Significance of Six Perfections
The Six Perfections in Buddhism refer to essential virtues that a bodhisattva must cultivate to achieve enlightenment and benefit others. These perfections include generosity, ethical conduct, patience, diligent effort, meditation, and wisdom. Practicing these qualities is integral to the bodhicitta mindset, which focuses on helping all sentient beings. The development of these six attributes fosters spiritual growth and leads bodhisattvas on their path toward attaining Buddhahood while alleviating the suffering of others.
Synonyms: Qualities, Ethical principles
The below excerpts are indicatory and do represent direct quotations or translations. It is your responsibility to fact check each reference.
Buddhist concept of 'Six Perfections'
The Six Perfections in Buddhism are essential qualities—generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom—that bodhisattvas cultivate to achieve enlightenment and assist others, serving as foundational practices on their spiritual path.
From: Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra
(1) The virtues cultivated by a bodhisattva that facilitate spiritual development and understanding of emptiness.[1] (2) A set of qualities the bodhisattva practices alongside exertion, necessary for the holistic enactment of virtue.[2] (3) The fundamental ethical characteristics that a bodhisattva must cultivate and embody on the path to achieving Buddhahood.[3] (4) The set of virtues or qualities that are perfected on the path to enlightenment, integral to the journey of a bodhisattva.[4] (5) The practices that include generosity, ethical conduct, patience, effort, concentration, and wisdom, which a bodhisattva cultivates.[5]
From: Bodhisattvacharyavatara
(1) Essential practices in Mahayana Buddhism including generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, meditation, and knowledge, necessary for achieving enlightenment.[6] (2) The qualities that Bodhisattvas cultivate to help sentient beings toward enlightenment, as discussed in the Bodhisattva-caryavatara.[7] (3) The six qualities or virtues that practitioners are encouraged to cultivate in order to attain enlightenment, typically including generosity, ethics, patience, effort, meditation, and wisdom.[8] (4) The six qualities that bodhisattvas develop and refine to progress toward enlightenment, which are generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom.[9] (5) Six transcendental perfections are the essential qualities and practices that bodhisattvas cultivate over countless lifetimes to attain enlightenment.[10]
From: Karandavyuha Sutra
(1) Essential virtues in Mahayana Buddhism that Bodhisattvas aim to perfect as part of their spiritual path.[11] (2) Key virtues in Mahayana Buddhism that Bodhisattvas strive to perfect on their path to enlightenment.[12] (3) Qualities taught by Tathagatas: generosity, conduct, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom.[13] (4) A set of virtues that Bodhisattvas cultivate, including generosity, conduct, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom.[14] (5) A set of six qualities (generosity, moral discipline, patience, enthusiastic effort, concentration, and wisdom) that Bodhisattvas complete each day as a path toward enlightenment.[15]
From: Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra
(1) Key virtues in Buddhism (paramitas) that are developed through the practice of the Dharma, leading to enlightenment.[16] (2) The six qualities (generosity, ethical conduct, patience, effort, concentration, and wisdom) that Bodhisattvas cultivate.[17] (3) The virtuous actions in Buddhism that lead to the realization of the Bodhisattva path: charity, discipline, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom.[18]
From: The Lotus Sutra
(1) Essential virtues in Mahayana Buddhism that include generosity, discipline, patience, effort, meditation, and wisdom that bodhisattvas practice.[19] (2) Practices that the Buddha diligently carried out, including generosity, ethical conduct, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom.[20] (3) A set of tenets for bodhisattvas that guide them toward achieving the highest form of enlightenment.[21]
From: Vimalakirti Sutra
(1) Essential practices in Buddhism that lead to enlightenment, which include generosity, morality, patience, effort, meditation, and wisdom.[22]
From: Buddhacarita
(1) Six qualities that are to be perfected by bodhisattvas as they progress along the path to enlightenment.[23]
From: The Sutra of Queen Śrīmālā of the Lion’s Roar
(1) Practices promoted for cultivation to attain enlightenment as mentioned in the Buddha's instructions.[24]
From: Shurangama Sutra (with commentary by Hsuan Hua)
(1) The six perfections, or paramitas, include giving (dana), precepts (shila), patience (kshanti), vigor (virya), meditation (dhyana), and wisdom (prajna), and they are also deemed empty.[25]
From: The Great Chariot
(1) The six qualities (generosity, ethical conduct, patience, effort, concentration, and wisdom) cultivated on the path to enlightenment.[26] (2) The practices that lead to the attainment of buddhahood, which should be performed without attachment.[27] (3) A set of practices, including generosity, discipline, patience, exertion, meditation, and prajna, that are essential for attaining enlightenment and overcoming samsara.[28] (4) Practices within the Mahayana path that include generosity, discipline, patience, effort, meditation, and wisdom.[29] (5) Practices in Buddhist teachings that guide individuals towards enlightenment through the development of qualities such as generosity and patience.[30]
From: Guhyagarbha Tantra (with Commentary)
(1) Key virtues essential for a bodhisattva, which are cultivated to enhance one's ability to lead others toward enlightenment.[31]
Hindu concept of 'Six Perfections'
The Six Perfections in Hinduism, known as Samadhishatka sampati, encompass six essential virtues vital for attaining spiritual growth within the Advaita philosophy, highlighting their importance in the path to enlightenment.
From: Bhagavatpadabhyudaya by Lakshmana Suri (study)
(1) Samadhishatka sampati refers to the group of six virtues essential for achieving spiritual growth in Advaita.[32]