The Fourth Paramita: Diligence

The paramita of diligence, or virya, nurtures zeal in one's practice. It is a keenness without fear for demanding work, and is the antidote for laxity. The Buddhist scriptures say that Shakyamuni and Maitreya both gave rise to bodhi-mind at the same time, but Shakyamuni, the buddha of this era, attained buddhallood first. The scriptures also say that 5.6 billion years after Shakyamuni, Maitreya will become the buddha of the future era. Perhaps Shakyamuni became a buddha first because he practiced more diligently, but the more likely reason is that Shtheamuni's causal grounds for attaining buddhallood were different from those of Maitreya.

Vows and Aspirations