Morning Words on The Paramitas

Ed Mushin Russell

This morning I'll begin a series of talks on the six paramitas, which is usually translated as the six perfections. A literal translation would be "actions beyond". Actions beyond what? Beyond our self interest or outside of our self-centeredness. It's a teaching that encourages us to look at our behaviors and to consider our motivations. Not in a judgmental way but with honesty and compassion for ourselves and those that are affected by our actions. We will begin tomorrow with the paramita, generosity.


The first paramita is generosity or dana. It's been described as willingness to give to others what they need, whether it be time, possessions or skills and to give without regret and with joy, without expectation of reward. It's a nice description and I won't add to it except to ask, do we always know what others need? Upon what do we base our judgement of the needs of others? Is it sometimes based on what we want or need? One gift we can always give to others is permission to be who they are. To think what they think and to feel what they feel. In fact, we might even consider offering this gift to ourselves.


Yesterday I talked about the paramita of generosity, giving a general description and a mild caution about the assumptions we might make about it. Today, let's look at one manifestation of generosity in our practice. A valuable gift we can provide to others is just being there. To show up and share a space, whether physical or virtual. When we come together as a group we can't help but sense the common effort and commitment and be supported by it. Even if you think your zazen sucked this time or was unnecessary, I'll bet that those you shared this time with were glad you were there. In giving ourselves to this practice, it becomes a treasure shared by all.



The paramita of morality is sometimes referred to as virtuous or ethical behavior. If our words and actions promote wellbeing and avoid causing suffering and confusion, we are practicing the paramita of morality. But, as much as we want to, we don't always make the right choice, do we, so atonement is an important part of our practice. This isn't about blame or guilt, however, which are self centered and based on attachment to some dream of perfection. The Buddha said, "Skillful virtues have freedom from remorse as their purpose, and freedom from remorse as their reward". I'll leave you with an interesting quote from Dogen, who said "Practicing all virtues means getting dirty in order to embrace beings who are mired in the mud".



Yesterday I talked about the paramita of morality and I want to draw a distinction between morality as taught in Buddhism and what we usually think of in terms of society or culture. In a society, mores can change from place to place and time to time. They are fluid and are subject to the views and beliefs that are current and commonly held. In our practice, morality is based on the fundamental truth that all beings are the manifestation of Buddha Nature. How can we not treat everyone we encounter with kindness and respect when we realize that self and other are not two? In embracing this life as it is and being who and what we truly are, we are practicing the paramita of morality.



This morning I'll say a few words about the paramita of patience. Joko once said that there are two times you should keep your mouth shut. When you are under water and when you are mad. It's wise to be patient in both cases. Patience is a valuable tool. It isn't so much waiting for something to happen as it is being present in the midst of what is happening. It's attending to what is rather that wishing for what might be or trying to force this moment into fitting our expectations. In being patient, we aren't doing or non-doing. We are being just this, which is the perfection of patience. We call it zazenning.


In thinking about the paramita of patience, I'm reminded of the Buddha's teaching about the three poisons; greed, anger and delusion. Patience is one of the antidotes to all three. Greed is obviously the opposite of patience. When we are mindful, we manifest patience and greed has no place to hide. Anger is a result of our impatience. How can we be angry when we make no demands on ourselves or others? And, delusion is the result of being impatient with not being able to know the unknowable and grasp the ungraspable. In just being who we are right now, we embody the paramita of patience.



The paramita of perseverance is essential in our practice. It doesn't just mean not giving up on ourselves and our practice. It includes an appreciation of the path we are on. We need to have a clear sense of the value and importance of our efforts. When we fail to live up to our ideals of what a good Zen practitioner is, our perseverance can falter. When we realize the wonderful opportunity that our perceived failures provide, our perseverance is restored. It's easier to persevere when we know that our practice offers no rewards or prizes. Just being on this path is enough. There is no finish line. When we appreciate this life as it is, we are the perfection of perseverance.


The Buddha persevered in his practice for over 40 years. Late in his life, he was asked how his practice had changed in all that time. He replied, "It hasn't, since I'm always at the beginning". Like a mountain climber, whether you are at the foot of the mountain or nearing the summit, your practice is the same. One step at a time. There is no mountain to conquer and no peak to attain in our practice, but it's a marvelous journey and the view gets better all the time. By our perseverance, we have already attained the awakened way.



The fifth paramita is Meditation. I'm not going to tell you how to meditate this morning and you don't need my comments on the importance of it in our practice. Instead, I want to emphasize the we are not talking about becoming more perfect at anything. Practicing meditation, or any of the paramitas, is to realize and express the perfection that we always have and always are. We don't need to gain these abilities. We just need to manifest them in our everyday lives. In keeping them in our minds and hearts, we discover that Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva isn't some mythical character in a sutra, but this very life that we all share.


The paramita of wisdom isn't referring to how smart someone is. The Heart Sutra says wisdom is seeing the emptiness of all the five conditions, which is to say having an appreciation of the true nature of impermanence. It's non-attachment to self and other. In Buddhism, ignorance is not about what we don't know. It's turning away from our life. When, through our practice, we open the hand of thought, appreciate our life and express peace and kindness, we manifest the perfection of wisdom.


A few last words on the Paramitas. They are generosity, morality, patience, preservice, meditation and wisdom. Paramita is usually translated as perfection. It's important to remember that these aren't attributes that we need to create. They are aspects of who we always are. They are expressions of our True Nature. Our practice effort is to cultivate and manifest them in our life, moment by moment, and to notice when we veer off into self-centered attachment. Our job isn't to create perfection but to realize the perfection that is always right here, right now.