This document discusses the Buddhist concept of the ten perfections, which are conditions for completely eradicating defilements. It describes each of the ten perfections in detail: generosity, morality, renunciation, wisdom, energy, patience, truthfulness, determination, loving-kindness, and equanimity. For each perfection, it discusses their characteristic, function, manifestation, and proximate cause. It provides examples and explanations of how to develop each perfection to overcome their unwholesome opposites like greed, immorality, attachment, ignorance, and laziness. The document emphasizes that developing all ten perfections is essential for uprooting defilements and achieving enlightenment.

1. THE PERFECTIONS

2. • The perfection are most important as conditions for the
complete eradication of defilements.
• One should develop every kind of wholesome deeds which
can eradicate all defilements, stage by stage.
• someone may be aware of the characteristics of realities as
they naturally appear in daily life
• but if does not take into consideration the development of
the perfections, he will notice that time and again he is
overcome by unwholesome actions.
• There are more conditions for the arising of unwholesome
actions than for arising of wholesome actions.

3. • One does not know for how long in the future
each one of will have to develop and
accumulate the ten perfections.
• The ten perfections have lobha, attachment as
their opposite and, therefore, one should
develop them not because we expect a result
of wholesome action, but the danger of each
kind of unwholesome action.

4. The 10 Perfections
• Generosity
• Morality
• Renunciation
• Wisdom
• Energy
• Patience
• Truthfulness
• Determination
• Loving-kindness
• Equanimity

5. Generosity :If a person see the disadvantage of avarice
(extreme greed), he develops generosity.
• Characteristic : Relinquishing
• Function: to dispel greed for things that can
be given away.
• Manifestation : non-attachment, the
achievement of prosperity and a favourable
state of existence.
• Proximate cause: an object that can be
relinquished.

6. • Generosity is the giving away of things for the
benefit and happiness of others.
• If one is unable to give away something one
possesses, be it small or great, for the benefit
of others, it will be hard to give up the clinging
and attachment.
• If someone gives away things without
expecting a reward, then this generosity can
be perfection.

7. Three kinds of Generosity
• Giving of Material things.
• Giving of Fearlessness.
• Giving of the Dhamma.

8. • “He gives only when there is something to be
given”.
• “ When there are things to be given he gives
what people like to have, not what they do
not want”.
• “ He does not give because he expects
something in return. And when there is not
enough to give sufficiently to all, he
distributes evenly whatever can be shared.

9. • “He gives invariably with confidence, with
compassion and respect”.
• Whenever greed for a particular object
becomes excessive, due to its high value and
beauty, its antiquity, or attachment
accumulated since a long time, the person
recognizes his greed, quickly dispels it seeks
out some recipients and gives it away.

10. Wholesome intention
• Before giving.
• At the moment of giving.
• After giving .

11. Morality: If someone sees the disadvantage of the
transgression of morality
• Characteristic : composing, coordinating and
establishing.
• Function: to dispel moral depravity, blameless
conduct.
• Manifestation: moral purity.
• Proximate cause : shame and moral dread.

12. • The transgression of morality such as killing,
stealing, sexual misconduct, is motivated by
unwholesome deeds , by attachment,
aversion, and ignorance.
• When someone commits evil deeds he lacks
loving-kindness towards others.
• All unwholesome deeds are conditioned by
clinging to visible object, sound, smell, flavour,
tangible object and the wrong view .

13. • A person should not have attachment even if it
would not cause any harm.
• Someone has no firm determination in the
development of the perfections may believe that
attachment makes life comfortable and pleasant,
and that, so long as attachment does not cause
any harm, there is no danger in it.
• However one should be free from all attachment.

14. It is most important with whom we associate.
• Association with fools will like tasting water that
has a bitter, unpleasant flavour.
• Fools advise to do what is improper, they are
likely to engaged with improper activities.
• It is difficult to advise them to perform good
deeds.
• When someone speaks to them in a wholesome
way, hoping that they will become righteous, they
retort with anger.
• Fools do not know the rules of conduct and thus
it is beneficial not to see fools.

15. • Association with wise persons to the tasting of
sweet water.
• The wise advise to do what is proper, they are not
engaged with improper activities.
• It is easy to encourage the wise.
• They do not retort well-spoken words with anger.
• They know well right conduct.
• It is good to associate with the wise.

16. Four modes:
• By the purification of one’s inclination.
• By the undertaking of precepts.
• By non-transgression.
• By making amends for transgression

17. • By desisting from false speech.
• By desisting form slander.
• By desisting from harsh speech.
• By desisting from idle chatter.

18. Morality is twofold
• As avoidance: is abstaining from evil .
• As performance: the right conduct one should
follow.
• Performance is subtle and refined ,
• Eg: when a dear friend does something wrong,
one may be off guard and blame him immediately
in front of others . But when one is mindful one
will wait for the proper opportunity and speak to
him later on .

19. Renunciation:If someone sees the disadvantage
of the sensual pleasure
• Characteristic: departing from sense pleasures
and existence.
• Function: to verify the unsatisfactoriness they
involve .
• Manifestation: the withdrawal from sense
pleasures.
• Proximate cause: a sense of spiritual urgency.

20. • The perfection of renunciation is the giving up of pleasure,
clinging, and the ways of wrong thinking that are : sensuous
thinking, thinking of hate, and thinking of cruelty.
• The opposite of sensuous thinking is thinking of renunciation.
• Did we ever consider to abandon sense pleasures?
• Are we becoming disenchanted with sense objects?
• We have attachment to visible object, sound and the other
sense objects; we do not have to give them up, but we want
more of them?
• If we have not enough of them we give in to sensuous thinking,
whereas if we find that we have quite sufficient of them, we
have thoughts of renunciation.

21. • Renunciation means having the energy and courage
to eliminate the clinging .
• Generally, when we see something beautiful, we
are likely to have enjoyment and clinging, lobha.
• If there is heedfulness, it can be known that as such
a moment this is only a reality, that appears.
• Attachment can decrease by not trying to obtain
the attractive object so that we do not accumulate
more attachment.
• Thus, when there is a pleasant object, we can see it,
but when it is not there and we cannot see it, we
should not search for it.

22. • Renunciation with seeing , seeing clearly, comparing,
considering, developing, so that one clearly
understands the right practice.
• Renunciation with the guarding the sense doors,
moderating in eating, the application of energy so
that one is alert and awake.
• Renunciation with mindfulness.
• Renunciation with happiness, resistance, a refuge, a
protection, no danger, unshakableness, the
deathlessness, departing from clinging, which is like
a thread that fastens.

23. Wisdom:If someone realizes the danger of ignorance and doubt ,
he will be inclined to the development of the perfection of
wisdom.
• Characteristic : penetrating the real specific
nature, or the characteristic of sure
penetration, like the penetration of an arrow
shot by a skilful archer.
• Function: to illuminate the objective field, like
a lamp.
• Manifestation: non-confusion, like a guide in a
forest,
• Proximate cause: comcentration.

24. • The understanding of pleasant “ worldly
conditions” of gain, honour, praise and wellbeing
only lead to suffering.
• Wisdom is right understanding of the mental
phenomena and physical phenomena of life.
• No matter how many other excellent qualities
someone may have, his defilements cannot be
eradicated is wisdom does not develop.
• I.e does not see the true nature of the realities.

25. • It means it penetrates , what does it penetrate?
• It penetrates the noble truths
• It overcomes ignorance.
• It illuminates as a lamp burns at night in a four-
walled house the darkness ceases, light
manifests itself.
• “The truth of the path has the characteristic of
outlet, its function is to abandon defilements, it
manifests itself as emergence”

26. Energy: If someone sees the disadvantage of the
laziness, he will be inclined to energy
• Characteristic : striving
• Function: to fortify
• Manifestation: indefatigably
• Proximate cause: an occasion for the arousing
of energy, or a sense of spiritual urgency.

27. • Wholesome or unwholesome deeds energy arises
with them.
• Thus whenever attachment and delight with
regard to an object arises, the energy
accompanies and perform its function of effort or
energy for attachment and delight in that object.
• When unwholesome deeds arises efforts are
unwholesome , whereas wholesome deeds arise
efforts are wholesome.
• Thus perfection of energy is effort .

28. • Right effort is effort or energy which
understands that what appears through the
eyes is only which does not last , or the reality
which is seeing is only an element,
experiencing what appears through the eyes.
• The perfection of energy is always performing
its tasks even if the process of development of
understanding is extremely slow and difficult.

29. • Life is extremely short as it lasts just for one
moment and this moment may be wholesome
or unwholesome depending on the
conditions.
• Thus we should not give in to laziness with
regard to our task of performing.
• If we are all the time inert and lazy, it is
evident that the perfection of energy is
lacking.

30. To be continued .....