10 perfections?

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Strive4Karuna
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10 perfections?

Post by Strive4Karuna »

I have read that the Buddha needed to complete the 10 paramis before he could be born into his last life as a Buddha.

I am remeber recalling the Buddha saying every arahant is different has his own dispositions, different personalitys etc. Some prefer to teach others prefer to stay aloof and keep to themselves. Some with greater psychic powers etc.

My question is, do all arahants complete the 10 paramis to the same degree? Would some arahants have more metta, karuna then others? Would all arahants have the same level of equanimity (upekkha) if they were to become arahants?

Would one who had the resolve to completely perfect the 4 brahmaviharas without straying from the dhamma in the future be one who is resolved in being born a future Buddha?
rolling_boulder
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Re: 10 perfections?

Post by rolling_boulder »

In orthodox Theravada, AFAIK only the Buddha is fully complete in the Paramis.

You don't actually find the 10 Paramis listed as such in the Pali Canon, however. I don't know what the origin of the idea is.
RB
The world is swept away. It does not endure...
The world is without shelter, without protector...
The world is without ownership. One has to pass on, leaving everything behind...
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bodom
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Re: 10 perfections?

Post by bodom »

rolling_boulder wrote: Sat Dec 16, 2017 5:57 pm In orthodox Theravada, AFAIK only the Buddha is fully complete in the Paramis.

You don't actually find the 10 Paramis listed as such in the Pali Canon, however. I don't know what the origin of the idea is.
RB
They are found in the Buddhavamsa the fourteenth book in the Khuddaka Nikaya so technically found in the pali Canon though some argue it is a much later edition to the Canon.

:namaste:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

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DNS
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Re: 10 perfections?

Post by DNS »

I think I read somewhere (maybe Buddhavamsa or a commentary) that in a distant past time both Gotama and Metteyya were contemporaries and Gotama was getting well established in all paramitas, but especially wisdom while Metteyya was most developed in metta and karuna, which is why Gotama became a samma-sam-buddha sooner.
rolling_boulder
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Re: 10 perfections?

Post by rolling_boulder »

bodom wrote: Sat Dec 16, 2017 9:43 pm They are found in the Buddhavamsa the fourteenth book in the Khuddaka Nikaya...
Oh, cool, thank you.
The world is swept away. It does not endure...
The world is without shelter, without protector...
The world is without ownership. One has to pass on, leaving everything behind...
The world is insufficient, insatiable, a slave to craving.
JohnK
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Re: 10 perfections?

Post by JohnK »

I just read something I did not know about the paramis.
The word "param" refers to the other shore, so it seems the paramis help carry you to that other shore.
This may not be exactly right, so Pali folks please chime in to clarify or correct.
Edit:
Here it is:
The perfections also provide one of the few reliable ways of measuring the
accomplishments of one’s life. “Accomplishments” in the realm of work and
relationships have a way of turning into dust, but perfections of the character,
once developed, are dependable and lasting, carrying one over and beyond the
vicissitudes of daily living. Thus they deserve to take high priority in the way we
plan our lives. These two facts are reflected in the two etymologies offered for
the word perfection (pāramī): They carry one across to the further shore (paraṁ);
and they are of foremost (parama) importance in formulating the purpose of one’s life.
From Thanissaro Bhikkhu:
https://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Wri ... 131122.pdf
Those who grasp at perceptions & views wander the internet creating friction. [based on Sn4:9,v.847]
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Dhammanando
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Re: 10 perfections?

Post by Dhammanando »

JohnK wrote: Mon Dec 18, 2017 11:57 pm This may not be exactly right, so Pali folks please chime in to clarify or correct.
This is how the commentator Dhammapāla defined it:
In what sense are they called “pāramīs”? The bodhisattas, the great beings, are supreme (parama), since they are the highest of beings by reason of their distinguished qualities such as giving, virtue, etc. The pāramīs—the activities of giving, etc.—are their character or their conduct.

Alternatively: he excels, thus he is supreme (paratī ti paramo). The bodhisatta is the fulfiller and guardian of the noble qualities such as giving, etc.; that which belongs to the supreme—the character or conduct of the one who is supreme (i.e., of the bodhisatta)—is a pāramī, i.e., the activities of giving, etc.
The paraṃ/further shore etymology is usually associated with the Mahayana's Prajñāpāramita sūtras. I don't think it occurs in any Pali sources earlier than the mediaeval sub-commentaries.
Yena yena hi maññanti,
tato taṃ hoti aññathā.


In whatever way they conceive it,
It turns out otherwise.
(Sn. 588)
JohnK
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Re: 10 perfections?

Post by JohnK »

Dhammanando wrote: Tue Dec 19, 2017 9:20 am ...The paraṃ/further shore etymology is usually associated with the Mahayana's Prajñāpāramita sūtras. I don't think it occurs in any Pali sources earlier than the mediaeval sub-commentaries.
Thank you. :anjali:
Those who grasp at perceptions & views wander the internet creating friction. [based on Sn4:9,v.847]
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