THE SANSKRIT for perfection is paramita,1 which literally means “gone beyond.” The perfections are the practices of bodhisattvas, holy beings who have completely renounced the self; they have transcended selfish concerns and cherish only others.
Each perfection is perfect, flawless. Each arises from bodhichitta and is supported by the other perfections, including the wisdom of emptiness. Because of that, a bodhisattva generates infinite merit every moment, whether outwardly engaged in working for others or not. A bodhisattva’s bodhichitta never stops. Even sleeping, there is no self-cherishing; even in a coma, infinite merit is still created.
The six perfections are as follows:
1. Charity (dana)
2. Morality (shila)
3. Patience (kshanti)
4. Perseverance (virya)
5. Concentration (dhyana)
6. Wisdom ( prajna)
The first perfection is the perfection of charity. Its nature is the virtuous thought of giving. With that thought we perform the three types of charity: giving material objects, giving fearlessness, and giving the Dharma. These encompass all our actions of body, speech, and mind, such as giving material objects, protecting from fear, and giving the Dharma.
The second perfection is the perfection of morality, of which there are three types: refraining from nonvirtue, gathering virtuous deeds, and working for others. The first, refraining from nonvirtue, is abstaining from actions that harm sentient beings. The second, gathering virtuous deeds, means completely giving up the thought of seeking happiness for the self, including seeking self-liberation. The third, working for others, means just that — protecting sentient beings from harm as well as helping them in any way we can.
Then there is the perfection of patience. The nature of patience is keeping the mind in virtue whenever we encounter disturbance and harm. (We could endure these with a nonvirtuous mind as well, which is why the distinction is made.) There are three types of patience: not retaliating when harmed, accepting suffering, and having certainty about the Dharma. Accepting suffering means our mind remains calm and undisturbed whenever we receive harm from either sentient beings or nonliving things. Having certainty about the Dharma means always abiding in the wish to continuously practice the Dharma no matter what the circumstance.
The perfection of perseverance means being happy to practice virtue — specifically, being happy to practice each of the perfections — and doing work for all sentient beings. This includes virtuous actions of the body and speech, such as doing prostrations and reciting mantras.
With the fifth perfection, concentration, through both analytical meditation and single-pointed concentration we constantly reflect on the meaning of the teachings and put them into practice. For instance, when we do a shamatha, or calm-abiding meditation, using Guru Shakyamuni Buddha,2 the Buddha is the object of meditation; if we are meditating on bodhichitta, the mind of enlightenment, when we place our mind single-pointedly on bodhichitta, that is the object of meditation.
The last perfection is the perfection of wisdom, of which there are two types. One type realizes the conventional (or all-obscuring) truth,3 which includes the nature of impermanence or the law of cause and effect. The other type realizes the ultimate truth, the emptiness of all phenomena. Generally, the perfection of wisdom refers to realizing emptiness.
The first five perfections develop the method side of the practice, and the perfection of wisdom develops the wisdom side. One of Lama Tsongkhapa’s two main disciples, Gyaltsap Jé,4 explained that both the method and the wisdom sides of the path must be developed using only the unmistaken path.5 Following a path that is even slightly flawed will not get us there, no matter how much effort we make. And even if we enter an unmistaken path, unless it is complete we will still be unable to become enlightened. Therefore we should diligently follow the complete and perfect path that allows us to fully develop both method and wisdom. This is all based on correct devotion to a fully qualified Mahayana spiritual teacher, one who has studied the Mahayana scriptures extensively.
At the present time, we are only ever concerned with our own happiness. A bodhisattva, on the other hand, has bodhichitta, the aspiration to release others from suffering and obtain ultimate happiness for them, no matter what difficulties the bodhisattva encounters. Our concerns are completely the opposite of those of a bodhisattva. If we wish to attain bodhichitta and become a bodhisattva, we must train in seeing all sentient beings as our mothers and wish to repay the great kindness they have all shown us. This leads to not just love and compassion arising but also great love and great compassion; with these, we wish all beings without exception to have happiness and be free from suffering, and we wish to bring this about by ourselves alone. When this state of mind becomes spontaneous, we achieve bodhichitta and can then go on to attain enlightenment.
We can only attain enlightenment when we have achieved each of these perfections; it is the infallible route followed by all buddhas. Attaining each perfection depends on the kindness of all sentient beings. As Nagarjuna asked, if there were no sentient beings, who would be the recipients of our charity? Inanimate objects such as trees or mountains cannot receive our charity; only suffering sentient beings can. Similarly, it would be impossible to practice morality without sentient beings. When we practice morality we refrain from harming others. How could we do that if there were no sentient beings? And without sentient beings who try to harm us, how can we develop our patience? Attaining the perfection of patience definitely depends on all kind mother sentient beings, especially those who wish us harm. Without understanding the suffering of other sentient beings, we could never have the perseverance needed to practice the path untiringly for the vast amount of time it will take. To persevere on the path for many lifetimes, maybe eons, until we attain enlightenment, we need the strong determination that our great compassion brings when we understand how sentient beings are suffering. This would be impossible without the existence of these suffering sentient beings.
All six perfections stem from the great compassion we feel for all sentient beings, which produces bodhichitta. That is the very heart of the path.