Cultivating the Path

Time after time, incarnation after incarnation, Buddha gives everything, even his life, to help others.  But if we are not Buddhas what can we do?  Buddha calls us to be bodhisattvas, compassionate beings who stay here in this broken world to help all living things.-Franz Metcalf, What Would Buddha Do?  101 Answers to Life's Daily Dilemmas

    My primary goal in this newsletter has been to share my own thoughts and struggles that I believe to be universal on the spiritual journey and that apply to most religious and spiritual practitioners.  I will often speak from my own experience as a Zen practitioner and Jew, and select topics that speak to people from many backgrounds, practices and traditions.

For the next six issues, however, I'd like to focus on a topic that is a part of the Zen tradition, but also has a universal quality.  This topic describes what Zen calls the "six paramitas."  That may sound exotic and elusive at first glance; after all, John Daido Loori Roshi describes the paramitas as the "perfections; virtues of attitude and behavior cultivated by bodhisattvas in the course of their development, necessary on the path of transcendence or realization."  But then we realize we are all bodhisattvas:  people, as Franz Metcalf describes above, who are in this world to help all living beings, each in our own special way.  And most of us would agree that we can use all the help we can get in deepening our own paths and in learning how best to serve others!

    So when we look at the "perfections" that we strive for, we realize (1) that we paradoxically will never perfect these aspirations, since we are all flawed human beings, and (2) we will strive to fulfill our spiritual paths anyway by acting in ways that deepen our lives and benefit others.  Therefore, the six paramitas are not commandments, but rather guidelines for learning how to be wiser spiritual beings, and for clarifying how we can best serve others.  The six paramitas are generosity, discipline, patience, effort, meditation and wisdom.

    Over the next six months I will share my own experience in struggling with and striving to fulfill these paramitas.  Although you may think at first glance that some of them aren't goals to which you would aspire, I think you'll find that they are broader and more inclusive than the Zen tradition; that they have that universal quality and essence that transcends a tradition or any particular path.

    Why have specific goals on the path?  Although we can have a global aspiration to grow spiritually (which is very important and will often get us through tough times), specific goals can provide a focus that we can bring into every day of our lives.  There isn't a day that goes by that we don't have to make decisions regarding the degree to which we are willing to be generous; when we'd rather by playful than disciplined; when we struggle with impatience; when we want to make things easier; when we'd rather act quickly rather than contemplate a decision; or when we'd rather choose what's pleasant rather than wise.  The idea of setting the six paramitas as goals isn't to take the spontaneity or fun out of our lives, but rather to live our lives more consciously, mindfully and joyfully.  In the next six issues I'll share how the paramitas manifest as part of my own path and how they might be helpful in yours.

In addition to her spiritual practices, Susan R. Quinn of the Quinn Company has been an independent consultant and trainer since 1978.  She specializes in facilitation of problem solving for teams and groups in conflict.  She is certified to train using the DiSC Personal Profile System.  Her other best-received training programs are “Dealing with Difficult People,”  “Managing Conflict,” and “Learning to Live in the Eye of the Hurricane.”  She also offers values clarification workshops and strategic planning services in partnership with her husband, Jerry.  To subscribe to her business ezine, go to www.thequinncompany.com.  You can reach Susan at the Quinn Company, 246 Via Presa, San Clemente, CA  92672, (949) 366-5890, or email susan@thedeepestspirituallife.com.