Reply To: What does parami mean in reference to beings who are not Bodhisatta

#20370
upekkha100
Participant

Thanks for that Lal.

This post especially: Difference between a Wish and a Determination (Paramita) answered my question.

Particularly the following parts:
-“To become an Arahant one needs to make a commitment and maintain it over many, many lives. We all are likely to have made that commitment in one or more lives; of course we do not know. And if we had made such a commitment and have worked on it over many lives, it may be possible to fulfill it in this very life. Even otherwise, we can make a real effort to maintain that “paramita” and strengthen it.”

-“Some make firm determinations to become a deva, a brahma, an emperor, or just to be rich; there are millions of things that people wish for, and sometimes make firm determinations on. Some of them can come true in this lifetime itself, especially if that is a firm commitment coming from previous lives. Normally the word “paramita” is reserved for those commitments that target Nibbana. ”

-“In physics, there is a simple law that says, “every action has a reaction”. In Buddha Dhamma, there is an even more generalized law: when one keeps doing something, an invisible energy buildup occurs that will result in a kamma bhava(a potential energy) that will bring about a result (even a birth) of similar kind.”