Pāramitā
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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:
The term pāramitā, 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 Madhyāntavibhāga (V.4), where the twelve excellences (parama) are associated with the ten perfections (pāramitā). A more creative yet widely reported etymology divides pāramitā into pāra and mita, with pāra meaning "beyond", "the further bank, shore or boundary," and mita, meaning "that which has arrived", or ita meaning "that which goes". Pāramitā 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").[3]
Theravāda Buddhism
Theravada teachings on the pāramīs can be found in late canonical books and post-canonical
Canonical sources
In the
- Dāna pāramī: generosity, giving of oneself
- Sīlapāramī: virtue, morality, proper conduct
- Nekkhamma pāramī: renunciation
- Paññā pāramī: wisdom, discernment
- Viriya pāramī: energy, diligence, vigour, effort
- Khanti pāramī: patience, tolerance, forbearance, acceptance, endurance
- Sacca pāramī: truthfulness, honesty
- Adhiṭṭhāna pāramī: determination, resolution
- Mettāpāramī: goodwill, friendliness, loving-kindness
- Upekkhāpāramī: 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 (
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.[9] 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.[10] 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
in established Theravāda tradition the pāramīs 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
disciples. What distinguishes the supreme bodhisattva from aspirants in the other two vehicles is the degree to which the pāramīs 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.[11]
Sarvāstivāda
The Sarvāstivāda Vaibhāṣika school's main commentary, the Mahāvibhāṣā, teaches the bodhisattva path based on a system of four pāramitās:[12]
- generosity (dāna),
- discipline (śīla),
- energy (vīrya),
- wisdom (prajñā),
The Mahāvibhāṣā also mentions the system of six pāramitās, arguing that patience (
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.[14] Wright describes the Buddhist pāramitās as a set of character ideals that guide self-cultivation and provide a concrete image of the Buddhist ideal.[14]
The Prajñapāramitā sūtras (प्रज्ञापारमिता सूत्र) and a large number of other Mahāyāna texts list six perfections:[15][16]
- Dāna pāramitā (दान पारमिता): generosity, giving of oneself (in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese, 布施波羅蜜; in Tibetan, སྦྱིན་པ sbyin-pa)
- Śīlapāramitā (शील पारमिता): virtue, morality, discipline, proper conduct (持戒波羅蜜; ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས tshul-khrims)
- Kṣānti pāramitā (क्षान्ति पारमिता): patience, tolerance, forbearance, acceptance, endurance (忍辱波羅蜜; བཟོད་པ bzod-pa)
- Vīrya pāramitā (वीर्य पारमिता): energy, diligence, vigour, effort (精進波羅蜜; བརྩོན་འགྲུས brtson-’grus)
- Dhyānapāramitā (ध्यान पारमिता): one-pointed concentration, contemplation (禪定波羅蜜, བསམ་གཏན bsam-gtan)
- Prajñā pāramitā (प्रज्ञा पारमिता): wisdom, insight (般若波羅蜜; ཤེས་རབ shes-rab)
This list is also mentioned by the Theravāda commentator
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. Jñānapāramitā (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:
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.[18]
The pure illusory body is said to be endowed with the six perfections (Sanskrit: ṣatpāramitā).[19][further explanation needed]
The initial four perfections involve
See also
- Anupubbikathā – Buddhist term
- Bodhipakkhiyādhammā – Spiritual qualities conducive to Buddhist cultivation
- Buddhist paths to liberation – Theology of Buddhism: descriptions of the spiritual path
- Gradual Training
- Pañca-Parameṣṭhi – Fivefold hierarchy of religious authorities in Jainism
- Threefold Training – Buddhist practices for higher virtue, mind, and wisdom
References
Citations
- ^ www.wisdomlib.org (2008-06-01). "Paramita, Pāramitā, Pāramita: 12 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Archived from the original on 2020-01-28. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
- ^ "A Treatise on the Paramis: From the Commentary to the Cariyapitaka". www.accesstoinsight.org. Archived from the original on 2018-10-11. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- ^ Lopez 1988, p. 21.
- (PDF) from the original on 2017-06-22. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
- ^ "The Ten Perfections: A Study Guide". www.accesstoinsight.org. Archived from the original on 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- (PDF) from the original on 2017-06-22. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
- ^ "[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...."
- Regarding the Cariyāpiṭaka, Horner (2000), Cariyāpiṭaka section, p. vi, writes that it is "[c]onsidered to be post-
- ^ "[the Theravādins’] early literature did not refer to the pāramitās." Nalinaksha Dutt (1978) Buddhist Sects in India. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (Delhi), 2nd Edition: 228
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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
- ^ Bodhi (2005). Archived 2007-08-25 at the Wayback Machine (Converted the document's original use of the Velthuis convention to Pāli diacritics.)
- ^ Baruah, Bibhuti. Buddhist Sects and Sectarianism. 2008. p. 456
- OCLC 57298090.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-538201-3. Archivedfrom the original on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- ISBN 978-0-19-538201-3. Archivedfrom the original on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- ^ ISBN 978-955-24-0052-0. Archivedfrom the original on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- ISBN 978-955-24-0052-0. Archivedfrom the original on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- ISBN 1-57062-849-1(pbk.) p. 140.
- ISBN 978-1-101-46228-7. Archivedfrom the original on 2020-03-02.
Works cited
- 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 A Treatise on the Paramis]: From the Commentary to the Cariyapitaka by Acariya Dhammapala (The Wheel, No. 409/411). Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society.
- ISBN 0-86013-072-X.
- 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 Parami (Suc 06)", By Ajahn Sucitto
- What are the paramitas? Buddhism for Beginners