Editing Pāramitā (section)

== Theravāda Buddhism ==
Theravada teachings on the ''pāramīs'' can be found in late canonical books and post-canonical [[Atthakatha|commentaries]]. Theravada commentator [[Dhammapāla|Dhammapala]] describes them as noble qualities usually associated with [[bodhisattva]]s.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/wheel409.pdf|title=A treatise on the Paramis : from the commentary to the Cariyapitaka|last=Dhammapala, Acariya.|date=1996|publisher=Buddhist Publication Society|others=Bodhi, Bhikkhu.|isbn=955-24-0146-1|location=Kandy, Sri Lanka|pages=1|oclc=40888949|access-date=2020-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622131026/http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/wheel409.pdf|archive-date=2017-06-22|url-status=live}}</ref> American scholar-monk [[Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu|Thanissaro Bhikkhu]] describes them as perfections ''(paramī)'' of character necessary to achieve enlightenment as one of the three enlightened beings, a ''[[Sammasambuddha|samma sambuddha]]'', a ''[[Pratyekabuddha|pacceka-buddha]]'', or an ''[[arahant]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/study/perfections.html|title=The Ten Perfections: A Study Guide|website=www.accesstoinsight.org|access-date=2020-01-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502001703/https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/study/perfections.html|archive-date=2019-05-02|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Canonical sources ===
[[File:Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita Bodhisattva Helping.jpeg|upright|thumb|A [[bodhisattva]] benefitting sentient beings. [[Palm-leaf manuscript]]. [[Nalanda]], [[Bihar]], India]]

In the [[Pāli Canon]], the ''[[Buddhavamsa]]'' of the ''[[Khuddaka Nikaya|Khuddaka Nikāya]]'' lists the ten perfections (''dasa pāramiyo'') as:<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/wheel409.pdf|title=A treatise on the Paramis : from the commentary to the Cariyapitaka|last=Dhammapala, Acariya.|date=1996|publisher=Buddhist Publication Society|others=Translated by Bodhi, Bhikkhu.|isbn=955-24-0146-1|location=Kandy, Sri Lanka|pages=2–5|oclc=40888949|access-date=2020-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622131026/http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/wheel409.pdf|archive-date=2017-06-22|url-status=live}}</ref>

# ''[[Dāna]] pāramī'': generosity, giving of oneself
# ''[[Śīla|Sīla]] pāramī'': virtue, morality, proper conduct
# ''[[Nekkhamma]] pāramī'': renunciation
# ''[[Prajñā (Buddhism)|Paññā]] pāramī'': wisdom, discernment
# ''[[Vīrya|Viriya]] pāramī'': energy, diligence, vigour, effort
# ''[[Kshanti|Khanti]] pāramī'': patience, tolerance, forbearance, acceptance, endurance
# ''[[Sacca]] pāramī'': truthfulness, honesty
# ''[[Adhiṭṭhāna]] pāramī'': determination, resolution
# ''[[Mettā]] pāramī'': goodwill, friendliness, loving-kindness
# ''[[Upekkha|Upekkhā]] pāramī'': equanimity, serenity

Two of these [[virtue]]s—''mettā'' and ''upekkhā''—are also [[brahmavihara|brahmavihāras]], and two – ''vīrya'' and ''upekkhā''—are [[Seven Factors of Awakening|factors of awakening]].

=== Historicity ===
The Theravāda teachings on the pāramīs can be found in canonical books (''[[Jataka tales]]'', ''[[Apadāna]]'', ''[[Buddhavamsa]]'', ''[[Cariyapitaka|Cariyāpiṭaka]]'') and post-canonical [[Atthakatha|commentaries]] written to supplement the Pāli Canon that therefore might not be an original part of the Theravāda teachings.<ref>"[Prose portions of the ''Jātakas''] originally did not form part of [the Theravādins] scriptures": Nalinaksha Dutt (1978) ''Buddhist Sects in India''. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (Delhi), 2nd Edition: 224
* Regarding the ''Cariyāpiṭaka'', Horner (2000), ''Cariyāpiṭaka'' section, p. vi, writes that it is "[c]onsidered to be post-[[Asoka]]n...."</ref> The oldest parts of the ''[[Sutta Pitaka|Sutta Piṭaka]]'' (for example, ''[[Majjhima Nikaya|Majjhima Nikāya]]'', ''[[Digha Nikaya|Digha Nikāya]]'', ''[[Samyutta Nikaya|Saṃyutta Nikāya]]'' and the ''[[Anguttara Nikaya|Aṅguttara Nikāya]]'') do not mention the pāramīs as a category (though they are all mentioned individually).<ref>"[the Theravādins’] early literature did not refer to the pāramitās." Nalinaksha Dutt (1978) ''Buddhist Sects in India''. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (Delhi), 2nd Edition: 228</ref>

Some scholars refer to the pāramīs as a semi-Mahāyāna teaching added to the scriptures at a later time in order to appeal to the interests and needs of the lay community and to popularize their religion.<ref>"The incorporation of pāramis by the Theravādins in the Jātakas reveals that they were not immune from Mahāyānic influence. This happened, of course, at a much later date[.]" Nalinaksha Dutt (1978) ''Buddhist Sects in India''. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (Delhi), 2nd Edition: 219
* "It is evident that the Hinayānists, either to popularize their religion or to interest the laity more in it, incorporated in their doctrines the conception of Bodhisattva and the practice of pāramitās. This was effected by the production of new literature: the Jātakas and Avadānas." Nalinaksha Dutt (1978) ''Buddhist Sects in India''. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (Delhi), 2nd Edition: 251. The term "Semi-Mahāyāna" occurs here as a subtitle.</ref> However, these views rely on the early scholarly presumption of Mahāyāna originating with religious devotion and appeal to laity. More recently, scholars have started to open up early Mahāyāna literature, which is very ascetic and expounds the ideal of the monk's life in the forest.<ref>"As scholars have moved away from this limited corpus, and have begun to explore a wider range of Mahāyāna sutras, they have stumbled on, and have started to open up, a literature that is often stridently ascetic and heavily engaged in reinventing the forest ideal, an individualistic, antisocial, ascetic ideal that is encapsulated in the apparently resurrected image of "wandering alone like a rhinoceros." ''Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism'' (2004): p.&nbsp;494</ref> Therefore, the practice of the pāramitās in Mahāyāna Buddhism may have been close to the ideals of the ascetic tradition of the [[śramaṇa]].

=== Traditional practice ===
[[Bhikkhu Bodhi]] maintains that in the earliest Buddhist texts (which he identifies as the first four ''[[Sutta Pitaka|nikāyas]]''), those seeking [[Nirvana|the extinction of suffering]] (''nibbana'') pursued the [[Noble Eightfold Path|noble eightfold path]]. As time went on, a [[backstory]] was provided for the [[Rebirth (Buddhism)|multi-life]] development of the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]]; as a result, the ten perfections were identified as part of the path for the [[bodhisattva]] (Pāli: ''bodhisatta''). Over subsequent centuries, the ''pāramīs'' were seen as being significant for aspirants to both Buddhahood and [[Arhat|arahantship]]. Bhikkhu Bodhi summarizes:

{{blockquote|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, whether as [[Buddhahood|Buddhas]], [[paccekabuddha]]s, or [[sravaka|disciples]]. 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.<ref>[http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/wheel409.html Bodhi (2005).] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070825142232/http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/wheel409.html |date=2007-08-25 }}  (Converted the document's original use of the [[Velthuis]] convention to [[Pali#Alphabet with diacritics|Pāli]] diacritics.)</ref>}}