Buddhist Belief Blog

A question asked of me rather often is what school of Buddhist Belief do I follow? The answer is, I don’t follow any one particular school of Buddhism. My goal with these writings is to offer a bridge for those of us who are accustomed to our Western culture, to be able to enter and understand a Buddhist practice. People who want to develop a practice can often find the teachings confusing and difficult to understand when those teachings are offered from an Eastern perspective. Therefore, these writings are my small effort to, hopefully, make it a little easier to comprehend.

So far in the earlier lessons or articles here we’ve focused on the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. There is another aspect I’d like to spend some time covering — the Six Paramitas or the Six Perfections.

Paramita is a Sanskrit word, which means to cross over to the other shore. It implies crossing over from the Sea of suffering to the Shore of happiness, from the Samsara of birth and death to Nirvana and from ignorance to enlightenment.

Let’s take a look at what the Six Paramitas are and then we’ll dig into them in more detail over the next several posts:

(1) The Perfection of Generosity
(2) The Perfection of Ethics
(3) The Perfection of Patience
(4) The Perfection of Joyous Effort/ Enthusiastic Perseverance
(5) The Perfection of Concentration
(6) The Perfection of Wisdom

It’s important to have a good basic understanding of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path when we embark on our training in the Six Paramitas. If you’ve been reading these postings from when we first started — or if you’ve been reading about these aspects from other books and articles, you should have the understanding that, as human beings, we have suffering in our lives; there are reasons why we have this suffering; there is a way to get this suffering out of our lives, and the steps on how to remove suffering and achieve inner peace.

Accomplishing these perfections will bring us to the perfect wisdom — true inner peace and happiness. If our minds are not trained we feel that how we think, or how we act, is perfectly normal. There is nothing wrong and so we follow all our usual ways. In fact, we think there is no other way. This is why it is important to train in the Six Paramitas because the training allows us to see a different way, and a better way. It reveals to us how the conditions of of our life cycle obscure the mind.

Perhaps one of the most difficult things for us in our Western culture is to commit ourselves to following the path to true inner peace. It sure isn’t easy — it is simple — but it’s not easy. Someone who does not see clearly still has to be convinced. Otherwise, we won’t be able to follow on our own. We have to want to change. We must first study the basics of Buddhist Belief and see for ourselves our real conditions. If we decide we’d like a way out of the cycle of suffering, our visions, our attitudes, and our actions will start to change.

I guess my point is you have to really want this. It’s like the practice of meditation. If you practice once in a while when you have a little extra time — or when you don’t have anything else to do, you probably won’t see much in the way of results. But if you take it seriously and make it a part of your daily life — I will guarantee you — you’ll see positive results over time.

If you will keep your focus on the teachings of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path as you study with me the Six Paramitas, you will begin to see solutions. For some people their practice is always delayed and interrupted by all kinds of activities whereas others can actually integrate the practice into their daily lives. How we see our own lives, and how clearly we see the urgency of our situation directly impact on how we live our lives. This is a very important point.

Suppose I tell you, “ I am engaged in an authentic practice of Buddhist Belief to reach Enlightenment.”

You may ask me, “Why do you seek Enlightenment? Why are you interested in it, or what is your reason exactly?”

“Because it looks very interesting, very nice, very wonderful. I like it and I’m intrigued by it.”

My rationale shows that I have not really understood the practice.

But if my reasoning is, “ The practice is absolutely essential and important to me,” then this means I have understood the truth of the practice.

Well, I’ve taken up too much of this article laying the groundwork for our work with the Six Paramitas, so I’ll start on the first of them, “The Perfection of Generosity” within the next few days. As a teaser, so you’ll be sure to watch for the next post, here’s a glimpse in to what the “Perfection of Generosity” is all about. This paramita is the enlightened quality of generosity, charity, giving, and offering. The essence of this paramita is unconditional love, a boundless openness of heart and mind, a selfless generosity and giving which is completely free from attachment and expectation.

Metta ….May all beings be well and happy. May all beings live in safety. May all beings be healthy and strong. May all beings live with ease.

Namaste — Be in Peace.

Ron Rink
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Just click the links that are sort of Grey in color to take you to where you can learn more about each book and how you can purchase a copy for your own library.

Anam Thubten — No Self – No Problem

No Self – No Problem
shows how to realize the ultimate meaning of life in each moment by dissolving all notions of ego-identity. It asks that spiritual seekers wake up to their true nature, which is already enlightened. Based on Buddhist wisdom traditions, this easy-to-read book discusses in simple, but profound and inspiring language, how we can live a life full of love, satisfaction, and happiness. No Self – No Problem

Sharon Salzberg — The Kindness Handbook

“It takes boldness, even audacity, to step out of our habitual patterns and experiment with a quality like kindness–to work with it and see just how it might shift and open up our lives. This book is an invitation to do just that. — From The Kindness Handbook