There are six ways to liberate oneself and others. They are: generosity (dana){1}, upholding pre-cepts (sila){2}, patience (ksanti){3}, diligence (virya){4}, meditation (dhyana){5} and wisdom (prajna){6}.

The Six Paramitas are usually mistaken as a prac-tice for bodhisattvas, which are hard for ordinary peo-ple; that the Six Paramitas only benefit others not the self. For this reason, people tend to feel that it is diffi-cult to practice. In fact, the Six Paramitas benefit both the self as well as others.

A modern interpretation of the Six Paramitas is provided as follows:

1.Generosity (dana): Does generosity involve giving only to others or to oneself Generally, people presume that generosity is to give to others, and thus are not as enthusiastic about this practice. In fact, gen-erosity is like sowing seeds; how can there be harvest if no one sows seeds in a field While generosity may seem to involve only giving to others, it actually rep-resents a giving to oneself.

2.Upholding Precepts (sila): Does upholding precepts represent constraint or freedom Generally, people consider upholding precepts as a constraint, be-cause one is required to refrain from doing certain things. Therefore, they are unwilling to be devoted to upholding precepts. In fact, upholding precepts is like observing the law; how can you have freedom without observing the law Prisoner inmates are locked up be-cause they have all violated the precepts or broken the law. Without breaking the law, no one can do any-thing to lock a person up. In short, although upholding precepts seems to be a constraint, it in fact is freedom.


【Key Words】

{1}Generosity (dana)：布施
{2}Upholding Precepts (sila)：持戒
{3}Patience (ksanti)： 忍辱
{4}Diligence (virya)：精進
{5}Meditation (dhyana)：禪定
{6}Wisdom (prajna)：智慧