Pāramitā

From the Sanskrit prefix p€ra (opposite side, further shore, utmost reach) + the infix m + ita (gone, attained). In Mahšyšna Buddhism a p€ramit€ is something which assists the aspirant to attain nirv€Ša. This attainment is often spoken of metaphorically as crossing over the stream of worldly existence, hence a p€ramit€ is, literally, that which enables the aspirant to attain the opposite side of the stream. It is usually identified as PRAJÑš-PšRAMITš, translated “perfection of wisdom.”

The p€ramit€s are variously listed as six, seven, ten or twelve. In The Voice of the Silence, by Helena P. BLAVATSKY the following are listed:

d€na, “charity” — to which Blavatsky adds “love immortal”;

…la, “moral conduct” or “harmony in word and deed”

k€nti, “forbearance” or, as Blavatsky puts it, “patience sweet which naught can ruffle”;

vir€ga, “indifference” to both pleasure and pain (compare vair€gya in the Hindu list of qualification for the Path);

v…rya, “energy” or “strength”;

dhy€na, “profound meditation”;

prajñ€, “wisdom” or “intuitive knowledge.”

To these are often added:

adhi˜h€na, “firmness,” “courage,” or “inflexibility” (Charles W. Leadbeater sometimes identified one of the qualifications for the Path as “meaning business,” which is the implication of this term);

upek€, “indifference,”

prabodha or sambuddhi, “awakening,” “illumination,” or “perfect knowledge.”

P.S.H./R.W.B.

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