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|main-text=The Tibetan translation of the Sanskrit term ''pāramitā'' as ''pha rol tu phyin pa'', literally "gone to the other side", also functions as a basic definition and is often expressed figuratively as having arrived upon the far shore of a body of water. Hence, ''pāramitā'' is alternatively translated as transcendent perfections, transcendental actions, and even more literarlly as "far-reaching attitudes." The term is deeply rooted in the Prajñāpāramitā literature, sūtras sūtra based Mahāyāna is alternatively referred to as the Pāramitāyāna.
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{{TermBox
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|term=pāramitā
|term=pāramitā
|definition=The six or ten types of practices which lead an individual to Buddhahood. The practice of perfections is particularly important in Mahāyāna Buddhism in which the entire path of the Bodhisattva to reach full enlightenment is included in the six or ten perfections.
|definition=The six or ten types of practices which lead an individual to Buddhahood. The practice of perfections is particularly important in Mahāyāna Buddhism in which the entire path of the Bodhisattva to reach full enlightenment is included in the six or ten perfections.
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The Tibetan translation of the Sanskrit term ''pāramitā'' as ''pha rol tu phyin pa'', literally "gone to the other side", also functions as a basic definition and is often expressed figuratively as having arrived upon the far shore of a body of water. Hence, ''pāramitā'' is alternatively translated as transcendent perfections, transcendental actions, and even more literally as "far-reaching attitudes." The term is deeply rooted in the Prajñāpāramitā literature, and the perfections themselves are so fundamental to the bodhisattva path, as it is practiced at the sūtra level of the Mahāyāna, that this tradition is often referred to as the ''pāramitāyāna'', a term synonymous with the  ''bodhisattvayāna''.  
The six perfections, in the order they are most commonly presented, are generosity (''dāna'' or ''sbyin pa''), discipline (''śīla'' or ''tshul khrims''), patience (''kṣānti'' or ''bzod pa''), diligence (''vīrya'' or ''brtson 'grus''), meditative concentration (''dhyāna'' or ''bsam gtan''), and wisdom (''prajñā'' or ''shes rab'').
 
{{TermBox
{{TermBox
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|term=Prajñāpāramitā
|term=Prajñāpāramitā
|definition=A class of Mahāyāna sūtras which represents some of the earliest known literature of this genre of Buddhism. The term itself references a type of intelligence, discernment, or knowledge that embodies the insight which transcends the notions of the three spheres of agent, object, and action.
|definition=A class of Mahāyāna sūtras which represents some of the earliest known literature of this genre of Buddhism. The term itself references a type of intelligence, discernment, or knowledge that embodies the insight which transcends the notions of the three spheres of agent, object, and action.
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The six perfections, in the order they are most commonly presented, are generosity (''dāna'' or ''sbyin pa''), discipline (''śīla'' or ''tshul khrims''), patience (''kṣānti'' or ''bzod pa''), diligence (''vīrya'' or ''brtson 'grus''), meditative concentration (''dhyāna'' or ''bsam gtan''), and wisdom (''prajñā'' or ''shes rab'').


In his ''Letter to a Friend'', Nāgārjuna writes,
In his ''Letter to a Friend'', Nāgārjuna writes,

Revision as of 12:03, 22 September 2022