Under this category we share Wisdom articles with you.
Verse 30 of the 37 Verses of a Bodhisattva encourages us to cultivate wisdom and skill. It reads, Without wisdom, the five perfections Are not enough to attain full awakening. Cultivate wisdom and skill Free from the three domains- this is the practice of a bodhisattva.…
In this final post on practicing prajna, wisdom, I want to talk about wisdom as being transcendent. We have to be careful though, because transcendence does not mean other-worldly, as if we have to somehow remove ourselves from the here and now in order to obtain…
As humans, we constantly create perceptions. Many, if not most, of these perceptions are false. When a perception is correct, it’s called wisdom. Wise perception is the art of discerning what is true. One way we can practice wise perception is by becoming more aware of…
Of wisdom’s many qualities, the most prevalent description is that it brings light. To be more specific, it doesn’t just bring light; it is light. Wisdom has been described as our inner sun. It provides light and warmth to our lives and circumstances. It illuminates our…
I’m currently reading The Other Shore, Thich Nhat Hanh’s commentary on the Heart Sutra. The Heart Sutra, which includes the well-known phrase “form is emptiness; emptiness is form,” calls us to forget ourselves. This, for Westerners, is problematic and disturbing, because we often define our entire…
In my last post on wisdom, I shared an easy, accessible way to practice wisdom: read wise words daily. Today, I want to talk about the second step of that practice: be mindful of your media diet. This second step is harder, and usually met with…
Just in time for the weekend, here is an easy, accessible way for you to practice wisdom: read wise words daily. I know, this is appallingly obvious. But it bears repeating that we do not gain wisdom through osmosis. We gain it through attention and proximity.…
Did you know there are three lists of paramitas? Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism have similar lists, but a few unique to each one. And in the Mahayana tradition, one sutra names six paramitas, while another names ten. (I’m practicing the ten Mahayana paramitas.) In all, wisdom…
It’s a new month and that means it’s time to practice another of the ten Buddhist paramitas. The paramita for February is wisdom, or prajna. In Buddhism, prajna consists of two parts: right view, and right understanding. Right view means seeing things as they truly are; in other…
