारमिता): skillful means (方便波羅蜜）

8. Praṇidhāna pāramitā (प्राणिधान पारमिता): vow, resolution, aspiration, determination (願波羅蜜）

9. Bala pāramitā (बल पारमिता): spiritual power (力波羅蜜）

10. Jñāna pāramitā (ज्ञान पारमिता): knowledge (智波羅蜜）

The Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra (महारत्नकूट सूत्र, the Sutra of the Heap of Jewels) also includes these additional four pāramitās, with the order of numbers 8 and 9 switched.

Tibetan Buddhism

According to the perspective of Tibetan Buddhism, Mahāyāna practitioners have the choice of two practice paths: the path of perfection (Sanskrit: pāramitāyāna) or the path of tantra (Sanskrit: tantrayāna), which is the Vajrayāna.

Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche renders "pāramitā" into English as "transcendent action" and then frames and qualifies it:

The pure illusory body is said to be endowed with the six perfections (Sanskrit: ṣatpāramitā).[16] [17]

The initial four perfections involve skillful means practice, while the last two pertain to wisdom practice. Together, they encompass all the necessary methods and skills to dispel delusion and meet the needs of others, and to rise from states of contentment to even greater happiness.[18]

References

Works cited

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Paramita, Pāramitā, Pāramita: 12 definitions. www.wisdomlib.org. 2008-06-01. www.wisdomlib.org. 2020-01-28. 2020-01-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20200128053908/https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/paramita. live.
  2. Web site: A Treatise on the Paramis: From the Commentary to the Cariyapitaka. www.accesstoinsight.org. 2020-01-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20181011133259/https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/wheel409.html. 2018-10-11. live.
  3. Book: Dhammapala, Acariya.. A treatise on the Paramis : from the commentary to the Cariyapitaka. 1996. Buddhist Publication Society. Bodhi, Bhikkhu.. 955-24-0146-1. Kandy, Sri Lanka. 1. 40888949. 2020-01-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20170622131026/http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/wheel409.pdf. 2017-06-22. live.
  4. Web site: The Ten Perfections: A Study Guide. www.accesstoinsight.org. 2020-01-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20190502001703/https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/study/perfections.html. 2019-05-02. live.
  5. Book: Dhammapala, Acariya.. A treatise on the Paramis : from the commentary to the Cariyapitaka. 1996. Buddhist Publication Society. Translated by Bodhi, Bhikkhu.. 955-24-0146-1. Kandy, Sri Lanka. 2–5. 40888949. 2020-01-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20170622131026/http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/wheel409.pdf. 2017-06-22. live.
  6. "[Prose portions of the ''Jātakas''] originally did not form part of [the Theravādins] scriptures": Nalinaksha Dutt (1978) Buddhist Sects in India. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (Delhi), 2nd Edition: 224
    • Regarding the Cariyāpiṭaka, Horner (2000), Cariyāpiṭaka section, p. vi, writes that it is "[c]onsidered to be post-Asokan...."
  7. "[the Theravādins’] early literature did not refer to the pāramitās." Nalinaksha Dutt (1978) Buddhist Sects in India. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (Delhi), 2nd Edition: 228
  8. "The incorporation of pāramis by the Theravādins in the Jātakas reveals that they were not immune from Mahāyānic 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 Hinayānists, 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 pāramitās. This was effected by the production of new literature: the Jātakas and Avadānas." Nalinaksha Dutt (1978) Buddhist Sects in India. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (Delhi), 2nd Edition: 251. The term "Semi-Mahāyāna" occurs here as a subtitle.
  9. "As scholars have moved away from this limited corpus, and have begun to explore a wider range of Mahāyāna 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
  10. Baruah, Bibhuti. Buddhist Sects and Sectarianism. 2008. p. 456
  11. Book: Xing, Guang . The concept of the Buddha : its evolution from early Buddhism to the trikāya theory . RoutledgeCurzon . London . 2005 . 0-203-41310-5 . 57298090 . 48.
  12. Book: Wright, Dale Stuart. The Six Perfections: Buddhism and the Cultivation of Character. 2009. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-538201-3. 3–4. en. 2020-01-27. 2021-06-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20210624212728/https://books.google.com/books?id=YeCAtSdxikYC. live.
  13. Book: Wright, Dale Stuart. The Six Perfections: Buddhism and the Cultivation of Character. 2009. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-538201-3. contents. en. 2020-01-27. 2021-06-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20210624212728/https://books.google.com/books?id=YeCAtSdxikYC. live.
  14. Book: Bodhi, Bhikkhu. The Discourse on the All-embracing Net of Views: The Brahmajāla Sutta and Its Commentaries. 2007-12-01. Buddhist Publication Society. 978-955-24-0052-0. 300. en. 2020-01-27. 2021-06-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20210624211033/https://books.google.com/books?id=6ym-vC4nTsAC. live.
  15. Book: Bodhi, Bhikkhu. The Discourse on the All-embracing Net of Views: The Brahmajāla Sutta and Its Commentaries. 2007-12-01. Buddhist Publication Society. 978-955-24-0052-0. 44. en. 2020-01-27. 2021-06-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20210624211033/https://books.google.com/books?id=6ym-vC4nTsAC. live.
  16. Book: Keown. Damien. A Dictionary of Buddhism. Oxford, U.K.. Oxford University Press. 270. 0-19-860560-9. registration. 2003.
  17. Book: Graham. Coleman. Thupten. Jinpa. Gyurme. Dorje. Padmasambhava. 459. The Tibetan Book of the Dead. 30 January 2007 . subscription. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200302024417/https://books.google.com/books?id=22YF90GT2sIC&pg=PT459&lpg=PT459&dq=%E1%B9%A3atp%C4%81ramit%C4%81&source=bl&ots=FG_-dl0qaA&sig=17a9daDh0FJmj7JKdt7tymhFTDc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwibiLy6rKbPAhWIpJQKHRf8DkQQ6AEIHjAA#v=onepage&q=%E1%B9%A3atp%C4%81ramit%C4%81&f=false . 2020-03-02 . Penguin Books. 978-1-101-46228-7.
  18. Book: Wangchen. Geshe Namgyal. Step by Step: Basic Buddhist Meditations. September 8, 2009. Wisdom Publications. 978-0861716005. 137. Revised. November 19, 2020. April 27, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220427124815/https://books.google.com/books?id=C3Ky1zGpzlUC&q=skilfull+mean+six+perfections&pg=PA137. live.

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