92 of 108 Gates of Dharma Illumination

[Shokai]

一百八法明門
IPPYAKUHACHI-HOMYOMON
One Hundred and Eight Gates of Dharma-Illumination

[92] The wisdom paramita is a gate of Dharma-illumination; for [with it] we eradicate the darkness of ignorance, together with attachment to views, and we teach and guide foolish living
beings.

The Wisdom Paramita, or "Perfection of Wisdom," is the sixth and final perfection in the Mahayana Buddhist path, serving as the guide that makes all other perfections—generosity, ethics, patience, diligence, and meditation—authentic and complete. It is defined as the direct, experiential realization of emptiness and the true nature of reality, liberating practitioners from suffering by removing the attachment to a permanent self.

How can you confirm the existence of this gate??

合掌,生開
gassho, Shokai
stlah
仁道 生開 / Jindo Shokai
"Open to life in a benevolent way"

[Ryūdō-Liúdào]

Oh, I like your choice of question, Shokai.

While I’m not sure I can confirm the existence of anything in a concrete way, it does seem that wisdom is what keeps the other practices alive. Without it, generosity can feel wasteful, ethics become restrictive, patience exhausting, diligence pointless… and meditation—well, who has time to sit around doing nothing? There’s money to be made!

With a bit of wisdom, though, those same things start to make sense, and we find ourselves naturally wanting to keep the wheel turning for the benefit of all.

Gasshō,
流道-Ryūdō-Liúdào
Satlah

[Tenryu]

No path, no wisdom and no gain.
…and nothing to confirm.

Sometimes there’s a small clearing—something I was certain about softens, or a fixed way of seeing opens a little. It’s very quiet, easy to miss. Nothing to hold onto. Just a sense that a bit less is in the way.

Gasshō,
Tenryū
st•lah

[Tairin]

Thank you Shokai

I don’t believe I can confirm using words the existence of this Gate. It seems many volumes have been written on this topic.

I do feel I have confirmed its existence to myself through my own experience and practice.


Tairin
sat today and lah

[Choujou]

Look to Shakyamuni, and all Buddhas throughout space and time, for they are the proof of this gate. You can also become a Buddha to confirm… the latter is recommended!

Gassho,
Choujou

sat/lah today

[Seikan]

I certainly don't claim to have any great depth of wisdom to show as "proof" of its existence. But I do feel that I've caught just enough small glimpses to keep me aligned on the path and feeling good about the direction I'm traveling on it.

Gassho,
Seikan
stlah

[Chikyou]

Every time I see one of these gates mentioning “teaching and guiding [x] living beings” I’m not sure what to think of it. There’s part of me that reads it as “everyone else is a fool but me, I have wisdom” and that is OBVIOUSLY not right () so what does it mean?

On reflection, I can think of many times where I’ve been taught by someone’s actions. Where i would respond with anger, or sarcasm, they don’t, and their example teaches me to do better without a single word of criticism ever being uttered.

Gassho,
SatLah,
Chikyō