The Dhāraṇī for Retaining the Six Perfections

From the Sanskrit verb dhṛ (“to hold”), the term refers to the ability to hold or retain the Buddha’s teachings in the memory, and the specific mnemonic formulas or aids to doing so, which also distill the teachings into shorter utterances. From there the term also carries a strong sense that such formulas or devices, when spoken or rehearsed in the mind, have extraordinary power to effect change in the world and in oneself.

The fourth of the six or ten perfections, this refers to a state of mind characterized by joyful persistence when engaging in virtuous activity.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Morally virtuous or disciplined conduct and the abandonment of morally undisciplined conduct of body, speech, and mind. In a general sense, moral discipline is the cause for rebirth in higher, more favorable states, but it is also foundational to Buddhist practice as one of the three trainings (triśikṣā) and one of the six perfections of a bodhisattva. Often rendered as “ethics,” “discipline,” and “morality.”

The first of the six or ten perfections, often explained as the essential starting point and training for the practice of the others.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Dhyāna is defined as one-pointed abiding in an undistracted state of mind, free from afflicted mental states. Four states of dhyāna are identified as being conducive to birth within the form realm. In the context of the Mahāyāna, it is the fifth of the six perfections. It is commonly translated as “concentration,” “meditative concentration,” and so on.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A term meaning acceptance, forbearance, or patience. As the third of the six perfections, patience is classified into three kinds: the capacity to tolerate abuse from sentient beings, to tolerate the hardships of the path to buddhahood, and to tolerate the profound nature of reality. As a term referring to a bodhisattva’s realization, dharmakṣānti (chos la bzod pa) can refer to the ways one becomes “receptive” to the nature of Dharma, and it can be an abbreviation of anutpattikadharmakṣānti, “forbearance for the unborn nature, or nonproduction, of dharmas.”

In the context‌ of the perfections, wisdom is the sixth of the six perfections. The translation of prajñā (shes rab) by “wisdom” here defers to the precedent established by Edward Conze in his writings. It has a certain poetic resonance which more accurate renderings‍—“discernment,” “discriminative awareness,” or “intelligence”‍—unfortunately lack. It should be remembered that in Abhidharma, prajñā is classed as one of the five object-determining mental states (pañca­viṣaya­niyata, yul nges lnga), alongside “will,” “resolve,” “mindfulness,” and “meditative stability.” Following Asaṅga’s Abhidharma­samuccaya, Jamgon Kongtrul (TOK, Book 6, Pt. 2, p. 498) defines prajñā as “the discriminative awareness that analyzes specific and general characteristics.”