There are 10 paramis/paramitas (perfections of the mind) in the Theravada tradition. They are adornments of the mind; qualities that we develop as our spiritual practice ripens. They have as their basis a mind adorned with three things; loving-kindness, compassion, and letting go. But they don’t all develop at the same time or at the same pace so we must practice them to bring them into balance. Sometimes our spiritual practice seems to lose its momentum and we can focus on one of these paramis to energize our practice. The 10 Paramis are; Generosity, Renunciation (Letting go), Ethics, Wisdom, Effort, Patience, Truthfulness, Resolve (Determination), Loving-kindness, and Equanimity. The result of our practice is the natural development and cultivation of these qualities of mind.
Does Somebody Need Proof? Very Kindly Sit And Meditate Unswervingly.*
*Winner of the 2010 Mnemonic Parami Sweepstakes
1: Dana (generosity)
2. Sila (virtuous conduct)
3. Nekkhama (renunciation)
4. Pañña (wisdom)
5. Viriya (energy/effort)
6. Khanti (patience)
7. Sacca (truthfulness)
8. Adhittana (resoluteness)
9. Metta (lovingkindness)
10. Upekkha (equanimity)
Buddha has described patience as the greatest virtue. Perhaps he said this because without patience we are prone to give up our spiritual practice. We give up because our old reactive patterns are still with us after years of practice. So we revert back to what is familiar- our old reactive patterns founded in craving, anger , resentment, or just plain looking away from what is. Our culture is not a patient one. Often impatience is thought of as more of a virtue. This isn’t so in other cultures. During my last two periods in Nepal I witnessed an extremely patient culture. Every day at 9am I entered Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital where I was working and I passed two long lines of people (one for men the other for women). They had been there since 530 am when the ticket booth opened. If you are poor you wait in line to buy a ticket to be seen in the outpatient department. These people often came from small villages throughout Nepal to seek medical care. There were only so many tickets sold each day. If they were at the end of a long line there wouldn’t be enough tickets and they would have to return the next day and wait again. These were sick people carrying sick children and parents and yet I never saw any impatience. There was the kind of patience that is born of acceptance. It wasn’t agreeing or acquiescing with the situation. It was just accepting that this is the way things were right now.
So how do we develop patience? Our daily lives are our lessons in patience. We need only pay attention while we are driving the car, waiting in line, or while sitting in meditation. Just as impatience is a conditioned phenomenon so is patience a conditioned phenomenon. It takes mindfulness, and practice.
Did you ever stop to ask yourself what is impatience? It is our resistance to the present moment. It is the momentary manifestation of greed and aversion!
And what is patience? It is aligning ourselves with what is true and real. Things are impermanent. Things are sometimes unpleasant. When we are patient we are aligning ourselves t=with these basic truths. And when we are impatient we are at cross purposes with what is true and real. How successful can we be when we are at cross wise with what is true and real? The proximate cause of patience is acceptance of what is. This isn’t agreement, or affirmation. It’s the simple mental movement to accept that this is what is happening at this moment. Patience is putting a bit of mental space between our impulses and our actions. We practice with small things to be ready for the big ones- and they will arrive at the most unexpected moments.
We can practice patience in our meditation practice. Our impatience is conditioned and so is our patience. We have everything we need. You are not lacking one thing to realize peace, clarity and spacious awareness of what is. The patience that develops in a spiritual practice often is transformed from the patience f waiting to the patience of relaxing- relaxing into what is. It’s the freedom to be in this moment just the way this moment is right now.
May you be well, happy and peaceful. Floyd
