I caught you cheating/ You had the nerve to say you're sleeping, just not with her/ But tell your friends that I'll be lost without you/ And I'll admit it, sometimes I miss when we were in it/ So I made a list so I'll never forget all the things I hate about you:
[CHORUS]
Ten, you're selfish/ Nine, you're jaded/ Eight, the dumbest guy I've dated/ Seven, talk a big game 'til you're naked/ Only six seconds and I had to fake it/ Five, you're toxic/ Four, can't trust you/ Three, you still got mommy issues/ Two years of your bullshit I can't undo/ One, I hate the fact that you made me love you//
Your friends must suck if they think you're cool/ A sloppy drunk obsessed with his Juul/ Keep buying bottles with your daddy's money/ And I don't know how I fell for your shit/ You gross me out, now I've got the ick/ And I've got a list of why you don't get to uck me [CHORUS]
You made me love you/ You made me love you/ Ooh, oh, how'd you make me love you?/ And I'll admit it, sometimes I miss when we were in it/ So I made a list, yeah/ Ten things I hate about you
(Common Ego, July 26, 2022) Want to catch a narcissist off guard? Ask any of these six questions a narcissist can't answer. Sure, they may try, but these questions for a narcissist are likely to send them spiraling into a world of word salad as they try to get their bearings.
There is a "Buddhist Goddess," a Sophia of the East, the embodiment and personification of perfect wisdom: Prajna-Paramita.
There are ten "perfections" (paramis or paramitas) a bodhisattva ("being striving for perfect enlightenment") cultivates if s/he wishes to forgo a disciple's enlightenment for the supreme enlightenment of a non-teaching (pacceka) buddha or enlightenment with the ability to effectively teach and establish the true wheel of the Dharma in a world that has lost its way, a samma-sam-buddha.
The culmination of transcendental knowledge -- liberating insight that has transcended ego, suffering, and impermanence -- Prajna Paramita is the feminine “Perfection of Wisdom,” who gives birth to all buddhas.
Interestingly, the Goddess of Compassion, Kwan Yin (Guanyin), is much more famous. Both are essential elements of a supremely enlightened teacher's attainment.
Serene face of knowing-and-seeing
Her face is serene, having attained the freedom of awakening.
Like Kwan Yin, she is sometimes depicted as having the many arms of an omnipotent Hindu goddess (devi), which is likely the largest influence on the rise of "goddesses" as prominent subjects of Buddhist reverence.
For the Vedic religion and subsequent Hinduism promote mono- and polytheism as ways of talking about ineffable subjects directly. There is just one GOD, Brahman, the Ultimate Reality behind the illusion of maya, which finds expression in many gods and goddesses.
So the root of all buddhas, in this way of thinking, is no ordinary deva but a superlative one: impersonal wisdom.
The strange back story of the tantric Taras suggests that "goddess" is more an honorific -- a divine-human hybrid appealing to warrior nobles like Prince Siddhartha and his fellow Scythians/Shakyians -- than specific to any distinction in knowledge-and-vision worthy of the noble ones.
These goddess-figures are usually shown holding symbols illustrating their role. Prajna Paramita is a teacher, so she is often depicted holding meditation beads (emblematic of the eternal cycles of time), a rope or magic lasso (like Wonder Woman's, to retrieve those who have strayed from the Path), fruit (for prosperity or path-and-fruition), a lotus (purity), a vase (abundance) and, most importantly, a book (knowledge or wisdom).
Free hands are held in a hand-yoga gesture (mudra) signifying "teaching."
The Perfection of Wisdom (prajnaparamita) literature is a collection of later sacred texts that declare the path to liberating-insight or transcendent-wisdom (bodhi, vipassana, nyana/ñana).
In the Heart Sutra, the possessor of such wisdom is Avalokiteshvara, "the one looks down upon [and hears the cries of] the world."
He is taken to be or to have later been transformed into the merciful Kwan Yin (Mother Goddess, Mother Mary figure, a new Saraswati or Lakshmi), but the wisdom itself is Prajna (paññá).
What came first, the sacred texts or the goddess embodying them?
Other "goddesses"
Khema, foremost in wisdom (iwilliam/flickr)
Sadly, for all this talk of Prajna Paramita and Avalokita (Kwan Yin), we are deprived of knowledge of the Buddha's real-life "wisdom goddesses," as embodied in his rarely discussed two chief female disciples -- KHEMA and UPPALAVANNA.
And little is said about the Buddha's two mothers, Maha Pajapati (Prajābatī, who became the first Buddhist nun in history) and his birth-mother Queen Maha Maya Devi.
Why are they rarely discussed? Likely due to sexism and neglect, the ancient Order of Nun (Bhikkhuni Sangha) the Buddha began as an essential element of his mission became defunct. And with that loss so went knowledge of discourses (sutras) delivered to nuns:
One never sees, "O, bhikkhunis!" as the opening of any sutra, yet it is certain the Buddha must have started many discourses this way. And there must have been other now lost discourse delivered by these two nuns to the female monastic community. For they were as important as the wonderful and well-known chief male disciples, Sariputra and Maha Moggallana, we read about all the time.
Female monastics forced on the Buddha is what we have all been taught as the history (his story) of the Nun's Sangha. But what did the Buddha actually say about women? In the "Great Final-Nirvana Sutra" (Maha-parinibbana Sutta, DN 16), Mara Namuci quotes the Buddha, who agrees he accomplished his goal:
"For the Blessed One, O venerable sir, spoke these words to me: 'I shall not come to my final passing away, Namuci, until my bhikkhus and bhikkhunis [monks and nuns or male and female wandering ascetics], as well as laymen and laywomen, have come to be true disciples -- wise, well disciplined, apt and learned, preservers of the Dharma, living according to the Dharma, abiding by the appropriate conduct, and having learned the Teacher's word, are able to expound it, preach it, proclaim it, establish it, reveal it, explain it in detail, and make it clear; until, when adverse opinions arise, they shall be able to refute them thoroughly and well, and to preach this convincing and liberating Dharma'" (Verse 7).
ñána: "Knowledge, comprehension, intelligence, insight" is a synonym for paññá (Sanskrit prajna); see also vipassaná.
ñána-dassana-visuddhi: "Purification of knowledge and vision" [knowing-and-seeing] is the last of the seven purifications and a name for path-knowledge (magga-ñána), i.e., the penetrating realization of the path of Stream-winning, Once-returning, Non-returning, and Arhatship [full enlightenment]. The Path of Purification (XXII) furnishes a detailed explanation of it; (see visuddhi, VII).
Buddhist Teachings (collectively referred to as the Dhamma, or "what is true for everyone in the world") deal with noble focus and good thinking in kind and positive ways, first toward oneself then eventually toward all beings. Here Ajahn ("Teacher") Nyanadhammo talks about how to be kind and compassionate to all living beings and the benefits of doing so.
ABOUT: Ven. Nyanadhammo was born in 1955 in Australia, where he studied biology in college. His contact with the Dharma came from reading a Buddhist book, which eventually inspired him to travel to Thailand to receive his novice ordination in 1978 at Wat Bowon Niwet Wiharn in Bangkok. Full ordination as a monk followed in 1979 at the age of 24, under Ven. Ajahn Chah at Wat Pah Pong in Ubon Ratchathani. In 2002, he became abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat, the Western branch monastery with an international community of English-speaking monks. In 2007, he became abbot of Wat Ratanawan, where he currently resides (bubsoc.org).
#GivingTuesday connects diverse groups of individuals, communities,
and organizations around the world for one common purpose: to celebrate
and encourage giving (Buddhist dana).
A team of "influencers" and founding partners joined
forces, collaborating across sectors, offering expertise working to launch #GivingTuesday. They have continued to shape, grow,
and strengthen the movement.
Dāna is the act and practice of giving, generosity, letting go. It is a profitable thing to do, although its benefits are immediately sublime and with time ripen later to tangible results in our conditions and situation.
Giving to moral people is a cause of more merit, so giving is often directed at monastics
or spiritually-developing people.
In Buddhism, it has the effect
of purifying and transforming the mind of the giver reducing and eliminating ego and relieving the giver of clinging and the suffering that arises from holding wrong views and actions.
Generosity developed through giving leads to the experience of material wealth and future rebirth in fortunate states. In the Pāli language canon's Dighajanu Sutra, generosity (Pāli cāga, synonymous with dāna)
is identified as one of the four traits conditioning happiness and
wealth in this and future lives.
Conversely, nongiving, not letting go, grasping, clinging leads to unhappy
states and poverty.
Dāna leads to one of the pāramitās or "perfections," the dāna pāramitā. This can be characterized by unattached and unconditional generosity, giving and letting go.
It is better to give without grasping after results, but even giving with the right view that such karma bears wished-for and welcome results is very good. If it feels good to do good, the Buddha encouraged the world to keep doing it and to do more of it.
Buddhists believe that giving without seeking anything in return
leads to greater spiritual wealth. Moreover, it reduces the acquisitive
impulses that ultimately lead to continued disappointment/suffering from egotism. More
Hope he doesn't come over when my husband's there, hope he remembers low fat... (N)
.
Change your mind, change your life
There was this car, this reckless driver, that cut me off. I slammed on my brakes, burned with fury, and followed her. She pulled over. I cocked my fists in full ROAD RAGE mode, went to undo my seat belt, then realized I wasn't even wearing one! Which made me angrier, because I realized I really could have died due to this #$%@*&'s thoughtless driving -- I mean I was riding pretty fast. And this careless, careless jerk wasn't paying attention: "Hey" I screamed, "why don't you watch where I'm going?!"
Funny? Oh, because she should obviously be watching where I'm going? She needs to be responsible for me, or just what kind of society are we living in?! There are road rules...and, apparently, only I can break them! Everybody -- that means all y'all -- should be considerate of me, my body, my feelings, and my perspective in every situation, or I am gonna be p*ssed! Maybe she doesn't like speeding bikes in her way? Maybe you don't?
Look at the things I get mad at! I was cut off and inconvenienced. It's not like I was being cheated on. That would really need patience and a level head. Oh to have khanti! Sweet Dharma, wherefore art thou?
Khanti: "forbearance," "patience," "forgiveness" is one of the Ten Perfections (pāramī) in Buddhism.
More than simple forgiveness after the fact -- which is something we must do anew every time we recall an upsetting incident of being (or even perceiving that we have been) violated, trespassed, molested, bothered, or otherwise inconvenienced -- khanti means pre-forgiveness.
We must have forbearance, which the Buddha called "the highest virtue," the ability to tolerate, endure, and remain equanimous when things do not go to our liking.
Very be careful or end up on another "bike."
If we pre-forgive there will be nothing to forgive later -- and that will make our lives so much easier that we can hardly comprehend its value.
Who would we be if we did not throw away our energy getting mad in the first place then getting madder when we recollect someone else's wrongdoing?
Our karma is our karma (the bad mental karma of dredging up the past, the Wrong Path, recollection full of resentment, that re-upsets us). Their karma is their karma, reckless causing accidents out of ignorance, selfishness, or animosity (aka greed, hatred, delusion). It is not our job to fix them, but it is our job to fix ourselves. It is not their job to fix us, but it is their job to work on themselves. We can all help one another, but we cannot do each other's work for one another. "Everyone is heir to one's own karma," teaches the Buddha (AN 5.57). And whatever we are heir to, it will arrive, it will arrive. Let's make it something welcome and joyful.
It's called a "bike." - No, friend, I meant are those Shimano brakes? They're not going to cut it. Look at this guy, trying to use cut-rate brakes in the Last Himalayan Buddhist Kingdom!
The treatise [on the perfections or paramis] draws upon various sources for its material, both Theravada ["Teaching of the Elders," namely the earliest Enlightened Disciples of the Buddha] and Mahayana ["Great Vehicle," populist interpretation], and thus represents perhaps a unique instance of a classical style Theravada work consciously borrowing from its northern cousin.
In matters of philosophical doctrine, however, the work never deviates from the [older] Theravada perspective. The set of Ten Paramis itself comes from the Buddhavamsa, as does the discussion of the great aspiration (abhinihara) with its eight qualifications.
All of this had become part of the standard Theravada tradition by the time the work was composed and was easily absorbed. Other Pali [language] sources -- the sutras, Jatakas [Birth Tales], later canonical works, the Path of Perfection (Visuddhimagga), etc. -- have all contributed to the overall composition of the treatise.
The basic methodology of the commentaries is evident in the explication of the Ten Paramis by way of the fourfold defining-device of characteristic, function, manifestation, and proximate cause (Section V).
The heritage of the oral traditions of various teachers in later Pali scholasticism is seen in the various views expressed on the three grades of practice for each [perfection] (Section XI), on the correlation of the four foundations with the different stages of the bodhisattva's career (Section XII), and on the classification of time required for the completion of the [perfections] (Section XIV).
Maitreya the Buddha-to-come, Ladakh, India
Perhaps the influence of another [now defunct] early school, the Sarvastivada, lies behind the dyadic treatment of the Six Paramitas (Section XII).
The main Mahayana work utilized by the author is the Bodhisattvabhumi, the fifteenth chapter of the Yogacarabhumi, a voluminous text of the Yogacara school ascribed to Maitreyanatha, the teacher of Asanga.
The Bodhisattvabhumi has contributed to the sections on the practice of the [perfections], particularly the first, on the four shackles to giving, and on the special accomplishments resulting from the [perfections].
The originals, however, have all been divested of their specifically Mahayana features to make them fully compatible with the Theravada perspective.
Mahayana influence may further be discernible in the emphasis on compassion and skillful means [upaya], in the vows to benefit all beings, in the statement that the bodhisattva causes beings "to enter and reach maturity in the three vehicles," etc.
Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka (Cyrille Gibot/flickr)
On points of doctrine, as we mentioned, the work remains well within the bounds of Theravada orthodoxy. Its section on the perfection of wisdom has nothing more in common with the Prajnaparamita [Heart of Wisdom] literature than the core of Buddhist doctrine shared by all schools.
There is nothing about the identity of nirvana and samsara, the triple body of the Buddha [a borrowed Brahminical/Hindu concept], the suchness and sameness of all dharmas, mind-only, the provisional nature of the disciple and pacceka buddha vehicles, or any of the other ideas distinctive of the Mahayana.
Even the mention of emptiness (shunyata) is restricted to the absence of a self or ego-entity and is not carried through to the radical ontology of the [latter day] Mahayana sutras.
The discussion of wisdom [prajna] draws entirely upon the Pali sutras and the [commentarial Path of Purification known as the] Visuddhimagga, only with the stipulation that the bodhisattva must balance wisdom with compassion and skillful means and must postpone his entrance upon the supramundane path until [a person's] requisites of enlightenment are fully mature. More
Wisdom Quarterly; American Bhikkhu Bodhi (translator), "A Treatise on the Paramis from the Commentary to the Cariyapitaka," 2005 (Wikipedia "Paramis"/AccessToInsight.org)
Massive Buddha tower in Burma, Afghan-style (Sylvain Brajeul/flickr.com)
But as time went on, a backstory was provided for development of the Buddha through many rebirths; as a result, the Ten Perfections were identified as part of the path for a bodhisattva (one striving for "supreme" enlightenment as a rediscoverer and teacher of the Dharma). Over subsequent centuries, the perfections (pāramīs or paramitas) were seen as being significant for aspirants to both supreme buddhahood and sainthood (arhatship). So Bhikkhu Bodhi summarizes:
"It should be noted that in established Theravāda tradition the
pāramīs are not regarded as a discipline peculiar to candidates for Buddhahood alone but as practices which must be fulfilled by all
aspirants to enlightenment and deliverance [nirvana], whether as samma-sam-buddhas, paccekabuddhas, or disciples of a buddha.
"What distinguishes the supreme bodhisattva from aspirants in the other
two vehicles is the degree to which the pāramīs must be cultivated and
the length of time they must be pursued. But the qualities themselves
are universal requisites for deliverance, which all must fulfill to at
least a minimal degree to merit the fruits of the liberating path." More
Roshi Jeff Albrizze and his wife Amanda have a secret to reveal on or about Doomsday 2012.
What an amazing announcement. Highly impressed doesn't even begin to cover it. Congratulations! I am seriously considering trying to reincarnate this December just so I can have the coolest Hoodoo parents ever! But I guess I'll wait and give some other chap a chance to enter this realm. Looking forward to the baby shower! -Kast
The Zen Center of Los Angeles (ZCLA) has a paper on the four vows comparing different translations, including some of the original language.
Wikipedia also has an excellent article as well on the topic “Bodhisattva vow.”
My final opinion as to what should be chanted has changed every day for the last few days. So I must continue to reflect and research. But I like what I have so far. Zen Master Red Pine made some interesting comments on how he translates his material, when he recently spoke at ZCLA. Combining the meaning with the rhythm and poetry of the words is a big challenge.
"I didn't think we had a choice. I like Jeff's ideas but I want to remain within the Yokoji Zen Mountain Center/ZCLA orthodoxy." -Ron
"For the first vow, I even like this version even more: 'Sentient beings are numberless. I vow to free them.' Free them from my judgments and self righteousness. For desires, do we really want to end our desire for happiness? Or do we want to bring happiness to others? Which desires do we want to want to end and which keep?" -Don
Sisyphus according to Greek legend
"I wasn't aware that all these different centers used different versions of the four vows. Seeing them all (Thank you, Mara!) gives me a different perspective on this issue than I would have had otherwise. AtZCSD we didn't chant any version of the four vows.
"I think of the ZCLA four vows, when I say them, as being sort of an articulation or embodiment of the absurd human condition, in the sense of 'the absurd' being the difference between what one intends (truly, with all one's heart) and what is actually possible. I see them as Sisyphean vows. I'm also used to saying them with the cadence, etc. that we do now and am not all that enthusiastic about having to learn a new way of saying an old, familiar chant.
"But it's fine with me if PasaDharma members who feel strongly about the four vows want to chant a different version of them.
"How about chanting them in Japanese? I'd be fine with that, too. There's something to be said for experiencing the act of chanting (hearing, feeling, forming/creating the sounds, etc.) without being distracted by the content of the chant." -Richard
The Perfect Wording?
As American Buddhists we already change the original words of the Bodhisattva vows from the Zen traditions of China, Japan, and Korea by translating them into modern English. The benefits of understanding -- Martin Luther would agree -- far outweigh what is lost in translation.
Perhaps we should compare translations and find the one that best preserves the meaning of the original wording. That would include their koan/ riddle quality of vowing to attain the apparently unattainable.
Wikipedia has a chart of the original wording used in five languages. ZCLA has notes on the four great vows with the original words and how nine different Zen groups translate them to help us come to a satisfactory interpretation.
1. “Masses [of] creatures, without-bounds, [I/we] vow to save (paramita) [them all].”
None of the translations account for the “without-bounds” state referred to in the original vow which is harming the masses. The translation for “save” comes from the word paramita (a "perfection" developed for the sake of becoming a buddha), meaning “to take over to the other shore.” Using the word “serve” for “save” changes the meaning slightly. Serving people is different from saving them. One can serve people in many different ways, and that may lead to saving them from their “without-bounds” state. “Save” seems like a better pick in words for the original paramita, especially when confronting the without-bounds culture we live in today. “I vow to free them” seems almost as good. The ZCLA site suggests the word “enlighten,” which is perhaps the most specific understanding of the word paramita in the Buddhist context and the only thing that is real salvation. “Enlighten” includes the meanings of both “save” and “free” (liberate). This seems to capture that meaning best:
“Numberless beings are without bounds, I vow to enlighten them.”
“Anxiety, hate, and deluded-desires]” refers to the word klesha(s), which are “mental states that cloud the mind and manifest in unwholesome actions (karma).” The three root kleshas are “greed, hate, and delusion” (or “attachment, aversion, and ignorance”), which lead to many other destructive mental states. The words “delusions,” “desires,” “passions,” “obstacles” come close to the original meaning of the word kleshas. Choosing just one of them leaves out a lot, with the remainder being lost in translation. The Diamond Sangha’s choice of wording seems to be the most comprehensive and closest to the original meaning, without resorting to a long list of the different kleshas. The word “sever,” as in “sever ties,” means “to cut off” and fits better with the rhythm of the chant. As much as we would like to “cut off” a particularly troublesome klesha forever, the best we can often hope for is to sever ties to it. It may yet linger waiting for a chance to arise again:
“Though greed, hatred, and ignorance rise endlessly, I vow to sever them.”
3. “Dharma gates beyond-measure [I/we] vow to learn [them all].”
Using the word “practice” for “learn” does not imply any sense of attempted accomplishment. “Penetration” implies a beginning level of understanding. “Understanding” indicates a higher level of development beyond just trying to actually practicing. Isn’t this what we should be aiming for? The Diamond Sangha’s translation captures the koan possibilities of the vow best, since, if the Dharma is literally fathomless, understanding is impossible.
“Though the Dharma is vast and fathomless, I vow to understand it.”
4. “Buddha Way, nothing-higher, [I/we] vow to accomplish [it]”
“Embody” is a great translation for the word “to become, attain, turn into” (bhavana). Spirit (ephemeral intention) becomes flesh (solid materiality). The Diamond Sangha translation catches the koan-like quality best with attaining the unobtainable.” We realize that the vows are unattainable, but we vow to attain them anyway. Does their adding “fully” to the end make it more meaningful? It is hard to be sure. It throws off the rhythm of the chant a little and takes the punch out of “embody.”
“Though Buddha’s way is beyond attainment, I vow to embody it.”
The life of an American Buddhist practicing, or trying to practice, in the West
So what are we left with?
“Though numberless beings are without bounds, I vow to enlighten them.”
“Though greed, hatred, and delusion arise endlessly, I vow to sever them.”
“Though the Dharma is vast and fathomless, I vow to understand it.”
“Though the Buddha’s way is beyond attainment, I vow to embody it.”
What does everyone think? The rhythm and simplicity of the old vows may fall to the wayside, one might appreciate the depth the Diamond Sangha has added with their translations.
In our fundamental or Theravada Buddhist tradition, we have five essential vows in the Five Precepts:
I vow to abstain from killing.
I vow to abstain from stealing.
I vow to abstain from sexual irresponsibility.
I vow to abstain from deceiving.
I vow to abstain from intoxication occasioning heedlessness.
Without our vows, whatever they may be, we join the “masses of creatures without-bounds.” Of course, as with any translation, ultimately the Buddha was right in extolling the virtues of noble silence. The Sufi poet Rumi famously agreed:
“Silence is the language of God -- All else is poor translation.”
The Buddhist calendar
begins with the final nirvana of the historical Buddha.
According to that event this is "Buddhist Year" 2556. It began on the full moon day of May (May 6, 2012).
The greatness of the Buddha was measured in terms of his virtue, concentration, and wisdom. But he is remembered as a guide because of the effectiveness of the teachings, the Dharma, he made known.
The virtues of the Buddha are reckoned as incalculable, immeasurable, unfathomable. They are like waves in
the ocean, redounding through time and imponderable. Nevertheless, the larger waves may be counted.
Therefore, the Buddha's virtues are sometimes condensed
for the sake of reflection (Buddhanusati, recollection and contemplation) into nine great virtues:
worthy (of honor and hospitality, gifts and praise, veneration
and respect)
self-awakened (enlightened through his own trailblazing efforts rather than benefiting from the discovery of another fully enlightened teacher)
endowed with knowledge
and conduct (six unparalleled
aspects of superknowledge
and ethical personal behavior in accordance with wisdom and compassion)
well gone (attained to the supreme, the unexcelled, nirvana)
knower of the world (who fully knew
both inner and outer worlds, the dimensions and paths of karma)
supreme trainer of persons
to be tamed (a master physician for the physical pain and, moreover, the mental suffering of living beings)
teacher of devas and humans (guide of "shining ones," sometimes called "gods," who are subtle-unseen beings of various kinds, as well as ordinary human beings)
awakened (buddha, awake and able to awaken others by inspiring and pointing out the path-of-practice that brings about the realization of liberating truth)
blessed (holder of great virtues).
It is on account of these that so many revered and held as sacred the advice and instructions of Siddhartha Gautama who became the "Buddha." His enlightenment is thought to have happened 2,600 years ago.
Other virtues include the Ten Perfections that led to buddhahood.
Sanskrit Chanting from Malaysia, Petaling Jaya Tibetan Han version
The Jaya Mangala Gatha ("Stanzas of Victory," "Halo'd Triumphs," or "Verses of Success") celebrates the triumph of the creative power of goodness over the destructive force of the unwholesome. Although pessimists have asserted that what is bad, being infectious, spreads easily and therefore prevails in the world, goodness is even more infectious and spreads yet more easily.
One bad overpowering another can never be considered a victory, for bad alone is perpetuated. Goodness, however, not only overpowers what is base and unskilful, but triumphs by sublimating and transmuting it. It is no mere idealistic sentiment; this grand conquest is a verifiable truth. It is the basis of social evolution, a civilizing force countering selfish brutality or what some call the "law of the jungle."
The eight episodes in the Buddha's life that are touted in the Jaya Mangala Gatha depict him drawing on subjective sources of power in order to triumph over various malevolent forces. Each verse expresses an act of will born of unshakable confidence in the efficacy of good spiritual power, which can be tapped for the welfare of oneself and others. This is the central unifying theme of these Stanzas of Victory.
In a Buddhist context, the invocation of spiritual power is more than an earnest wish for a transmission from a higher source. It means evoking, activating, and perfecting one's own higher potentials, through volition and balanced self-effort. These powers are distinct and specific. They are divided into three categories, known in Pali as paramis (Perfections), balas (Powers), and Roads to Success (iddhipadas).
MOD (Messengers of Dharma) present the Jaya Mangala Gatha in Singapore
There are ten spiritual perfections (paramis) to be consummated in order to achieve nirvana or "spiritual liberation." When fulfilled they enable one to destroy the mental fetters that create bondage to birth, aging, death, and rebirth. These perfections also ensure success in meeting external dangers and challenges:
Giving (dana)
Personal moral purification (sila)
Renunciation (nekkhamma)
Wisdom (prajna)
Balanced effort (viriya) [neither too strenuous nor too slack]
Enduring patience (khanti)
Truthfulness (sacca)
Determination (adhitthana)
Universal love (metta)
Equanimity (upekkha)
They are integral to the attainment of enlightenment ("personal-buddhahood") and are absolute necessities for the cultivation of supreme buddhahood. In accordance with one's aspiration, they are fulfilled at one of three levels of intensity:
ARHAT-"BUDDHA"
As a prerequisite to arhatship, they must all be developed. The seeker treading the Path taught by a buddha when it is available then becomes an arhat (someone who is enlightened but not necessarily able to effectively teach) and attains nirvana.
The aspirant to perfect-buddhahood (sammsambuddha), however, must stop short of nirvana in order to make manifest the resolve to become an eminently skillful teacher who re-establishes the liberating Dharma when it has been lost, obscured, or destroyed in the world.
PACCEKA BUDDHA
Fulfillment of the ten perfections twice over, through the course of many lifetimes, is necessary for the arising of an independently-enlightened buddha who is however unable to teach. This kind of buddha is known as a "non-teaching perfectly enlightened one" (pacceka-buddha). These more numerous hermit-like buddhas must rediscover nirvana for themselves. As they appear during time cycles when the Dharma is lost to the world, they are unable to impart the Teachings or to help others attain enlightenment.
SAMMASAM-BUDDHA In order to become an extremely rare Supremely or Perfectly Enlightened One (sammasam-buddha), one must exert oneself to fulfill the ten perfections thrice over. To accomplish this will take a "buddha-to-be," or bodhisattva, incalculable aeons. The Rebirth Tales (Jataka stories) chronicle the great sacrifices made by the historical Bodhisattva (who became the Buddha) in fulfilling these perfections. A Perfectly Enlightened One not only rediscovers nirvana without the benefit of the Dharma, but also enables innumerable beings to experience enlightenment.
When the Teachings no longer exist in the world -- when they are no longer remembered, preserved in some form or other, or practiced -- the Dharma remains the same. But no one is able to access it until a buddha agains makes it known. While it still exists in the world, it is perpetuated through a buddha's disciples, the Sangha, which is the most likely place to find arhats.
There are seven powers (balas), which are also known as "spiritual faculties" or indriyas. Their cultivation is necessary for the successful development of the Ten Perfections:
When fully developed through the meditative absorptions (jhanas), these give the aspirant supernatural abilities capable of subduing malevolent forces. They also enable one to provide comfort and assistance to those dependent on one for spiritual protection.
The spiritual powers remain dormant until activated and made relevant to a given situation by right effort, which recurs as a common factor in all three categories. Right effort means the persevering and balanced fourfold application of:
restraint
overcoming
developing
maintaining
One restrains unwholesome impulses that have not yet arisen from arising, overcomes any that have arisen; develops the good that has not yet arisen, and maintains any that have arisen.
The Halo'd Verses (Jayamangala Gatha) can be construed as a meeting ground of self-effort and "grace." While this inspirational paradigm for generating various spiritual powers involves personal energy and effort, it also invokes the grace of spiritual immanence, tejasa. Here, then, is an integrated approach fusing intellect, emotion, and volition.
Recited daily as a spiritual discipline, with conviction and understanding, these verses lead to the systematic unfoldment of inner faculties that draw upon the power of the Buddha. Just as a crystal absorbs and emits electromagnetic energy, one who taps this power also shares it. Thus, with boundless compassion, the Buddha made available an inexhaustible source of spirituality, which overcomes all impediments and dangers from within and without. Hence the earnest invocation of the seeker, "By this mighty triumph may joyous victory be mine!"
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