Mahayana Buddhism, which espouses the bodhisattva path of altruism and compassion, speaks of the six paramitas, or perfection: generosity, precepts, patience, diligence, concentration, and wisdom. The goal of the first five paramitas is to attain the sixth— wisdom. However, to properly practice the first five paramitas, one must be guided by the Buddha’ s wisdom. Otherwise, the paramitas will fall short of being perfections, and not lead to wisdom.

Paramita literally means ‘from here to there,’ but it also has connotations of ‘leaving behind’ or ‘transcending.’ In particular, it means leaving behind and transcending suffering and its causes: the root afflictions (klesas), propensities (vasanas),7 and deluded thoughts, words, and actions (karma). Another nuance of paramita is ‘liberation.’ Therefore , once you realize wisdom, you have completed the journey across the ocean of suffering, and its causes, to the other shore, liberation.

People in Shakyamuni’ s time were not much different from people today. Many people embody one of two extreme attitudes. Some seek happiness through pursuit of sensual and material pleasures, such as sex, wealth, power, etc. Ultimately, they do not achieve happiness as much as they do stimulation. The author Ernest Hemingway once claimed that there were only three important things in his life: war, wine, and women. He had them all, but in spite of all his indulgences, he was not a happy man, and in the end took his own life. Obviously, he did not find the happiness he was looking for in those things.

At the other extreme, some people see no happiness in this world and try to transcend it through hardship or asceticism. Ultimately, neither hedonism nor asceticism leads to wisdom. Buddhadharma tells us that wisdom is paramount, and to attain this wisdom, we must practice in accordance with how things actually are. The Heart Sutra clearly and concisely describes true reality, explains the nature of wisdom, and elaborates the means to attain it.