The Ten Perfections—The Questions They Ask

The perfections are a set of qualities traditionally associated with the path of the bodhisatta–the Buddha-to-be–in his quest for the timeless happiness of awakening through the course of many lifetimes.

Because these perfections are drawn from the Jātaka tales, stories of the Buddha’s previous lives, and because the bodhisatta is often portrayed as a layperson in those tales, the perfections provide an excellent framework for understanding how to give meaningful and satisfying purpose to everyday lay life.

They show how to approach duties, responsibilities, and challenges in a way that’s conducive both to genuine goodness and to genuine happiness. As they develop, they foster qualities both of a good mind–wise in understanding cause and effect–and a good heart: purposeful, well-intentioned, and strong.

…The ten perfections are a list of teachings that provide focus for living everyday life in a way that has meaning and purpose, at the same time developing the path to awakening.

This emphasis on purpose is in line with the nature of the mind, itself, which is purposeful. To be happy, the mind requires a good purpose. The perfections pose questions that force you to reflect on what kind of purpose you already live for, and whether you might do better to aim at something higher.

The questions they ask are:

What kind of happiness do you want to set as a goal in your life?

Is your current behavior actually taking you there or somewhere else?

If it’s taking you somewhere else, what do you need to change?

The answer given by the ten perfections to these questions is that true happiness can be gained through human action, but it lies in a dimension beyond the confines of space, time, and change. It’s the best possible goal. In some cases, it can be attained in this life, but in others it may take two lifetimes or many more.

So, the perfections ask you to take the attitude of a marathon runner. Pace yourself and be ready for the long term so that you don’t give up before you’ve arrived at the goal.

This reflection by Ajaan Geoff is from the Retreats book Good Heart, Good Mind: The Practice of the Ten Perfections, “Preface, Introduction.”