六波羅蜜 Six Paramitas ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་དྲུག་

'Good man, the Bodhisattva, Mahasattva, takes prajna-paramita as his mother, clever expedients as his father, dana-paramita as his wet-nurse, sila-paramita as his foster mother, the paramita of patience as his adornments, the paramita of vigor as his nourishment, and dhyana- paramita as the one who cleanses him.'

(EDR VIII 132)

The Buddha knows the hearts of living beings, And each of their different natures, According with what they ought to receive, In that way he speaks the Dharma.


For those who are stingy, he lauds giving.
For those who break the prohibitions, he praises the precepts.
For those with much anger, he praises patience.
For the lazy, he lauds vigor.
For those with scattered minds, he praises dhyana-concentration.
For the stupid, he praises wisdom. . . .(FAS Ch10 )

施波羅蜜 Generosity (Skt. Dana-paramita); selfless and impartial generosity; also translated as Charity

戒波羅蜜 Discipline (Skt. Shila-paramita); observance of the ethical regimen; also translated as Morality

忍波羅蜜 Patience (Skt. Kshanti-paramita); patient endurance of difficulties;; also translated as Forbearance

精進波羅蜜 Energy (Skt. Virya-paramita); zealous energy in perseverance; also translated as Effort

禪波羅蜜 Meditation (Skt. Dhyana-paramita); mindful absorption in meditation

般若波羅蜜 Wisdom (Skt. Prajna-paramita); wisdom of transcendent insight, to understand the inner principle of all things

Often, four more Paramitas are added:

十波羅蜜 - Ten Paramitas - ཐབས་ལ་མཁས་པ།

方便波羅蜜 Skillful Means (Skt. Upaya-paramita); also translated as Expedient Means

願波羅蜜 Vows (Skt. Pranidhana-paramita) To make and uphold vows especially the Four Great Vows -- including the vow to realize full enlightenment - Bodhicitta

力波羅蜜 Manifestation of The 10 powers (Skt. Bala-paramita) To perfect the Ten Powers

智波羅蜜 True understanding of all dharmas (Skt. Jnana-paramita) to realize omniscience (the simultaneous ultimate perfection of non-dual compassion and wisdom


The six paramitas are mentioned and explained in many of the most important Indian sources, such as

• Nagarjuna’s Letter to a Friend,
• Chandrakirti’s Introduction to the Middle Way and
• Shantideva’s Bodhicharyavatara.

[SOURCE]
Rigpa Wiki