Free from Perfection - at last!!!

I am so very happy to say there is not an 11th Buddhist Perfection!  Well, sort of… 

Here in Laos, they claim to have 30.  There is a stupa in Vientiane called Pha That Luang.  That Luang (tat loo-awng) is a very important icon in Laos and highly revered by the Laos people.  It is the symbol for Laos National Unity and Laos Buddhism.  In many sources, it is described as having 30 spires on the second tier representing the 30 Buddhist Perfections. 

Wait a minute!  Does that mean I am going to dribble on with twenty more perfection entries?  Fortunately, not.  Despite a multitude of sources claiming 30 perfections beginning with generosity and ending in equanimity, I have yet to find single source explaining what those extra 20 paramis might be.  So, I’m going to choose my battles.  I’m going to let the mystery of the twenty extra paramis at Pha That Luang remain unsolved. 

My personal theory is there are only 10 paramis but the stupa represents them three times.  Each set of ten has a different orientation - one set is for the body, another for the mind and the third group for the heart.  This is only my theory based entirely on a vivid imagination and my discomfort with loose ends.

During the course of the past ten days, I learned quite a few things by going through the paramis.  First, I was reminded of how I both love and detest structure.  Being told what I had to discuss each day brought out the rebellious teenager in me.  It also prevented me from claiming “writer’s block” aka laziness.  Having some form of structure, overall, helped motivate me and keep me on track.

A second thing I noticed during the ten days was my absolute fear of spiritual self-righteousness.  It is something I am quite adverse to in others and I keep a diligent watch on myself for this.  Going through each paramis, mulling it over in my head, wondering how I would write about it without sounding pompous or self-righteous had a way of grounding me, keeping me humble. 

The third piece relates to a popular Zen saying:

Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. 

After enlightenment, chop wood carry water.

 

Over the past ten days, I have thought of this saying several times.  To me, it means that no matter how beginner, intermediate or advanced I may be (or think I am), it is important to always remember the basics.  The paramis are something I knew about and studied years ago, but I have never sat down and written about them for ten days straight.  I think it was very good exercise for me; it encouraged me to chop wood and carry water.

Lastly, was something that came to me last night.  After dinner, my friend and I were walking down the road.  I was walking beside her.  She was riding her bicycle, her purse casually dropped in the basket on the handle bars.  Out of no where, some kids on a motorbike rode up along side, and snatched her purse.  Once I realized these were real thieves and not some friends kidding around, I took off after them.  I came close, within a few centimeters.  My outstretched hand, just barely within reach, I lunged after them when I heard the engine rev.  The motorbike was gone, the purse was gone, and I was face down in a vast ocean of mud.

From head to toe, I was covered in the red clay of Setthathirat road.  I must have been quite a sight – as muddy as this country is, it is not often someone takes a face plant in the stuff.  Naturally, we drew a crowd.  The police were there.  The shopkeepers were there.  The local residents were there.  The tuk tuk drivers were there.  Everyone was there, except the little snots that took a poor girl’s purse.

What does this have to do with the paramis?  Well, it means that some people are paying attention, and other people are not.  The two kids on the motorbike, they have foregone the principles in exchange of thrill and greed.  Had I got my hands around his neck, I wonder, would I have abandoned my own principles and beat him to a bloody pulp?  I probably would have – although I am a relatively peaceful person, when I am crossed I tend to break many bones very quickly before I come to my senses.  (the last time was in the 1980’s)

I think it was good that I did not catch them.  The boy would have been in serious pain.  I would have felt terrible for extracting that pain on him.  I also would have had to spend a good deal of time in the police station, covered in mud.  Instead, the purse is gone.  The paramis need to be studied more.  There are some very upset ancestors looking down at their kids and fuming at their improper conduct.  In the end, with some more iodine and bandages my physical wounds will heal.  My acceptance of the circumstance needs no bandage, only a smile.