Generosity: The giving of gifts represents releasing oneself from personal attachment to material wealth.
Morality: This quality involves respecting the rights of all living beings and living a virtuous life.
Patience: Followers of the bodhisattva path should remain tolerant in the face of adversity and quietly endure life's difficulties.
Diligence: This quality is sometimes referred to as exertion or effort. It represents a steadfast resolve to stay on the path of righteousness and maintain a life of courage and good deeds.
Meditation: The act of meditation, or concentration, allows a person to maintain the right frame of mind and focus on following the other perfections.
Transcendental knowledge: This is the realization of the ultimate truth called Prajna wisdom. This concept holds that life consists of both form and emptiness, meaning physical existence is temporary, and true human form will one day transition into emptiness.
As a person practices these six qualities, he or she will pass through ten stages, or bhumis, on the path of the bodhisattva. Some of these stages correspond to the attainment of a particular quality and relate to a specific section of the path. The ten stages are as follows:
Very joyful: This stage occurs with the realization of pure generosity.
Spotlessness: This stage is achieved when a person overcomes immoral behavior.
Illuminating: At this point, the bodhisattva overcomes anger and realizes true patience.
Radiating light: By making a supreme effort, the bodhisattva is able to rise above laziness and remove worldly obstructions to meditation.
Difficult to conquer: The bodhisattva has advanced to the point that he or she is not easily distracted from mediation.
Becoming manifest: The bodhisattva is introduced to the true nature of reality, or Prajna wisdom.
Far gone: A bodhisattva is able to perceive the hearts and minds of others and realize how to help them achieve enlightenment.
Immovable: At this stage, it becomes impossible for a person to stray from the bodhisattva path.
Good intellect: The bodhisattva is gifted with spiritual abilities to help others gain enlightenment.
Cloud of dharma: The final stage before enlightenment, the bodhisattva is said to have the power to spread wisdom like rain from a cloud.
Source: https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/social-sciences-and-humanities/bodhisattva
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