When we look at how we act in a certain situation, we need to differentiate between the motivation and the action.

Detail about the Perfection of Patience The next far-reaching attitude is that of patience or tolerance. This again is an attitude, a state of mind, with which we don’t get angry but we’re able to endure various difficulties and suffering. We don’t become disturbed or upset by...

The second far-reaching attitude is ethical self-discipline. We’re not talking about discipline to play a musical instrument or kick a ball, but it has to do with our ethical behavior. It’s not that we are the policeman trying to discipline somebody else, train the dog or...

Let’s look at the six far-reaching attitudes themselves. The first of these is generosity. The Definition of Generosity Generosity is defined as the willingness to give. It’s an attitude, a state of mind. Shantideva wrote: (V.9) (After all,) if the perfection of giving were...

Let us look more closely at the type of nonrevealing form that a pratimoksha vowed restraint (so-sor thar-pa’i sdom-pa, Skt. prātimokṣasaṃvara) is. There Is Only One Nonrevealing Form for All the Branches of a Pratimoksha Vowed Restraint  Vasubandhu adds further detail...

How Vowed Restraints Prevent the Commitment of Actions One Has Pledged to Abstain From In An Extensive Commentary on (Vasubandhu’s “Treasure of Special Topics of Knowledge”): Illuminating the Path to Liberation (mDzod-ṭik thar-lam gsal-byed) (Varanasi ed. 208), the First Dalai...

The six perfections or six far-reaching attitudes will take us all the way to the other shore, which is enlightenment.

Introduction By nature, everyone wants to be happy and no one wants to be unhappy. No one wants to suffer. That nature is what drives an infant to suck milk; it drives us to eat, to find shelter, etc. – it is a natural drive. In order to rid ourselves of unhappiness and...

The guideline for practicing the Mahayana path includes an introduction to the enlightening aim of bodhichitta, the ways of generating it, taking bodhisattva vows and training in the six far-reaching attitudes (paramitas).

The lam-rim texts provide a very detailed scheme for meditating on the precious human rebirth that includes the characteristics of such a rebirth as well as the reasons why it is so difficult to obtain.