Lesson 2: The First Paramita
In this lesson, we'll start talking about the paramitas, and begin by looking in depth at dana paramita, "perfect generosity." We'll explore the ways paramitas differ from precepts, and look at opportunities to be more generous.
In this lesson we will also look at
- Ways to be more aware of where we can be generous and helpful
- Different types of gifts we can give to others
- Efforts to make generosity part of our daily life
- Some possible precautions against generosity.
Optional Reading
For this unit, read the introduction and the first chapter of Pay Attention, for Goodness' Sake and chapter 20 of Being Upright.
The Nature of Paramitas
The precepts give us a familiar model to look at morality; we're used to morality being defined by rules, and most of those rules are "don't." In Buddhism, the rules are mostly combating the effects of the Three Poisons (anger, greed and delusion) by warning us to avoid the acts that result from those poisons.
The paramitas give us a different perspective on ethics. Paramita is the Sanskrit word for "perfection," or "crossed to the other shore." The paramitas are the ways we cross away from the Three Poisons (anger, greed and delusion) to live a better life. They are designed to encourage goodness, not to discourage negative actions. Different Buddhist traditions use slightly different lists of paramitas. In some Zen writings, six paramitas are mentioned:
- dana paramita: generosity
- sila paramita: purity and morality
- shanti paramita: patience
- virya paramita: energy and devotion
- dhyana paramita: meditation practice
- prajna paramita: wisdom
Other times, we use the paramitas as fuel for the fire of our practice. If you ever find yourself slipping into harmful ways, it's good to go back to the paramitas and look for an opportunity. Sometimes actions lead to mental states; that is, if we're not feeling generous, we can act generous until the feeling arises. So if you're waiting for the good feelings to arise in your heart, don't wait. Start practicing the paramitas now and eventually they'll come naturally to you.
When I think of the precepts, I remember the line parents and teachers used to say to defend the rules: "What would happen if everyone did that?" When I think of the paramitas, I turn the phrase around: "What would happen if no one did this?" It reminds me that though certain things are, technically, not my problem, if everyone in the world says, "That's not my problem," then no one helps.
To cultivate these paramitas, I like to keep a list of my personal patron saints. These are the people whose stories I have heard, who changed life for millions of people, who made history with their practice of the paramitas. Your list is probably different than mine, so I won't name names, but I think of their devotion, their wisdom, their patience, their generosity, and think, "What would the world be like if no one had taken on that task?" How many of them could have said, "Someone else will probably take care of it"? Or, "Right now, I just don't have the time"? When I think of my patron saints, I want to do better for the world.
With the precepts, we can get complacent; we can think, "I don't steal things, so I'm all good on that precept." With the paramitas, we can always go one step further. We can always be a little more patient, a little more energetic, a little more wise. For the sake of all beings.
