296 – Q&A: Paramis, Mindfulness, Karma, and Enjoyment

This is an extemporaneous question-and-answer episode. Do you know the difference between a parami and a paramita? Do I still like to think of mindfulness as “undivided presence?” What about when Buddhists use the idea of karma as an excuse not to take compassionate action? Why can’t our practice include more activities aimed at the cultivation of joy, creativity, and other positive experiences?

Thanks to listeners who have been submitting questions and comments! I have more than I can answer in one episode but will keep working through them, so please don’t hesitate to send me your question through the podcast website: zenstudiespodcast.com.

My unprepared answers by their nature won’t be comprehensive or perfect. If you think of a perspective I’ve missed or have something to add or correct, go ahead and send me an email and I may follow up in a subsequent Q&A episode.

The Buddhist Perfections: Paramis and Paramitas

I’ll begin with a comment from Matt. In the last episode on Equanimity, I stated that equanimity was one of the Buddhist ten perfections, or paramitas. Matt wrote, saying he had a “small nit to pick:”

“The nitpick is that the ten perfections are a Theravada list, and thus IMHO should more appropriately be given their Pali name, paramī, since the Theravada canon is all written in Pali. The Mahayana has a list of six perfections, commonly referred to by their Sanskrit name, paramita. I think this is a distinction worth making because the use of Pali vs Sanskrit is almost always a pretty reliable indicator for whether someone is talking about early material or the Theravada tradition vs later material and the Mahayana tradition.”

Good point, Matt. (I did prepare a response to this) Upon further research I realized I had also assumed – wrongly – that the Theravada paramis were the six Mahayana paramitas plus four addition ones. However, it turns out there’s even a list of ten Mahayana paramitas and although the two lists share five perfections (generosity, ethical self-discipline, patience, perseverance, and wisdom), the rest of the lists are quite different. The five additional Theravada paramis are renunciation of attachment, being true to one’s word, resolution, love (metta), and equanimity. Interestingly, many of these are related or relevant to human relations, while the three of the five additional Mahayana paramitas are more oriented toward the development of meditative power: Concentration or mental stability, skill in means, aspirational prayer, strengthening of special discriminating awareness, and deep awareness (Skt. Jnana – apparently not synonymous with jhana or dyana, meditative concentration, which is a different paramita).

Okay, time to go off-script and answer some listener’s questions [so there isn’t a written version of the answers, you’ll have to listen to the audio]:

Mindfulness and Undivided Presence

Hannah (1/1/2025):

In 2017 (Episode 7 – Dharma Talk – Beyond Mindfulness: The Radical Practice of Undivided Presence) you were referring to the radical practice of undivided or unified presence and you said that was what you were calling it for now but now that it’s 2025 I wanted to check in and see where you were with this philosophy as I find it fascinating.

Karma as an Excuse for Not Taking Compassionate Action

Mike (1/13/2025):

I always struggled deeply with the idea of Karma. It always seems to me too easy to disregard the struggles and suffering of others by just saying, “Oh well it’s their Karma to be poor or sick or subject of a genocide or whatever it may be,” and so excuse ourselves from ever lifting a finger to help in whatever situation there may be.

I also remember someone saying something like, “Until you truly know yourself and the way the world works through enlightenment, you can’t really help anything.” Again, it seems an excuse to never offer assistance or help to anyone who may need it.

Exploring Enjoyment as Part of Practice

Trevor (1/31/2025):

So much of the practice seems to be centered around dealing with the experience of suffering and stress. But what about the cultivation of joy, what about promotion of other experiences like curiosity, wonder, excitement, adventure, and creation? Even the most enlightened of teachers built temples, made art, braved pilgrimages etc. Couldn’t we explore more fully this side of practice?