六度

The six things that ferry one beyond the sea of mortality to nirvana, i. e. the six (sa) pāramitās 波羅蜜 (波羅蜜多):

(1) 布施 (sa) dāna, charity, or giving, including the bestowing of the truth on others;

(2) 持戒 (sa) śīla, keeping the command rents;

(3) 忍辱 (sa) kṣānti, patience under insult;

(4) 精進 (sa) vīrya, zeal and progress;

(5) 闡定 (sa) dhyāna, meditation or contemplation;

(6) 智慧 (sa) prajñā; wisdom, the power to discern reality or truth. It is the last that carries across the (sa) saṃsāra (sea of incarnate life) to the shores of nirvana. The opposites of these virtues are meanness, wickedness, anger, sloth, a distracted mind, and ignorance. The 唯識論 adds four other pāramitās:

(7) 方便 (sa) upāya, the use of appropriate means;

(8) 願 (sa) praṇidhāna, pious vows;

(9) 力 (sa) bala, power of fulfillment;

(10) 智 (sa) jñāna knowledge.