The Practice of Giving with Pāramitā

 

Quotes:

“When bodhisattvas perform giving,…..they sincerely contemplate liberation; this is called the perfection of one-pointed concentration (dhyāna pāramitā). They do not make any distinction between the appearances of all their friends and foes; this is called the perfection of wisdom (prajñā pāramitā).” Sutra on upāsaka Precepts, Vol. 2

 

【菩薩施時，…至心繫念觀於解脫，名禪波羅蜜；不擇一切怨親之相，名般若波羅蜜。】《優婆塞戒經》卷 2 

Remarks: 

By sincerely contemplating and observing liberation, bodhisattva practitioners will be able to achieve liberation by giving. They will first have liberation from the shackles of self-belongings and then liberation from the shackles of self-view and self-attachment. This denotes attaining Chan pāramitā (dhyāna pāramitā) by practicing giving.

In Buddhism, Chan refers to one-pointed absorption and contemplation, also called dhyāna. If bodhisattva practitioners can practice it without any doubt, it is because they have profoundly questioned and factually observed giving with the utmost mind. Thus, they can anchor onto this level of wisdom without flinching. This is called dhyāna pāramitā. The act of questioning and observing with the utmost mind refers to going through “the mental factors of the root consciousness,” (C: Sī xīn suǒ; 思心所) which result from the working of manas. Only undergoing such a process can be called questioning and observing with the utmost mind, rather than only thinking about giving on a consciousness level. The difference is that thinking about giving on a consciousness level covers only giving; no pāramitās are involved. For instance, if money is donated with the slightest reluctance or regret, it cannot be called donating with the utmost pure mind; thus, there is only giving without pāramitā. When the pure mind unquestionably knows the causality of giving and thus firmly gives, this reaction comes from the mental factors of the root consciousness that align with the tathagatagarbha’s nature of reality-suchness. In other words, giving and pāramitās are simultaneously present when bodhisattva practitioners have successfully aligned themselves with the tathagatagarbha mind after awakening.

Suppose bodhisattva practitioners distinguish between the appearances of their friends and foes and have preferences for different masters. This means they did not align with the tathagatagarbha’s nature of reality-suchness when giving but instead relied on their perceptive minds and such minds’ likes and dislikes. Consequentially, their giving is still full of attachment to self-belongings, self-view, and self-attachment. If the people who practice giving have not eliminated their self-view or the attachment to self-belongings, unavoidably, they would not have realized the ultimate reality, which denotes prajñā; as a result, they do not have the perfection of giving wisdom.

#Buddha #paramitas #tathagatagarbha #realitysuchness