The 3 Stages of Mental Perfection:

Ten Keys with Inherent Success:

These 10 precious Helper points should be fully Understood:

1: Enthusiastic Effort in advantageous states greatly helps.
2: Joyous Awareness of the body as only a transient form is to be cultivated.
3: Contact as the cause of mental fermentation & clinging is to be recognized.
4: The Conceit: 'I Am (my Own Body or Mind)' is to be extracted & eliminated.
5: That Irrational Attention leads to loss & decline is to be thoroughly known.
6: Rational Attention, discriminating cause & effect, is to be directed to.
7: That Immediate Absorption of mental Concentration is hard to penetrate to.
8: The Certainty of unshakable, & assured knowledge is to be sought & reached.
9: That all being in existence is maintained by nutriment is to be fully learnt.
10: Absolute & Irreversible mental Release is to be realized & fully entered.

These 10 things are real & true helpers, exactly so & not otherwise,
perfectly discovered & formulated by the Well-Gone-One...



1: http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Energetic_Effort.htm
2: http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Awareness_Sati.htm
3: http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/What_is_Contact.htm
4: http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Conceit_I_Am.htm
5: http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Careless_and_Irrational_Attention.htm
6: http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Careful_and_Rational_Attention.htm
7: http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/What_is_Right_Concentration.htm
8: http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Curing_Doubt_and_Uncertainty.htm
9: http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Origin.htm
10: http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Beyond_Release.htm

Source: The Exhaustive Speeches by the Buddha. Digha Nikāya 34
http://www.pariyatti.com/book.cgi?prod_id=25103
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/digha/index.html

The 10 Helpers of deep Understanding

 

The 3 Stages of Mental Perfection:

The 10 Mental Perfections (paramis = paramitas) are:

1: Generosity (Dāna)
2: Morality (Sīla)
3: Withdrawal (Nekkhamma)
4: Understanding (Pañña)
5: Enthusiastic Energy (Viriya)
6: Patient Forbearance (Khanti)
7: Honesty & Truthfulness (Sacca)
8: Resolute Determination (Adhitthāna)
9: Kind Friendliness (Mettā)
10: Imperturbable Equanimity (Upekkhā)

The Buddha said:
"These few supreme mental qualities, will culminate in complete enlightenment.
There is nothing elsewhere beyond them! Be thorough, firm and systematic
so to complete them all..."

These 10 mental perfections are developed to three levels:
I: Those who awaken as disciples = Savaka-Bodhis give all possessions away
including wife and kids to perfect generosity.
(Similar level with the 9 other perfections...)

II: Those who awaken as Solitary Buddhas = Pacceka-Buddhas give an
organ, limb or eye away to perfect generosity.
(Similar level with the 9 other perfections...)

III: Those who awaken as Perfect Buddhas = Sammāsam-Buddhas give
even their own life away to perfect generosity.
(Similar level with the 9 other perfections...)

The basic perfection of generosity is the relinquishing of one's children,
wives, and belongings, such as wealth. The intermediate perfection of
giving is the relinquishing of one's own limbs. The ultimate perfection of
giving is the relinquishing of one's own life. The 3 stages in the perfection
of morality should be understood as the non-transgression of morality on
account of these three: children and wife, limbs, and life. The three stages in
the perfection of withdrawal is the withdrawal of those three bases after
cutting off attachment to them. The 3 perfections of understanding is the
discrimination between what is advantageous or detrimental to beings after
rooting out craving for one's belongings, limbs, and life. The three stages in
the perfection of energy is striving for the relinquishing of these 3 things.
The three stages in the perfection of patience is tolerance to obstacles
to one's belongings, limbs, and life. The 3 stages of perfection of Honesty
is the non-abandoning of honesty due to one's belongings, limbs, and life.
The 3 stages of perfection of determination, as unshakeable determination
despite the destruction of one's belongings, limbs, and life, bearing in mind
that perfections ultimately succeed through an unflinching determination!
The three stages in the perfection of friendliness is the maintaining of
friendliness towards any one, who destroys one's belongings, limbs, and life!
The 3 stages in the perfection of equanimity is maintaining an attitude of
imperturbable impartial neutrality towards all beings and phenomena, whether
they are helpful or harmful in regard to ones belongings, limbs, and life.
In this way should this analysis of the mental perfections be understood.



Source: Commentary on the Basket of behaviour. Trnsl. by Bhikkhu Bodhi in
Discourse on the All-Embracing Net of Views