3.2.8. The Perfections (Pāramīs)

“May I be generous and helpful!
May I be pure and virtuous!
May I be patient!
May I be strong and energetic!
May I be calm and tranquil!
May I be wise and skillful!
May I be unattached and free!
May I be kind, friendly, and compassionate!
May I be humble, gentle, and modest!
May I be balanced and equanimous!”

— from the Ten Pāramīs Aspirations (traditional Theravāda recitation)

It feels almost tender, the way these qualities unfold — generosity, virtue, patience, energy, and the rest. They are not something I strain to manufacture. Rather, they emerge slowly, like buds in spring, each responding to deeper shifts in perception. This chapter traces how the perfections, or pāramīs, flower naturally along the bodhisattva path, not through sheer will but through profound realisations that gently dismantle our old self-concerns.

The pāramīs are ten noble qualities, seeds already present in most of us, however faintly. As the bodhisattva progresses through the ten bhūmis — the successive “grounds of being” — these qualities ripen into effortless perfections. It is not that the bodhisattva tries to be extraordinarily virtuous or patient. Rather, with each new ground of insight, the very fabric of their mind changes, so these qualities become second nature.

The Ten Perfections

How the perfections mature

Generosity

With the first bhūmi, I recognise how all phenomena are equally empty of inherent meaning. Objects still appear diverse, but without fixed essence — “stuff is just stuff.” There is no active “I” to cling to things. Thus, what the world calls generosity becomes spontaneous. The bodhisattva’s acts of giving are not calculated sacrifices but simple expressions of a mind unburdened by possessiveness.

Virtue

Similarly, virtue arises not from fear or social pressure but because there is nothing left to hide or protect. Without a solid self to defend, the bodhisattva naturally acts with integrity. This might mean breaking superficial conventions if they are morally dubious, always guided by selfless discernment.

Renunciation

By the third bhūmi, the pleasures of the senses lose their lure. I see old identities and attachments as one might recall a dream upon waking: faint, insubstantial. Letting them go is no hardship; it feels like relief. Renunciation is not a grim withdrawal but a joyful simplification, clearing space for deeper work.

Wisdom

Now the mind rests in a profound wisdom, seeing conditioned reality exactly for what it is: fleeting, interdependent, without lasting substance. There is a clear division between that which arises and passes — the world of causes and conditions — and the timeless, luminous knowing that underlies it.

Energy

Freed from chasing after phenomena, the mind becomes naturally energetic yet tranquil. Actions flow directly from wisdom, unencumbered by the restless habit of compulsive doing. There is a playful vitality here, a joy in simply moving through the world without internal resistance.

Patience

As self-concepts dissolve, so too does the tyranny of time. Each moment stands alone, vivid and complete. Without a rigid narrative of “me” stretching from past to future, there is no hurry, no impatience. Experience becomes almost childlike in its freshness — everything worth savoring, nothing needing to be rushed.

Truthfulness

When the last traces of self-clinging fade, truthfulness is the only mode left. Not as an imposed virtue, but because there is simply no reason to deceive. Yet this honesty is also skillful: the bodhisattva may weave stories or adopt mysterious guises, all to gently guide beings beyond suffering. It is never about self-preservation.

Determination

Having uprooted even the most subtle seeds of self, the mind stands immovable. Thoughts may still dance across awareness, but they find nothing to latch onto. This is a profound stability — determination without strain — born from the exhaustion of all inward causes for defilement.

Loving-kindness

At the ninth bhūmi, distinctions between saṃsāra and nirvāṇa dissolve. Beings are seen as sleeping Buddhas, worthy of infinite compassion. Karma itself becomes an elegant dance rather than a binding chain, and the bodhisattva’s heart holds all without preference.

Equanimity

Finally, at the tenth bhūmi, there is perfect equanimity. Awareness no longer fastens onto particular objects but opens boundlessly, embracing everything at once. This is the root of omniscience: with nothing singled out, nothing is left out. All appearances arise as the self-display of a mind free from grasping.

So the pāramīs bloom, not through heroic effort, but through a gradual emptying of the self that would otherwise cling, hoard, deceive, or despair. Each new ground of realisation strips away another layer of obscuration, until only a radiant, impartial awareness remains. In this way, the bodhisattva matures into a Buddha — not by adding virtues, but by uncovering the luminous purity always waiting beneath.

This text is excerpted from the upcoming book Citrinitas: A Course in Modern Alchemy. The complete volume will include additional study guides, glossaries, and extended teachings. Learn more about the book here.