The Perfection of Wisdom - Perfections are a supporting condition


We need all ten perfections, because we have such an amount of defilements. It is not sufficient only to develop the perfection of panna. If we do not understand what the perfections are and in what way we should develop them in our daily life, we cannot realize the four noble Truths, but we have merely vain expectations of achieving their realization. We do not know ourselves and we do not understand that we need the perfections which are a supporting condition for the development of kusala and for the elimination of akusala dhammas.
When we have understood that satipatthana should be developed together with the perfections, there are conditions for the perfection of generosity, the giving away of things for the benefit of someone else, for the perfection of síla, the abstention from akusala kamma and the perfection of renunciation: detachment from visible object, sound and the other sense objects. This is a very gradual process, but at times someone may notice that he is inclined to become more detached from sense objects, that he has had already enough of them, and that he should not indulge in them too much.
With regard to the perfection of panna, most people are longing for panna, but the perfection of panna, that is, panna that understands the characteristics of realities, cannot arise if one does not try to develop it. Generally people wish to know the truth of realities, but they should carefully investigate whether, at the moment of seeing, of the experience of the other sense objects or of thinking, they have the sincere desire (chanda) to know and to understand the characteristics of the realities that are appearing at those very moments.
When someone really sees the benefit of panna he needs to have energy and endurance, because the development of panna is a difficult task which takes an endlessly long time. Understanding of the level of listening is only a foundation, it is not the perfection of panna that is the condition for the realization of the four noble Truths. The perfection of panna evolves with the development of the understanding of the characteristics of realities that are appearing. This includes the development of understanding of the level of listening, of considering realities, and also of the level of awareness of realities at this moment.

Topic 280