The Tathāgata then said: “Sūraputra, the first pāramitā talked by Tathagata is not truly the first pāramitā; it is merely called the first pāramitā. The pāramitā of patience talked by Tathagata is not truly the pāramitā of patience; it is merely called the pāramitā of patience.”
The Buddha says this to prevent his disciples from becoming attached to the concept of dharmas. So, he declares that the previous teaching of all phenomena is also illusory. The Buddha highlights that the most effective way to liberate oneself from samsara is to understand these teachings. Among all methods of liberation, this one is the highest. However, disciples should not conceive of there is really such a method attainable. Upon realizing this wisdom, one must immediately relinquish all attachments and dwell calmly on the right perception of Tathagata. This is the correct approach. Therefore, the “first pāramitā” is not something that truly exists as a definitive entity; it is merely a conventional term for communication. In this sense, it is called the “first pāramitā.” The Buddha then continues to elaborate on the “Six Pāramitās,” which are commonly practiced by great Bodhisattvas.
In the Bodhisattva Path, the “Six Pāramitās” (or “Six Perfections”) practiced by Mahāyāna Bodhisattvas are: almsgiving (dāna), morality (śīla), patience (kṣānti), diligence (vīrya), samadhi (dhyāna), and wisdom (prajñā). The essence of each pāramitā is that through their practice, practitioners come to realize the emptiness of both the self and the dharmas.
For instance, when practicing the pāramitā of patience, if something occur that challenges one’s pride self-respect or face-value, ordinary beings might typically become upset and may even feel anger or seek vengeance. However, a Mahāyāna Bodhisattva would instead dwell calmly on the right perception of that all is ultimately empty, silently transforming this. This is the practice of patience.
In the early stages of practice, the practitioner may still experience strong sensations, even while intellectually understanding that all phenomena are illusory. However, by adhering to the right perceptions as taught by the Buddha, the practitioner refrains from complaining, angry, or being swept away by internal or external conditions. This constitutes the essence of practicing the pāramitā of patience: by practicing patience to realize the illusory nature of all phenomena, thereby liberating b oth body and mind from attachments and from the cycle of samsara.
As the practitioner’s merits gradually mature, this practice of patience ceases to be referred to as “patience” anymore. According to the profound wisdom of Buddhism, both the practitioner and the circumstances they encounter are merely illusory appearances, arising from the aggregation of causes and conditions, without any inherent reality. Should the practitioner make definitive judgments about these situations—whether right or wrong, just or unjust—and become entangled in them, they would remain trapped in the human realm, caught in the illusory appearances of all things and unable to attain liberation.
The Buddha’s statement, “The talked pāramitā of patience is not truly the pāramitā of patience; it is merely called the pāramitā of patience,” This is to tell disciples they need possessing this right perspective in practicing the six perfections. Although the Buddha has outlined this method for his followers, and they may appear to be practicing patience, in the Buddha’s perfect realm, the concept of insult does not hold true. Insult and the need for patience arise only when there is a perception of “self” and “other.” Disciples must avoid becoming attached to the idea of “patience” and should not believe that by practicing it, they can accumulate merit, nor should they approach it with the expectation of attaining something. True merit lies in the practitioner’s ability to use patience to dwell the mind in the state of emptiness, remaining unaffected by any circumstances, and realizing that nothing is truly worthy of disturbance or resentment. At this point, the practitioner liberates from all forms and gains insight into their illusory nature. Therefore, the Buddha asserts that “the pāramitā of patience” is merely a conventional term, and in its essence, it lacks inherent existence.
In the following passage, the Buddha recounts a story from his past lives.
In a previous life, the Buddha was meditating alone in a remote forest. One day, a king named King Gāli, accompanied by his concubines and attendants, ventured into the forest for a hunting excursion and leisure. A few of the concubines, noticing the Buddha seated peacefully under a tree, felt a profound sense of respect. They approached him, offered their reverence, praised him and asked for teaching. Their deep respect for the Buddha provoked jealousy and resentment in King Gāli’s heart.
Upon hearing that the Buddha was practicing the perfection of patience, He actually drew his sword, and in front of his concubines and attendants, He consecutively severed this practitioner’s both hands, both legs, he chopped his ears, nose and so on. He saw the practitioner’s calm and serene face, and as he continued to chop, he said, “I don’t believe you can remain unmoved, without arising any anger or resentment.” At that time, the Buddha, still a bodhisattva and not yet achieved complete awareness, addressed King Gāli, saying, “If I have truly not allowed a single thought of anger to arise toward you, then let my dismembered body be restored to its original form.” Upon uttering these words, the Buddha’s body was restored completely.
This is a story about Buddha practicing the perfection of patience in countless kalpas in the past. The story is found in numerous Buddhist scriptures, including the Xian Yu Jing (The Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish), where it is recorded that, ultimately, King Gāli was deeply moved by the Buddha’s behavior and sincerely repented for his actions. At that time, the Buddha, still in his bodhisattva stage, spoke to the king, saying, “You have wounded my body due to your attachment to the allure of women. I endure this pain as the earth endures the weight of all things. In the future, if I attained Buddhahood, I would use the sword of wisdom to sever your three poisons—greed, hatred, and ignorance.”
The scriptures also tell us that after attained Buddhahood, the first person Buddha helped was King Gaili, who later became the revered arahant Kāśyapa.
The Buddha further explained, “In my past lives, I practiced the pāramitā of patience for five hundred lifetimes, during which I was known as the ‘Patience Sage. ’Throughout those lives, I kept the right perception of no forms of Self, persons, sentient beings and lifespan. Only with these right perceptions could I fully fulfill the practice of the pāramitā of patience.”
When we hear this story, what thoughts arise within us? Some may say, “The Buddha possessed divine powers. Even when He was dismembered by King Gāli, He was able to restore His body. This ability is beyond the capacity of ordinary beings. If we cannot perform such acts, does this mean we cannot fully practice the pāramitā of patience?” It is not like that. The Buddha recounted this story not to instruct us to endure extreme physical suffering, but rather to illustrate that the practice of patience, when rooted in that of “no-self” can lead to the perfection of this pāramitā.
In daily life, many individuals engage in the practice of pāramitā of patience, but often with underlying anger, and there is a heart full of resentment, in justice, grievances, disappointment in all living beings, and even despair. Actually, this reveals that they are still entrenched in their sensations, and still care about other people’s right and wrong, only appears as if they are practicing patience. What they are practicing is not true patience; rather, they are merely enduring insults and not practice according to the right perceptions of Buddha。 The result of this kind of practice is that you cannot bear it anymore, eventually one day, and won’t have any other results. When Buddha was an immortal who endured humiliation, for five hundred lifetimes, his body and mind remained unshaken and immovable, not being affected by all internal and external situations. There were no concepts of self, person, sentient being, and there is no perception of birth and extinction. This is the true Paramita of enduring humiliation.
We may also interpret the Buddha’s story from another angle. If, within the realm of human existence, we fail to grasp the principle of the emptiness of all phenomena, and instead cling to transient forms, allowing ourselves to be swept by all kinds of conditions, then our own greed, anger, ignorance, pride, doubt, and desires for fame, wealth, emotion, and sensual pleasures— much like King Kālīya and the sword in his hand —will ultimately dismember us and torn to shreds. Bound by the illusions of the Three Realms and Six Paths, we have never truly escaped, circling endlessly in the samsaric cycle with no way out, no way backwards, and turning around unconsciously like a spinning top.
Whereas, the Buddha’s wisdom of Prajñā, let us halt within the illusory world of all kinds of forms, allow us to perceive the falseness and impermanence of all phenomena, both external and internal. At that moment, our inherent nature—the Buddha nature—will reveal, undiminished and unaltered, neither polluted nor purified. The long journey through samsara cannot tarnish this nature in the slightest. Just as the “Patience Immortal” restored his body after being dismembered, the sword of King Kālīya could not truly harm him. Likewise, the illusory realms of the Three Realms and Six Paths cannot defile or harm our inherent complete true nature of emptiness.
This story, though briefly referenced in the sutras with merely one sentence, reveals that the wisdom we now have the privilege of receiving was earned by the Buddha through enduring countless eons of rigorous and challenging practices. These are the precious insights he gained through his own trials and hardships, which he now selflessly and skillfully shares with us. Every individual who hears the Buddha’s right conceptions is, receiving the invaluable gift of his almsgiving. Without his guidance, we would risk losing our way on the path to realizing the true nature of life, becoming ensnared by the illusions of all phenomena and confused by the complexities of the worldly realms.
From another perspective, we can also recognize that the Buddha dedicated five hundred lifetimes specifically to cultivating the perfection of patience, enduring extreme hardships and severe ascetic practices. When faced with even minor difficulties in life, we often become disheartened, disappointed, or indifferent. We may lose faith in sentient beings and in the Dharma, and our aspiration for awaking weakens. Thus, those committed to the path of awakening should be introspected after reading this story.
When the Buddha speaks of his practicing story of his past lives, he does so not to praise himself or boast by saying, “Look at how great I was,” nor does he seek to emphasize the extreme ascetic practices he endured in pursuit of his enlightenment. His purpose is not to elicit feelings of indebtedness or gratitude from his disciples for the wisdom he now shares selflessly. If the Buddha were driven by such intentions, he would be attached to the notions of “self,” “person,” “sentient beings,” and “lifespan,” and thus would no longer be a Buddha. Instead, the Buddha recounts these examples simply to show his disciples that he attained his realization through this perception and practice. By presenting himself as a living example, he seeks to bolster their confidence in the path of practice.
The Buddha then said, “Therefore, Subhūti, a Bodhisattva should detach from all forms, they should generate the mind for the unsurpassed, complete equal and complete awakening and should not attach to formation, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma, and should not attach anything, and let true nature appear.” If the mind abide in anything, it is not truly abiding.
What is the meaning of these sentences? Diamond Sutra begins with Subhūti’s question: “When a virtuous man or woman seeks the unsurpassed, complete equal and complete awareness, how should their mind dwell calmly and subdue their afflictions and delusions?” So, here the Buddha returns again to the answer to this question. The Buddha said that all sentient beings should detach from all forms and aspire of seeking the unsurpassed, complete equal and complete awareness, so they can their minds dwell calmly and be free from worries on the path of seeking the Dharma.
If sentient beings cling to the realms of six sense faculties and the six sense objects, Then, aspiring to attain the unsurpassed, complete equal and complete awareness and seeking to return to the Tathagata’s true and empty realm is impossible.
As long as attach to any phenomena it only perpetuates suffering and afflictions. At the moment aspiring to pursue the unsurpassed, complete equal and complete awareness, one should detach from all forms, remains undisturbed by both the internal and external realm.
One should always keep the right perceptions of that “all forms are empty and illusory”, there is nothing to seek, and nothing to obtain, only in this way can one return to the “true emptiness” of the Tathāgata. Only aspire with such a right perception can one make the mind dwell calmly and subdue afflictions and delusive thoughts.
If one aspires to attain the perfect enlightenment of the unsurpassed, complete equal and complete awareness and achieve the Buddhahood, but the mind is still preoccupied with all kinds of appearances in this world, various human relationships and worldly affairs, and has all sorts of attachments, harps on gains and losses, and believes that there is some Dharma to be obtained, then such an aspiration is not a right perception, and it is not the state where a great Bodhisattva’s body and mind should dwell. Moreover, all phenomena is illusory. Even if the mind abides on something, it is abiding on an illusory foundation. In such a situation, it is impossible to perceive the true reality and achieve Buddhahood.
The Buddha then said, “For the reasons previously discussed, I have stated that a Bodhisattva’s mind should not be attached to the formation in almsgiving.” In the 4th Segment, the Buddha had already emphasized that a Bodhisattva must practice almsgiving without any attachment in order to fully attain the Buddhahood. Here, he reiterates the same point about “giving without any attachment,” as indicated by the phrase, “Therefore, the Buddha says,” signaling that this concept has been addressed before.
In the Mahāyāna Bodhisattva path, it puts almsgiving on the first. Throughout Buddhist history, great Bodhisattvas, over countless lifetimes of practice, have given everything for the Dharma and the benefit of sentient beings—even to the extent of offering their own heads, bones, marrow, bodies, and lives. However, the Buddha stresses that while practicing almsgiving, the Bodhisattva must always maintain the wisdom of Prajñā. In the act of almsgiving, one must always recognize emptiness: the self is empty, the gift is empty, the recipient is empty, and all sentient beings are empty. Otherwise, all almsgivings would merely accumulate as worldly good deeds, and the Bodhisattva’s actions would become mere offerings or sacrifices for others. In the original text, the Buddha says, “Subhūti, a Bodhisattva, for the benefit of all sentient beings, should practice almsgiving in this way. The Tathāgata says that all phenomena are non-phenomena, and that all sentient beings are non-sentient beings.”