Paramis & Paramitas

The Fourth Noble Truth, the Noble Eightfold Path, gives what the Buddhist pilgrim (or practitioner) has to practice, and the path which he has to follow, to achieve Enlightenment and realize Nibbana. There is a parallel path which consists of perfecting certain qualities, which leads the pilgrim to becoming a Samma Sambuddha, a self Enlightened Universal Buddha. The qualities are called the Paramis (perfections) in the Southern traditions and the Paramitas in the Eastern and Northern traditions. The elements of the Noble Path and the Paramis are similar.

The ten Paramis are:

1. Generosity – giving help and benefit to other living beings
2. Morality – live an ethical life
3. Renunciation – renounce worldly pleasures
4. Wisdom – achieve a right understanding of life and the world
5. Energy – persistent effort and not being discouraged by failures
6. Patience – patiently accept life’s ups and downs
7. Truthfulness – honesty and truthfulness in all things
8. Determination – unwavering determination to progress on the path
9. Loving-kindness – show benevolence and compassion to all things
10. Equanimity – develop a perfect mental equilibrium.

The ten Paramitas of the Eastern and Northern traditions are;

1. Generosity
2. Morality
3. Patience
4. Energy
5. Meditation
6. Wisdom
7. Skillful means
8. Resolution
9. Power
10. Knowledge

Despite slight differences in the wording, the two sets of qualities are similar.