An imaginative approach to spiritual practice in difficult times,
through the Buddhist teaching of the six paramitas or
"perfections"--qualities that lead to kindness, wisdom, and
an awakened life.
In frightening times, we wish the world could be otherwise. With a
touch of imagination, it can be. Imagination helps us see what’s
hidden, and it shape-shifts reality’s roiling twisting waves. In
this inspiring reframe of a classic Buddhist teaching, Zen teacher
Norman Fischer writes that the paramitas, or “six
perfections”—generosity, ethical conduct, patience, joyful
effort, meditation, and understanding—can help us reconfigure the
world we live in. Ranging from our everyday concerns about
relationships, ethics, and consumption to our artistic inspirations
and broadest human yearnings, Fischer depicts imaginative spiritual
practice as a necessary resource for our troubled times.
