Generosity, ethical discipline, patience, enthusiastic effort,
concentration, and wisdom are practiced by Bodhisattvas with the supreme
intention of attaining enlightenment for the sake of all living beings.
These six are called perfections because they give rise to complete
enlightenment - a perfected state in which liberation from disturbing
emotions and their seeds, and from obstructions to the knowledge of all
phenomena, has been attained.
Practicing the six perfections insures that we will have an excellent
body and mind in the future and leads to even more favorable conditions
for development than we experience at present. Generosity results in the
enjoyment of ample material resources, ethical discipline gives a good
rebirth, and patience leads to an attractive appearance and supportive
companions. Enthusiastic effort endows us with the ability to complete
what we undertake, concentration makes the mind invulnerable to
distraction, and through the growth of wisdom we will be capable of
discriminating between what should be cultivated and discarded. These
six incorporate all of the Buddha's advice on the Bodhisattva way of
life and include every practice needed for our own fullest development
and for accomplishing the ultimate good of others.
