Bala-pāramitā

For other uses of bala, see bala.

bala-pāramitā (T. stobs kyi pha rol tu phyin pa སྟོབས་ཀྱི་ཕི་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་; C. li boluomi) is translated as "perfection of power," "perfection of strength," etc. It is the ninth of the ten paramitas of the Sanskrit tradition, which is mastered on the ninth bodhisattva ground (sādhuṃatī-bhūmi) of the bodhisattva path.

One Teacher, Many Traditions states:

Power is of many types: the power of no longer indulging in the afflictions because they have been abandoned, the power of superior thought to train in the exalted wisdom of ārya bodhisattvas, the power of remembering all Dharma teachings heard or read, the power to remain in deep concentration without being distracted, the power of knowing the behavior of each sentient being in the countless realms, the power to fulfill all our aims, the power of being skilled in distinguishing and examining the Buddha’s qualities, the power to not give up engaging in the Buddhas’ activities, the power to completely ripen the Buddha’s qualities within self and others, the power of great love protecting all sentient beings without bias, the power of great compassion to eliminate the duḥkha of all sentient beings without bias, the power to experience the ultimate reality that is like an illusion, and the power of approaching the exalted wisdom of omniscience.

Contemplating these powers of ārya bodhisattvas gives us a glimpse of the qualities we will be able to gain by practicing the Bodhisattva Vehicle. Creating the causes for such powers and using them to benefit ourselves and others will bring us great satisfaction, confidence, and exuberance to practice.

Sources

• Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University 
• Dalai Lama; Thubten Chodron (2014), Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions, Wisdom Publications