Category: Paramita Project

Under this category we share Paramita Project articles with you.

barrier skillful means

Barriers to Skillful Means

In Monday’s post, I shared the first four of eight qualities Shantideva lists that prevent us from employing skillful means. They are: confusion, distraction, being too easily influenced by others, and complacency. The next four are: Procrastinating Lacking Discipline to Break Bad Patterns Fearfulness Worldliness Procrastination…

sakyamuni trinity

The Sakyamuni Trinity

On Buddhist altars, you will often see three figures: the Sakyamuni Buddha in the center, Manjushri, the wisdom bodhisattva, on one side, and Samantabhadra, the compassionate action bodhisattva, on the other. Like all spiritual iconography, this conveys something important. In this case, it depicts the strength…

wise perception

Wise Perception

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…

wisdom light

The Light of Wisdom

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…

humility

The Wisdom of Humility

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…