The Six Perfections: Buddhism and the Cultivation of Character

Here is a lucid, accessible, and inspiring guide to the six perfections--Buddhist teachings about six dimensions of human character that require "perfecting" generosity, morality, tolerance, energy, meditation, and wisdom. Drawing on the Diamond Sutra, the Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom, and other essential Mahayana texts, Dale Wright shows how these teachings were understood and practiced in classical Mahayana Buddhism and how they can be adapted to contemporary life in a global society. What would the perfection of generosity look like today, for example? What would it mean to give with neither ulterior motives nor naivetÃ(c)? Devoting a separate chapter to each of the six perfections, Wright combines sophisticated analysis with real-life applications. Buddhists have always stressed self-cultivation, the uniquely human freedom that opens the possibility of shaping the kind of life we will live and the kind of person we will become. For those interested in ideals of human character and practices of self-cultivation, The Six Perfections offers invaluable guidance.

Author: Dale Wright
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 11/28/2011
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 0.80d
ISBN13: 9780199895793
ISBN10: 0199895791
BISAC Categories:
- Religion | Buddhism | Sacred Writings
- Religion | Philosophy

About the Author

Dale Wright is David B. and Mary H. Gamble Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies and Asian Studies at Occidental College and the author of Philosophical Meditations on Zen Buddhism and, co-edited with Steven Heine, a series of five OUP books on Zen Buddhism.

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