What is Pāramitā?

Those who go along with the stream of birth-and-death are ordinary beings (pṛthagjana); those who go against the stream of birth-and-death are arhats; those who neither go along nor go against are bodhisattvas; those who reach the other shore are Buddhas. Regarding the stream of birth-and-death, the bodhisattva's attitude is neither to go along nor to go against. Because if one goes along with the stream of birth-and-death, the bodhisattva transmigrates in great suffering; unable to save oneself, how could one save others? If one goes against the stream of birth-and-death, one must abandon birth-and-death and, like an arhat, enter nirvāṇa without remainder (anupadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa); in that case there would no longer be a physical body or the five aggregates (pañcaskandha), and one could neither continue cultivating and learning to accomplish the Buddha Way, nor extensively deliver sentient beings—this would violate one's own vows. Therefore, toward birth-and-death, the bodhisattva neither opposes nor follows it.

The purpose of our studying Buddhism and cultivating practice is to become a Buddha, and a Buddha is an accomplisher of great wisdom. So the ultimate goal of our practice is to attain great wisdom—liberation through wisdom, becoming a Buddha through wisdom—and all methods and means are for the sake of attaining wisdom. With wisdom there is no ignorance; with ignorance, there is no wisdom; one destroys ignorance and gains wisdom. When we cultivate the pāramitā of generosity (dāna), we can attain wisdom and reach the other shore. The pāramitās of keeping precepts, of forbearance, of diligence, and of meditative concentration (dhyāna)—all can enable us to attain wisdom, reach the other shore, and obtain ultimate liberation.

Pāramitā means reaching the other shore, that is, departing from this shore of birth-and-death. Our mind of original awakening has no ignorance and no birth-and-death; it is not on this shore of birth-and-death, yet neither is it not. He is on that shore where there is no birth-and-death, yet also not on that shore; there is no such shore—this is precisely the middle-way nature of original awakening. When we cultivate to destroy all ignorance and attain ultimate wisdom, we accord with original awakening, and there is likewise no birth-and-death, yet neither is there no birth-and-death—there is the liberated form (mokṣa-rūpa) of the Buddha stage. Being in nirvāṇa yet not entering nirvāṇa—this is the non-abiding nirvāṇa (apratiṣṭhita-nirvāṇa) of the Buddha stage, everywhere in all ways completely free of constraint, completely liberated. If our method of practice cannot attain wisdom and cannot obtain liberation, then there is no true benefit. We must then rethink and choose the correct method of practice, so as to advance more swiftly toward the Buddha stage and attain ultimate wisdom.