As another follow up to Higan Week, I offer Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s explanation of the  ten pāramitās of the Great Vehicle Bodhisattvas from his commentary on the Lotus Sutra.

I’ve explained the six perfections or six pāramitās practiced by the Bodhisattvas. What do Great Vehicle Bodhisattvas practice? They practice the ten perfections or the ten pāramitās.

7. The pāramitā of skillful means. Applying skillful means, you can turn the dust of the world into the Buddha’s work. Whatever a Buddha does is skillful means; what-ever Dharma he teaches is also skillful means. What are skillful means? Skillful means aren’t something that can be used forever. They’re provisional and temporary in nature. The Dharma-door of skillful means suits a par-ticular living being’s potential only at a given time.

8. The pāramitā of vows. You make vows to teach and rescue all living beings.

9. The pāramitā of powers. You need strength to realize this pāramitā.

10. The pāramitā of wisdom. This refers to provisional wisdom, the expedient wisdom used to teach and transform living beings.

Great Vehicle Bodhisattvas cultivate these ten pāramitās. Speaking of the six pāramitās and four infinite states of the mind, these ten pāramitās are already encompassed by the four infinite states of the mind. If I were to elaborate in detail, the endless elaborations could go on and on. Such explanations could go into infinite detail. For now, I can only give a general explanation.