The Six Paramitas
Self-Guided Online Course
Course Description
The Six
Paramitas are a fundamental aspect of Mahayana Buddhist traditions, whereby the
goal of spiritual learning and practice is not only personal liberation, but
also freeing all beings from suffering and its sources. Learning about the Six
Paramitas is one of the ways that Buddhist practitioners can apply the concepts
of Buddhism meaningfully into their daily coexistence with others. In addition,
the Six Paramitas provide principles upon which both Buddhists and non-Buddhists
alike can learn to uplift their actions and intentions with the aim of
benefiting others, while reducing the suffering caused by self-attachments.
Through a
nuanced process of creative inquiry and engagement, learners will start to
embody and appreciate the Six Paramitas in the unique ways that they appear in
a person’s situated context. Rather than teaching the concepts of the Six
Paramitas as abstract terms or expressions, each module of this course takes
the learner on a personal journey of self-exploration, as they come to know how
they encounter and cultivate these six attributes in their own lives. By
starting with self-exploration, learners can come to make realistic choices
regarding how they can embody these Paramitas, knowing that there is no
‘perfect’ way to embody the six ‘perfections’, and that these qualities serve
as guidelines and helpful frameworks to initiate healing dialogue and story.
To Whom this Course is Intended:
To Whom this Course is Intended:
This course
is intended for any or all of the following:
- If you are a Buddhist practitioner or enthusiast who wishes to develop a grounded understanding in the Six Paramitas in a daily life context
- If you are simply interested in spirituality in general and wish to learn more about Mahayana Buddhism in particular
- If you are in a non-Buddhist context or ministry, and are curious to learn more about Buddhism to further a prophetic dialogic space
How to Use this Blog
Paramitas Project is essentially a blog that has been converted into a 6 module course. You can access the six modules (Generosity, Morality, Patience, Diligence, Meditation, Wisdom), by clicking on the 6 page tabs which are located on the top bar of the blog.
Another feature you will notice about this blog is that it is also a technology journal, where you will be able to see my experiences in creating this blog as well as the things I have learned along the way. Students in this course will start to experiment with creating their own technology journals, in the Third Module, "Patience".
To access the first module, simply click on "Generosity" above. Move through each module according to the order of their appearance, from left to right.
Learning Objectives:
Paramitas Project is essentially a blog that has been converted into a 6 module course. You can access the six modules (Generosity, Morality, Patience, Diligence, Meditation, Wisdom), by clicking on the 6 page tabs which are located on the top bar of the blog.
Another feature you will notice about this blog is that it is also a technology journal, where you will be able to see my experiences in creating this blog as well as the things I have learned along the way. Students in this course will start to experiment with creating their own technology journals, in the Third Module, "Patience".
To access the first module, simply click on "Generosity" above. Move through each module according to the order of their appearance, from left to right.
Learning Objectives:
There are
basically three main learning objectives to this course, which are listed as
follows:
- Self-Discovery Component: With self-discovery, students are learning the necessary skills of respecting our own unique process of learning and relating to Buddhist concepts, particularly through an emphasis on self-expression through a preferred medium such as art, verse, music, prose, etc. Learners will tease out how they connect with the Six Paramitas through a guided exploration on their personal experiences of these qualities. Rather than seeing the Six Paramitas as concepts to be ‘internalized’ through a drill or dictation methodology, this course assumes that the learners already possess an inherent capacity to connect deeply with these perfections particularly through sustained contemplation and reflection on their own experiences, in the context of Buddhist teachings.
- Buddhist Learning/Tradition Component: In addition to self-discovery, this course will also ground learners in the uniquely Buddhist philosophies and understandings of the Six Paramitas, through a close reading of Ven. Shengyen’s The Six Paramitas. Learners will then have the opportunity to connect these underpinnings back to their self-reflections, thereby enriching learning through a process of confronting potential contradictions between the personal understandings and Buddhist understandings. Here, the goal is not to replace one learning goal with the other, but rather to enrich the two processes of culturally/conceptually rooted understandings and personal impressions/embodiments of the Six Paramitas.
- Digital Media Application Component: Finally, learners will be able to apply their self-discovery and conceptual understandings toward creating digital media in different formats, and for a variety of purposes. Examples of digital media explored in this course are blogs, personal videos, digital photography, Twitter, wiki, online news, and Youtube. In the spirit of Mahayana Buddhist practices, this course is premised on the idea that learning doesn’t start and end with an individual, but rather seeks to find new and improved ways to reach out to others. Digital technologies are quickly becoming a popular way for people of all ages to connect, but what is needed is a distinctly Buddhist orientation on these technologies and how they are best used to serve others.
Required Texts:
The only
required text for this course is Venerable Maser Sheng Yen’s concise
introduction, The Six Paramitas:
Perfections of the Bodhisattva Path (2002). This book is accessible online
(and free of charge) at the following website:
Other
supplementary texts are listed below.
Recommended Secondary Sources:
Grieve, Gregory Price & Veidlinger, Daniel (eds.).
Buddhism, the Internet, and Digital Media:
The Pixel in the Lotus. New York: Routledge.
Kegan, Robert & Lahey, Lisa Laskow (2001). How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We
Work: Seven Languages for Transformation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Lewis, Richmond (1999). Work as a Spiritual Practice. New York: Broadway Books.
Miller, John P. (2014). The Contemplative Practitioner: Meditation
and Education in the Workplace. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Pang, Alex Soojung-Kim (2013). The Distraction Addiction. New York: Little Brown & Co.
Rahula, Walpola (1959). What the Buddha Taught. New York: Grove Press.
Snelling, John (1998). The Buddhist Handbook: A Complete Guide to Buddhist Teaching and
Practice. London: Prospero Books.
Wright, Dale Stuart (2009). The Six Perfections: Buddhism and the Cultivation of Character.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Course Contents
The
digital learning platform for this online course is a blogger site called
“Paramitas Project” (http://paramitasproject.blogspot.ca/). Please note that because this
course is online and self-paced, there is no necessity to complete the course
within a certain timeframe. However, it is strongly
recommended that the learners follow the course modules in the sequence
provided below. This is particularly so because many of the concepts explored
in the later modules incorporate learning based on the preceding modules.
Module 1: Generosity- “The world as a cyclic process
of giving and taking”
Required Readings:
Shengyen (2002), Six Paramitas,
pages 6-15.
Goals/Assignments:
·
create
a generosity narrative which connects generosity to your personal experiences
·
learn
Buddhist approaches to generosity, with an emphasis on cultivating
non-dualistic giving
·
compile
a Generosity Inventory listing forms of giving you experience and provide
·
map
out Generosity Connections which show cycles of giving and receiving in your
circles
·
design
a blog as a caring offering to others—establishing forms of generosity,
target recipients, and multiple medium(s) of offering
|
Module 2: Morality- “Morals are the scaffolding of
life’s art”
Required Readings:
Shengyen (2002), Six Paramitas,
pages 18-21
Goals/Assignments
·
explore
morality as a tension of connection/disconnection, expansion/contraction
·
learn
Buddhist approaches to morality, focusing on the Five Precepts as a guide
·
discover
how Buddhist values and moral ‘lenses’ can shape narratives, particularly digital
news
·
create
a Twitter account which aids in keeping track of news (e.g. from Buddhist sources)
·
write
a Digital Product Review which explores, rates, and critiques a digital
product or software, looking at its moral/social values as well as long-term
costs/benefits in an interconnected world
|
Module 3: Patience- “Patience relates to reframing our
experiences in more spacious ways”
Required Readings:
Shengyen (2002), Six Paramitas,
pages 24-29
Goals/Assignments
·
explore
patience as a way of seeing experiences with openness, curiosity and creative
dialogue
·
analyse
various metaphors and expressions for patience, and what they tell us about
the ways patience is understood by a given culture
·
understand
the Buddhist ideas of patience, with a emphasis on using “beginner’s mind” to
reframe unpleasant experiences or circumstances
·
examine
various digital technologies which claim to help curb impatience (Internet
blockers, Zen-style apps, and other digital ‘stimulants’ to a patient mindset
in the digital age)
·
create
and maintain a Technology Journal which chronicles your experiences of a
particular technology you are learning how to use and develop, such as your
current blog.
|
Module 4: Diligence- “Diligence depends on strong
vows and a sense of the sacred”
Required Readings:
Shengyen (2002), Six Paramitas,
pages 32-38
Goals/Assignments
·
explore
the notions of intrinsic/extrinsic motivation in understanding what inspires
people to do their best work
·
learn
the Buddhist perspective on diligence, with an emphasis on vows and the aspiration
to liberate others/perform dedications through one’s work
·
create
and maintain a shared wiki tool which collects various vows in one or more of
your spiritual communities
·
learn
about how digital technologies can aid or inhibit diligence, and how to use
technology to foster diligent effort
·
provide
suggestions on how to make your workplace into a sacred space of making vows
|
Module 5: Meditation- “Being present with all of
life’s conditions is crucial to seeing deeply within and beyond them”
Required Readings:
Shengyen (2002). Six Paramitas, pages
40-48
Goals/Assignments
·
develop
a nuanced, critical awareness of culturally fashionable or prevalent notions
of ‘mindfulness’ and ‘meditation’ that are appearing in digital media and
social discourse
·
understand
how sound, images and story can come together to foster conditions for a meditative
or contemplative experience and practice
·
explore
simple meditations such as breath meditation and loving kindness, with a
potential of establishing a personal meditation practice
·
construct
and present a “meditative” video piece which is based on personal
observations of media forms most conducive to meditative practices
·
learn
Buddhist perspectives on the stages of meditation
·
apply
the principles of meditation via mindful photography exercise
|
Module 6: Wisdom- “Wisdom entails the courage to
engage an uncertain, changing world”
Required Readings:
Shengyen (2002). Six Paramitas
pages 50-58
Goals/Assignments
·
learn
about different ways of describing the relationship between wisdom, knowledge
and technical reasoning and/or information
·
apply
the notion of ‘ladder of abstraction’ to an everyday activity
·
understand
Buddhist notions of wisdom
·
reflect
upon the ‘wisdom allowances’ of digital spaces through a mindful listening
exercise in digital space
·
apply
your understandings of wisdom to one or more of the paramitas previously
introduced in the course
|
I
sincerely hope you enjoy this course and find it enriching to your own
contexts. Your comments are much appreciated!
Sincerely,
Keith
Brown
