Greetings,

Happy New Year! This year's annual teaching theme for Seattle Insight is "Awakening Into the Paramis." The Paramis are ten qualities of mind and heart, that when balanced, lead to awakening. The Ten Paramis are Generosity, Morality (Ethical Conduct), Renunciation, Wisdom, Energy, Patience, Truthfulness, Resolve, Lovingkindness, and Equanimity. Developing the Paramis is a foundational practice. This means that one does not just memorize the list. They are ten living qualities that are in constant flux and change. This month we will be exploring how these ten qualities show up individually and what happens when they show up together. Over the course of the year, we will explore a different Parami each month.

Practicing with the Paramis is all about balance. They are commonly referred to as the ten perfections. This is because the balancing occurs on a subtle level. In any given moment or circumstance of life, we are balancing our mind and heart in the application of Dhamma. We are balancing stillness and movement in relation to our attitude. We are balancing happiness and suffering connected our level of wanting/not wanting. And finally we are balancing intellect and the felt sense in determining how to respond. The Ten Paramis are qualities that when balanced/perfected we feel at ease, have a sense of well being and confidence, and intuitively begin to know what needs to be done.

There are many ways to practice with the Paramis. I like to focus on three ways of balancing them. The first way looks at the Paramis as an internal kaleidoscope, each Parami being a fraction of the whole (that's what the picture of the skeleton below is supposed to represent). We focus our attention on our overall sense of well-being, attitude, or our mood and sense into a particular quality to see whether it is present or absent. For instance, if we notice we feel pushy we can sense into how the Paramis are present and which ones seem absent. We practice subtly brightening a quality that feels diminished. We also take note of the times when that quality feels strong. In this balancing practice, we are using the Paramis to influence our capacity in the present moment. The stronger our connection to the Paramis, the more capacity we have to be with whatever is arising. When you know the presence and absence of a particular Parami, and how to increase their presence when they have diminished, you can be perfectly centered in the present moment with whatever is happening. When perfected, they act as a well oiled machine.

The second way of balancing the Paramis relates to the principle that Dhamma is like two wings of a bird. The two wings of Dhamma are wisdom and compassion. Wisdom represents our capacity to see the Three Characteristics, The Four Noble Truths, and Dependent Co-arising in everything. Compassion represents our capacity to have a friendly, kind, and receptive relationship with everything. This is like learning to balance your heart and mind or more precisely, the Citta (heart mind). In this practice, we practice with each quality individually to understand its impact on the present moment. We focus our attention on the quality itself bearing in mind any details that help us more fully understand it. For instance, we are looking to understand - What Is Resolve? What Is Renunciation? What is Patience? All of these qualities are conditional, and they change as circumstances change. Energy, as a supportive Parami, looks very different when you're sleeping vs. when you are wide awake. Renunciation looks very different when you're satisfied vs. when you're anxious. But, when understood, balancing the Paramis will support us in any circumstance.

The third way of balancing the Paramis is the realization that the Paramis flow into each other. By strengthening one quality, the next quality naturally arises. We start with generosity and by simply practicing with it, ethical conduct arises. And the more we strengthen our ethical conduct, renunciation naturally arises. The more we are willing to live with restraint, wisdom will arise. The more wisdom (understanding the Dhamma) we attain, the more energy we have to keep practicing. The more energy we have to practice, the more patient we become with ordinary circumstances. The more patience we develop, the greater our sense of responsibility and truthfulness. With this truthfulness comes a level of resolve and determination to stay engaged with life. The more engaged we are with life, the more we understand the human condition and with this understanding, lovingkindness and equanimity naturally arise.

Over the course of the year we will practice with these three ways of balancing the Paramis. There are two resources that can be downloaded for reference throughout the year. They are Ajahn Sucitto's book Parami: Ways to Cross the Flood and a sutta I like called Ogha-tarana Sutta: Crossing over the Flood, SN 1:1. This sutta provides a good way to contemplate subtle understanding.

With a deep bow,
Tuere