What Is Pāramitā?

Those who follow the stream of birth-and-death are ordinary beings; those who go against the stream of birth-and-death are arhats; those who neither follow nor go against it are bodhisattvas; those who have reached the other shore are Buddhas. The bodhisattva's attitude toward the stream of birth-and-death is to neither follow nor go against it. Because if one follows 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; then there would no longer be a physical body or the five aggregates, and one could neither continue one's cultivation and attain buddhahood, nor extensively deliver sentient beings—thus violating one's own vows. Therefore, toward birth-and-death, the bodhisattva neither goes against it nor follows it.

The purpose of our study of Buddhism and cultivation is to become a Buddha, and a Buddha is one who has accomplished great wisdom. Therefore, the ultimate goal of our cultivation is to attain great wisdom—liberation through wisdom, becoming a Buddha through wisdom. All methods and means are for the sake of attaining wisdom. With wisdom there is no ignorance; with ignorance, there is no wisdom—destroy ignorance and attain 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 (samādhi) can all enable us to attain wisdom, reach the other shore, and achieve ultimate liberation.

Pāramitā means reaching the other shore, meaning to depart 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 there. It is on that shore where there is no birth-and-death, yet neither is it on that shore, nor does that shore exist—this is precisely the middle-way nature of original awakening. When we cultivate to destroy all ignorance and attain omniscience (sarvākārajñatā), we correspond with original awakening, and there is no birth-and-death, yet neither is there no birth-and-death—that is, 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, where everywhere and at all times there is nothing but self-mastery, nothing but liberation. If our method of cultivation cannot attain wisdom and cannot achieve liberation, then it brings no true benefit. We must then rethink and choose the correct method of cultivation, so as to advance more swiftly toward the buddha stage and attain omniscience.