The six perfections support one another
Giving without wisdom may become indulgence or a desire for praise. Deep understanding without ethical conduct may never enter daily life. All six therefore need cultivation together.
Mahayana
The Six Perfections (pāramitās): the bodhisattva's six practices
Sanskrit: ṣaṭpāramitā · Vietnamese: Lục độ ba la mật
The Six Perfections, or six paramitas, are qualities Mahayana practitioners cultivate to cross to the far shore of suffering and reduce self-clinging in life. They are generosity, ethical conduct, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom. Generosity frees the heart from stinginess; ethical conduct reduces harm through body, speech, and mind; patience prevents anger from taking control; diligence sustains the wholesome; meditation steadies the mind; wisdom sees emptiness and dependent origination without clinging to giver, gift, or recipient. The Six Perfections are not a checklist for boasting of merit. They guide mental cultivation through small, consistent, responsible actions.
A guide by Inti Foundation · updated
Wisdom makes the practices paramitas
In the spirit of Prajna, deep practice does not cling to practitioner, object, or achievement. This does not erase responsibility; it reduces the ego's appropriation of wholesome action.
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Practice today
- 1.Choose one small act of giving today without needing others to know.
- 2.Keep one precept for 24 hours through concrete action.
- 3.When opposed, practice patience by pausing for a breath before reacting.
Frequently asked questions
What are the Six Perfections?
They are generosity, ethical conduct, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom.
Are the Six Perfections only for monastics?
No. Laypeople can practice through their daily use of money, speech, work, relationships, and time.
Why is wisdom included in the Six Perfections?
Wisdom prevents wholesome deeds from becoming attachment to merit or self, or a means of gaining fame, deepening the quality of practice.
Are the Six Perfections different from the Six Pāramitās?
The two names usually refer to the same six practices. Saying pāramitā emphasizes the depth of going beyond attachment to self and toward the shore of liberation.
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Sources for deeper reading
The Diamond Sutra — Prajna and giving without attachment to forms
A Prajna source in the Inti library for deeper study of giving and wisdom without attachment to forms—the foundation of the paramitas.