Times of crisis 34 – Developing Pāramīs

When it is difficult to withdraw from the world, at times of crisis or responsibility, we can be practising to develop our pāramīs, our spiritual qualities. In terms of our active life the ten pāramīs provide a full list of what we need. We can be asking ourselves, ‘what can I develop in this situation, or in that situation?’ We can also be finding out what our spiritual strengths and weaknesses are, working to our strengths and trying to improve in areas we are weaker. I will briefly reflect on these, personally and in turn, to highlight the way in which these qualities differ in the spiritual life from what we may usually understand them to be. There is also a lot to be learned from the order of these qualities, they naturally lead one into the next.

​The Ten Pāramīs are:

1. generosity (dāna)
2. morality (sīla)
   Generosity and morality come through the calming of our desire and following the higher, unselfish kind of love that arises naturally as a result. This contrasts with a morality that has desire or passion as its driving force or uses the will to go against desire rather than following a higher principle. There is a parallel here in many successful approaches to addiction including that of Alcoholics Anonymous.
3. renunciation (nekkhamma) – we find a sense of freedom from desire that has its own joy and hence its own momentum, leading us to see the value of giving things up.
4. insight (paññā) – practising renunciation gives us a whole new perspective on life, we develop true wisdom.
5. energy (viriya) – we feel light and energetic, not bound down by the things of the world.
6. patience (khanti) – we develop patience, we are not driven by the things of the world.
7. truthfulness (sacca) – we gain confidence in our spiritual direction, we learn to express our spiritual feelings to others and ‘come out’ as Buddhists.
8. resolution (adhiṭṭhāna) – we develop further our resolution and determination in the face of the opposition we can encounter.
9. loving-kindness (mettā)
10. equanimity (upekkhā)

​We develop both kindness and equanimity together as we are able to more and more fully express our spirituality in our actions in the world on the one hand. We are able to accept the limits of what we are able to achieve on the other. We are able to do our best and at the same time accept whatever happens, happens.

​I offer this for your reflection

Ajahn Kalyāno
http://www.openthesky.co.uk