The Ten Perfections

Path to Oriental Wisdom

First is Giving:
As a jar overturned, pours out the liquid and keeps back nothing, even so shall your charity be without reserve.

Second is Renunciation:
As a cow, when the hair of her tail becomes entangled in anything, would rather suffer death than injure her tail, even so you should keep to your principles as a cow to her tail.

Third is Duty:
As a man in prison, suffering pain for long, knows that there is no pleasure for him but only to wait for release, so shall you look at your existence on earth, as prison, and turn your face towards duty.

Fourth is Insight:
As a begger-monk shuns no families from whom he begs, whether lowly or high or in between, and acquires his daily fare, so shall you at all times question the wise to gain insight.

Fifth is Courage:
As the lion, king of beasts, whether when lying down or standing up, lacks no courage, but is ever light hearted, so shall you always hold true to your courage.

Sixth is Patience:
As the earth bears all that cast upon it, both the pure and the impure, and feels no resentment nor rejoicing, so shall you receive favors and rebuffs alike, with indifference.

Seventh is Truth:
As a star of healing is balanced in the heavens and swerves not form its path in its time and its season, so shall you remain fixed in your path of truth.

Eighth is Resolution:
As the stone mountain, firmly based, quails not before the tempest but abides in its place, so shall you abide in your resolution once resolved.

Ninth is Loving Kindness:
As water quenches the thirst of the good and bad alike and cleanses them of dust and impurity, so shall you treat your friends and your foes alike, with loving kindness.

Tenth is Serenity: As indeed the earth looks with serenity on all the purity and impurity cast upon it, even so shall you approach with serenity both joy and sorrow, as if you are to attain wisdom.