Chapter 25 - The Six Paramitas

Question 1

Six Paramitas

Answer 1

1. generosity
2. mindfulness trainings
3. inclusiveness, capacity to transform pain inflicted by others
4. diligence, energy, perseverance
5. meditation
6. wisdom, insight

Question 2

dana paramita

4

Answer 2

• firstly, to give joy, kindness and love
• we don’t keep anything for ourselves, we only want to give
• when giving, the other might become happy, but it’s certain we will
• what we give is what we receive, quicker than satellite signals!

we can give our: stability, freshness, peace, space, understanding, true presence

Question 3

shila paramita

4

Answer 3

• 5MT protect body, mind, family, society
• form of love, form of giving
• 5MT = medicine for the malaise of our times
• we need sangha to practise them deeply

Question 4

kshanti paramita

7

Answer 4

• capacity to receive, embrace and transform
• if our heart is large enough, we don’t suffer when we are made angry by others - we receive, transform, embrace in an instant
• if our heart is small, one unjust word makes us suffer
• “To transform your suffering, your heart has to be as big as the ocean” - capacity counts
• if we keep our pain for too long, it’s because we have not yet learned kshanti paramita
• look deeply in order to understand and forgive
• revenge/punishment = unwholesome nutrients caught in anger and hatred
• 4 Immeasurable Minds = huge heart = kshanti

Question 5

virya paramita

2

Answer 5

• diligence, energy or continuous practice
• to refrain from watering negative seeds in us and others

Question 6

dhyana paramita

3

Answer 6

• meditation
• stopping + looking deeply
• doing everything mindfully, as mindfulness always nourishes concentration and understanding

zen, chan, son, thien

Question 7

prajña paramita

5

Answer 7

• highest kind of understanding, free from all knowledge, concepts, ideas and views
• substance of Buddhahood in us
• crossing over, by understanding, by insight, to the other shore of freedom, emancipation and peace
• Right View
• wisdom of non-discrimination

Question 8

7 Greatest Gifts

dana paramita

Answer 8

1. True Presence
2. Stability
3. Freedom
4. Freshness
5. Peace
6. Space
7. Understanding

Question 9

our True Presence

Dana Paramita

4

Answer 9

• produced by practising meditation
• “darling I am here for you”
• giving a gift, you get the gift of joy
• presence better than “presents”

Question 10

our Stability

Dana Paramita

3

Answer 10

• we need those we love to be strong and stable
• cultivated by breathing, sitting and walking
• a characteristic of nirvana

“breathing in, I see myself as a mountain, breathing out, I feel solid”

Question 11

our Freedom

dana paramita

4

Answer 11

• happiness impossible unless free of afflictions
• some happinesses are destructive to body, mind, relationships
• freedom from craving an especially important practice
• characteristic of nirvana

Question 12

our Freshness

Dana Paramita

Answer 12

• “breathing in, I see myself as a flower, breathing out, I feel fresh” - 3 times like this and flower-ness restored

Question 13

our Peace

Dana Paramita

2

Answer 13

• wonderful to sit near someone peaceful
• we can offer loved ones peace and lucidity

“breathing in, I see myself as still water, breathing out, I reflect things as they are”

Question 14

our Space

Dana Paramita

3

Answer 14

• our beloved needs space in order to be happy
  ex: flower arrangements need space to radiate true beauty AND a person is like a flower
• space is produced through our practice
• the more we offer, the more we have

Question 15

our Understanding

Dana Paramita

3

Answer 15

• flower of practice
• by focussing concentrated attention on one object and looking deeply into it, insight and understanding arise
• offer others understanding and they stop suffering quickly

Question 16

enumerate:

Four Ways to Grow/Keep Positive Seeds Manifesting at Upper Level of our Consciousness

Answer 16

1. Flower Watering
2. Changing the Peg
3. Touching as many positive seeds in your store consciousness as you can
4. Keep a positive seed as long as possible once it has manifested

Question 17

Flower Watering

1st way to grow good seeds

Answer 17

• to recognise the best seeds in others and to water them
• wonderful practice of diligence, bringing immediate results

Question 18

Changing the Peg

2nd way to grow good seeds

2

Answer 18

• replacing an unwholesome mental formation with a wholesome one
• by breathing in and out and inviting a wholesome seed, the unwholesome one will go down

Question 19

Touching as many positive seeds in your store consciousness as you can

3rd way to grow good seeds

2

Answer 19

• never invite a guest who brings sorrow or affliction
  ex: TV - change channel as/when so invite only pleasant seeds to come up and sit in our living room (=consciousness)
• tell friends “if you love me, please water my wholesome seeds every day, especially my mindfulness”

Question 20

Keep a wholesome seed as long as possible once it has manifested

4th way to grow good seeds

2

Answer 20

• helping seeds of mindfulness, forgiveness and compassion grow by helping them be present in mind consciousness as long as possible
• = transformation at the base
  ex: 15 min of mindfulness practice is strengthening and makes it easier each time

Question 21

Six Afflictions

Answer 21

1. craving
2. anger
3. jealousy
4. despair
5. fear
6. wrong perceptions

Question 22

Selective Watering

2

Answer 22

• recognising negative seeds in those we love and trying not to water them, making them and us very unhappy
• asking others not to water our own negative seeds

Question 23

What do we get when we touch Nirvana, or God, or the ground of our being?

Answer 23

• Non-fear, the basis of true happiness

from Prajña Paramita

Question 24

According to the Buddha, is it enough to just hope that the other shore will come to us?

Answer 24

• No - we have to make an effort

“If you want to cross over to the other shore, the shore of safety, well-being, non-fear and non-anger, you have to swim or row across”

Question 25

In the story of Shariputra’s false accusation and the beginning anew that followed, he declares how he had always strived to practise like the Four Elements, with mindfulness and loving kindness, and offers beginning anew to his accuser, even stating he had not been skilful enough to avert this misunderstanding, and co-responsible, begging for forgiveness. Which of the Six Paramitas does the Buddha wish to illustrate by this?

Answer 25

* Kshanti Paramita

Question 26

What to do when a negative seed is watered and manifests itself? ## Footnote 2

Answer 26

* do everything possible to embrace it with mindfulness and help it return to where it came from * the longer it stays, the stronger it gets otherwise

Question 27

Which of the 6th Paramitas does the small bowl of salt in a small bowl of water vs. a large river caution us to practise?

Answer 27

* Kshanti Paramita * because of its immensity, the river has the capacity to receive and transform * the river doesn’t suffer at all because of a handful of salt

Question 28

Which of the 6th Paramitas does the Second Arrow story caution us to practise?

Answer 28

* Prajña Paramita, it is a saviour * if we know how to see things as themselves and nothing more, we can surrvive

Question 29

According to the Buddha, what arises when ignorance comes to an end?

Answer 29

* understanding

Question 30

“Everything has been nirvanised” - what does this mean? ## Footnote 5

Answer 30

* ground of our being is Nirvana and Buddha asked us to look deeply at it * everything bears deeply the nature of Nirvana * we look deeply and touch suchness of reality * no need to attain Nirvana, we dwell in it already * looking deeply into a pebble, flower, or our own joy, peace, sorrow or fear we touch the ultimate dimension of our being, and that dimension will reveal to us that the ground of our being has the nature of no birth and no death

Question 31

Why practise Deep Looking? ## Footnote 2

Answer 31

* to suffer less from disease, injustice and small pains inside us * it leads to understanding which always leads to love and acceptance

Question 32

Why is “perfect health” just an idea? ## Footnote 2

Answer 32

* we should learn to live in peace with whatever ailments we have - try not to transform them, but don’t suffer too much * babies get sick many times to achieve immunity and antibodies

Question 33

What’s the Buddha’s advice for when we are angry at someone? ## Footnote 2

Answer 33

* practise dana paramita! * instinctively we want to punish the other, but why not give a gift prepared when we were not angry?

Question 34

How can we wash away the injustices of nations? ## Footnote 6

Answer 34

* overtaken by anger, we think only to punish the other person * fire of anger continues to burn inside us and others * deep looking needed to help us understand we are all victims * wrong perceptions are responsible for wrong policies * if you nourish hatred, with anger, you burn yourself - understanding is the only way out * by understanding, we suffer less and get quicker to root of injustice

Question 35

What other paramitas do we need to practise Kshanti Paramita? ## Footnote 3

Answer 35

* all the other five * if one is missing we suppress to the bottom of our consciousness * this is dangerous, as it can later explode, destroying self and others

Question 36

Why would another person make us suffer? ## Footnote 4

Answer 36

* because he suffers deeply in himself, and his suffering is spilling over * he doesn’t need punishment; he needs help * we can offer him relief, or offer metta * happiness and safety are not individual matters, rather his are crucial for my own

Question 37

Non-fear

Answer 37

* greatest gift we can offer others