This is the third in a series on The Ten Paramis, based on a talk offered by
Brenda Frechette at Prescott Insight Meditation, January 27,  2026


Let’s start out this evening with chanting the Karaniya Metta Sutta
This sutta can be found in the Sutta Nipata (S.N. 1.8)

There is an oral story passed down through the ages about the circumstances under which Buddha offered the Metta sutta instructions to 500 monks (500 in these stories just means A LOT).  Buddhadhassa wrote the story down in a commentary in the 5th century.  As the story goes these 500 monks were offered this beautiful grove for their 4 month rain retreat that year.  The monks were welcomed in by the community nearby and even provided with small single meditation huts---so it seemed to be the perfect place for meditation.  BUT soon they were assailed by difficult conditions that greatly challenged their concentration and ability to meditate.  So they went to Ananda---Buddha’s main assistant and cousin—and asked for a different place to be found.  Ananda conveyed this request to Buddha, who said the monks should remain at this site---but also gave them the teaching of the Karaniya Metta Sutta.  Kariniya means “that which should be done” so this is a clear instruction by the Buddha of how to practice in difficult times and circumstances.  The Metta sutta is considered a paritta---a protection practice---and could be considered a practice to develop resilience in turbulent times.

So as we chant this sutta slowly, I would invite you to take in the instruction as the direct words of the Buddha: 

The Buddha’s Words on Loving-Kindness (English)

(Now let us chant the Buddha’s words on loving-kìndness.)
[This is what should bè done]
By one whò is skílled in gòodness and who knows the pàth of peace:
Let them bè able and úpright,
Stràightforward and gentlé ìn speech,
Humble and not concèited,
Còntented and éasily sàtisfied,
Unburdened with dùties and frugal ín thèir ways.
Peaceful and calm, ànd wise and skíllful,
Nòt proud and demánding in nàture.
Let them not dò the slíghtèst thing
That thè wise would latér rèprove,
Wishing: In gladness ànd in sáfety,
May àll beings bé àt ease.
Whatever livìng beings there mày be,
Whether thèy are wéak òr strong, omìtting none,
The great or the mìghty, medium, shórt, òr small,
The seen and the ùnseen,
Those living near and fár àway,
Those born and tò bé born,
May àll beings bé àt ease.
Let none deceivè ànòther
Or dèspise anỳ being in ánỳ state.
Let none through anger or ìll-will
Wish hárm upon anòther.
Even as à mother protects with hèr life
Her child, her ònlý child,
So with a bóundless heart
Should òne cherish all lívìng beings,
Radiating kíndness over thè entírè world,
Spreading upwards to the skíes and dòwnwàrds tò thé depths,
Outwards and unbòunded,
Frèed from hátréd and ìll-will.
Whether standing or wàlking, seated or lýìng down,
Free from dròwsiness,
One should sùstain this rècolléction.
This is said tò be thè sublíme abìding.
By not holding to fìxed views,
Thè pure-héartèd one, having clarity of vìsion,
Being freed fròm all sénse-desires,
Is not bórn ágain intò this world.

The following link will take you to the Parayana Vihara’s website and the chant book offered there:
https://parayanavihara.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chanting-Book.pdf

These chants are provided in both Pali and translated into English by Amavarati—a western monastery in England in the Theravada Ajahn Chah tradition.  

This is the second in a series on The Ten Paramis, based on a talk offered by
Kenn Duncan at Prescott Insight Meditation, January 20, 2026

Following are words, ideas, teachings & thoughts borrowed from Gil Fronsdal (primarily), Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg and Ajahn Chah.

First, a quick overview of our tour of the 10 pāramīs. Again we have: dana-generosity, Sila-ethical conduct, nekkhamma-renunciation, Pañña-wisdom, Viriya-effort or energy, Khanti-patience, Sacca-truthfulness, Adhitthana- resolve or determination, Metta-lovingkindness and Epekkha-equanimity. All of these are qualities of the heart that can be part of our practice anytime, in anyplace.

The second stop on our tour tonight is Sila. There are many translations of Sila: ethical conduct, Virtue, discipline and morality, among others. 

There’s a lot of discussion about ethics, virtue and morality in our country, AND in the world right now.  These have a lot to do with some of the most interesting aspects of human life: money, power, greed, sex, pleasure, relationships just to name a few . It can be a heavy lift, a heavy subject, particularly in a spiritual setting.  In our lives we’re constantly surrounded by questions, and challenged to explore our own virtue all the time, turn on the television or the radio or look over social media and it's everywhere, lots of ethical challenges and issues. 
  To look at ethical sensibility is to hopefully connect with something that's deep in each individual person.  And one of the core issues in our spiritual life is that it becomes essential to harmonize our core inner values with our behavior and how we live. How we act, based on our inner values has to do with ethics and virtue. 
At the depth of Sila is the spirit of non-harming.
Joseph Goldstein: “goodness in general.” 

The Sri Lankan monk Walpola Rahula notes that ethical conduct or Sila is “built on the vast conception of universal love and compassion for all living beings, on which the Buddha’s teaching is based."

While on the list of the paramis, Sila is also an integral part of the eightfold path, something for another talk another time,  but it’s one of the 3 baskets of the path which includes sīla-samādhi-pañña, ethical conduct, mind training, and wisdom.
Born from Sila, as kind of a guideline, are the five precepts:

THE FIVE PRECEPTS
I undertake:
1. to abstain from taking life/killing (harming)
2. to abstain from taking what is not given/stealing
3. to abstain from sensuous/sexual misconduct
4. to abstain from false speech/lying
5. to abstain from intoxicants as tending to cloud the mind or leading to heedlessness

This essay is the first of a series on The Ten Paramis, and is based on a talk given by Mark Donovan at Prescott Insight Meditation on January 13, 2026

Last week Carol gave an overview and introduction to the paramis, which we will be exploring together over the next ten weeks.  The paramis are ten noble, virtuous qualities that we can cultivate in our daily lives.  While the entire list is not found together as a whole in the Pali canon– the oldest Buddhist texts in which our tradition is based– these qualities are referred to individually in the suttas.  The paramis found their fruition in the Mahayana tradition and the ideal of the bodhisattva, a spiritual practitioner who is devoted to liberation from suffering for all beings. 

The word paramii derives from parama, "supreme," and suggests the eminence of the qualities. Paramita, the word preferred by the Mahayana texts and also used by Paali writers, is sometimes explained as ‘gone to the beyond," and indicates the transcendental direction of these qualities.  As Carol noted, cultivating the paramis leads us in the direction of both compassion and liberation.

Tonight I will talk about dana paramis.  Sean Oakes, a Spirit Rock teacher, says it can be helpful to distinguish between the Pali words for giving (dana) and generosity (caga).  “Generosity is an emotion and an intention, while giving is the action that follows, bringing our intention to fulfillment.  Generosity turns our attention away from what we can get and keep for ourselves toward what we can offer to others.  The emotion of generosity contains aspects of all the brahmaviharas –lovingkindness, compassion, joy and equanimity– as we feel how easily we can help others in need, and how much satisfaction it can give us.  Bringing generosity into form as giving asks us not to just wish well for others but act to support their well-being.” 

Gil Fronsdal says the practice has two important functions: “First, it helps connect us with others and with ourselves. Giving creates a relationship between the giver and receiver, so acts of generosity help us to learn more about the nature of our relationships. It also develops those relationships. Practicing generosity together with a meditation practice helps ensure that our spiritual practice doesn’t occur aloof from others.  Second, through the practice of generosity we begin to understand where we are closed, where we are holding back, where we feel our fear. We learn what keeps us from being generous. We take on the practice to see where we resist it.”

The Buddha says: And what is the accomplishment of generosity? Here, a noble disciple dwells at home with a mind free from stinginess, freely generous, open-handed, delighting in relinquishment, one devoted to charity, delighting in giving and sharing.   

Dana was the first teaching the Buddha shared with a practitioner because he considered it the most accessible and practical, the most easily practiced, and the most beneficial. Practicing dana cultivates joy, softens attachment, builds interconnectedness, and fosters happiness by letting go.  The Buddha typically followed a series of steps in what is referred to as a gradual or graduated training, anupubbasikkha in Pali, because each step progressively builds on the prior one and advances one’s spiritual path.  This was originally intended as a curriculum for monks and nuns.  The first step is dana, followed by sila/ethics/nonharming, then mindfulness and concentration, and so on with teaching of the Four Noble Truths much further down the list.

This essay is based on a talk given at Prescott Insight Meditation by Carol Russell on January 6, 2026.

Once upon a time, an immeasurably long time ago, an ascetic named Sumedho heard that an awakened Buddha named Dipankara was teaching in a nearby village. When Sumedho arrived, he saw a procession of people honoring this enlightened being. He glimpsed Dipankara Buddha and was immediately moved by his ‘noble bearing.’ 

In that moment, Sumedho realized that to become enlightened would be of benefit to the world and he made a vow on the spot to become a Buddha in a future life. And it’s important to note here that he made a vow not just for himself, but for all beings – the Boddhisatva vow. The Boddhisatva vow – to work for the liberation of all beings – is emphasized in the Mahayana tradition, but according to some scholars, has roots in the Theravadan as well.

There was Sumedha on the street – struck by this great being before him. Seeing Dipankara Buddha about to walk through a mud puddle, Sumedho threw himself into the mud so that Dipankara and his sangha could walk over his body rather than get their feet dirty. As the great teacher passed the prone Sumedho, he read Sumedho’s thoughts and aspiration to become a Buddha, and predicted this vow would be realized at ‘a time four incalculables and a hundred thousand eons in the future.’ 

Sumedho traveled back to his cave and wondered. ‘How can I make this vast journey? What aspects of the mind and heart do I need to develop in order to become a Buddha?’ He saw there were ten wholesome qualities that he would need to develop:

Generosity (Dana), Ethics (Sila), Renunciation (Nekkhamma), Wisdom (Pañña), Energy (Viriya), Patience (Khanti), Truthfulness (Sacca), Determination (Adhitthana), Loving-kindness (Metta), and Equanimity (Upekkha)

He then began the journey of innumerable lifetimes to develop the perfections of heart and mind that finally unfolded in his full enlightenment as Gotama Buddha under the bodhi tree in Northern India more than 2500 years ago. 


This is a beautiful parable about the origins of the paramis and how the Buddha made the Ten Paramis a part of his practice over many lifetimes. This story appears in the Sutta Pitaka, which is viewed by scholars to be later additions to the Pali Canon.

One scholar writes that although the Buddha spoke often about these ten qualities, they don’t appear as a list of paramis in the texts that are believed to be the words of the Buddha. And yet, from the early years of Buddhism, the paramis were considered essential elements of the path. It appears likely the list was created by people a few hundred years after the Buddha as they pondered the question, what aspects of the heart and mind will help me make this journey to awakening? 

In the Mahayana branch of Buddhism there are six paramis – often called the paramitas. The paramitas are considered the center of the Mahayana path, even the entire path. Shantideva wrote a classic text about the paramis as an entire path in the 8th c called Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way. This text is beloved by the Dalai Lama, who wrote a commentary on it called A Flash of Lightning in the Dark of Night.

I find it helpful to have a bit of this history and background of the paramis to deepen my understanding of the importance of these teachings.