Buddhism For Beginners 9: The Six Paramitas (Animated) - Rissho Kosei-Kai Int'l of North America

The Six Paramitas, or Perfections. The Six Paramitas, or Six Perfections, teaches us the six kinds of practice that Bodhisattvas can follow to attain Awakening. They are 1. Donation or Generosity. 2. Keeping the Precepts or Morality. 3. Forbearance or Endurance. 4. Effort or Diligence. 5. Meditation or Concentration. 6. Wisdom. Bodhisattvas are people who wish not only to extinguish their own illusions, but to help others as well. Therefore, the goal of the Doctrine of the Six Paramitas is the transformation and enlightenment of all living beings. The practice of Donation or Generosity comes first. This involves another being, external to us. There are three kinds of donation. 1. Donation of material goods or gifting of money or goods. 2. Donation of teaching the Dharma. 3. Donation of your actions and energy to help remove another's suffering. These can be done with sincere intent. Everyone can do some form of donation. Perhaps you are physically disabled but have knowledge you can teach. You may have life experiences from which you have gained wisdom you can share. You may have a special talent you can teach. You can donate physical labor to help someone. Even if you are only able to give up a very small amount of money, it is the repeated act of doing so, with total awareness, that develops a generous heart in all aspects of your life. Keeping the Precepts or Morality is the second of the Six Perfections. This teaches us that we cannot truly help others unless we are striving to live the precepts given to us by the Buddha. It is by seeing our daily actions that others learn. We must not think that we need to be perfect to guide someone. A major point of keeping the precepts is to render service to others. The more we do for others, the more we grow ourselves. And the more we grow, the more we can render service to others. Each reinforces one another. The third of the Perfections is Forbearance. A quality that is especially important for people today. Shakyamuni Buddha embodied all the virtues and became the Buddha through his constant practice. Perhaps his greatest virtue was generosity. Nowhere is it recorded that Buddha ever became angry. If he was severely persecuted, or his disciples treated him coldly and left him, he was always sympathetic and compassionate. If there is one characteristic of the man that stood out, it would be that he was a person of perfect generosity. As we learn to persevere in the practice of the Bodhisattvas, we can cease to become angry or reproachful towards others and towards anything in the universe. Sometimes we complain about the weather when it rains and grumble about the heat when the sun shines. But by being patient in our daily lives, we attain a calm and untroubled mind. We become thankful for both the rain and the sun, and our minds become free from concern about the changes in our circumstances. When we advance further, we lose our tendency for anger and hatred towards those who hurt or insult us, whether they do so knowingly or unknowingly. We can even wish actively to help them. On the other hand, we should not be swayed by flattery or praise of the good work we do. Rather, we learn to quietly reflect on our conduct. There is no need to feel superior. We can have an honestly humble attitude when everything goes smoothly. All these attitudes come from forbearance. It doesn't happen immediately, but we can attain an attitude of compassion for those who cause difficulties sooner than we expect. If people throughout the world practiced this kind of forbearance or perseverance, this alone would establish peace and make humanity immeasurably happy. The fourth of the six paramitas is effort, which means to go straight towards an important goal without being distracted by trivial things. Even if we devote ourselves to the study and practice of the Buddhist teachings, if our ideas and conducts do not remain pure, we have not really given our effort to our actions. If we experience adverse effects or if outside influences try to hinder our spiritual practice, these are nothing more than small waves rippling on the surface of the ocean. They will disappear when the wind dies down. Therefore, once we have decided to practice this path, we should advance single-mindedly towards our destination. The fifth of the six paramitas is meditation. It means having a quiet mind. It is important for us to devote ourselves to the practice of the teachings. To view things thoroughly with a calm mind and to think them over is essential. Only then can we see the true aspect of all things and discover the highest and most harmonious ways to cope with them. The ability to discern the differences among things and to see the truth common to them is wisdom. The last of the six paramitas. To help others, we must develop wisdom. When we take action to do something kind or useful for another person, we are most effective when we do so from the foundation of wisdom. This is essential when practicing the Bodhisattva Way. Each of these perfections or paramitas is a strong link to the others. Together, they make a reinforced circle of action. The six paramitas.