Dear Ones,
The ten Paramis are the qualities of heart that paved the way for the Buddha’s awakening. In a sense, they are the prequel to the Buddha’s life. They are generosity, ethical conduct, renunciation, wisdom, energy, patience, truthfulness, determination, lovingkindness and equanimity.
A few months ago the teaching body at NYI began to teach from this list to bring cohesion and depth to our collective experience, and to invite the many sanghas in our community to join us. As we enter into February, the heart of winter, it feels like a great time for us to bring the Parami of energy to the forefront of our practice.
In Pali (the language the Buddha’s teachings were transcribed in), the word for energy is viriya, which has the same root word of the yoga pose virasana or hero’s pose. For some, this might mean a heroic effort to move toward firmer ground when we find ourselves getting caught up in the three poisons (greed, aversion and delusion). For me and probably a lot of us in the NYI community, it might mean attending to whatever is blocking our energy, such as depression, anxiety, doubt, our inner critic…
We can invite mindfulness and curiosity into how energy is or is not present for us. Mindfulness allows us to acknowledge what is present without asking for things to be different. This clarity knows our capacity and protects our boundaries; which are there to assist us in our awakening, not to limit us. And curiosity invites our inquisitive selves to look into the nature of our doubt, fear, depression, anger; whatever is blocking our energy. It moves us towards insight to understand this block, softening into a steady awareness, that leads us to samadhi, unification or resting in awareness.
This stewarding of our energy can show us a path toward self-compassion.
Leslie Booker
Guiding Teacher
New York Insight