After we finished the reading of the book we will revise the two last chapters on cultivation of inner values and meditation. For this purpose, I will use the commentary of Ringu Tulku ("Path to Buddhahood"/"Et si vous m'expliquez le bouddhisme?") of one of the classical texts of Tibetan Buddhism "The jewel ornament of liberation".
The paramitas are the practices of the bodhisattva, the Buddhist ideal of behavior. The Sanskrit word means literally "gone beyond", "to transcend".
The six paramitas
The first four paramitas: generosity, ethical conduct or discipline, patience or forbearance, and diligence or joyful effort, describe the right conduct. Three are described in the chapter 10 of "Beyond Religion", but ethical conduct is not detailed in the chapter because all the book talks about ethics.
The fifth paramita is meditation, and is the topic of chapter 11. There are many ways of presenting meditation, and I will use the five poisons and the five antidotes as in the classical presentation of the paramitas.
The sixth paramita, wisdom, is not mentioned in the book. As it describes the Buddhist view of the reality, it could be confusing considering the Dalai Lama' secular proposal for ethics. However, I would also discuss about it, in a later post.
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