The First Treatise on the Perfections – 2520
3. Four Grounds for Becoming a Buddha
Like aspiration, compassion and wisdom, the following four factors also form
the basic conditions of the perfections:
1. Endeavour (
ussāha
): It is the endeavour for the fulfilment of the
perfections (
pāramī
), charity (
cāga
) and practices (
cariyā
).
2. Higher intelligence (
ummaṅga
): It is the skill in ways and means,
(
upāya-kosalla-ñāṇa
), or skill in means.
3. Firm standing (
avaṭṭhāna
): It is imperturbable determination in
practices leading to
[63]
becoming a Buddha.
4. Beneficial practice (
hita-cariyā
): It is development of loving-kindness
and compassion.
These four factors are known as the grounds for becoming a Buddha since they
are conducive to the arising of omniscience.
4. Sixteen Mental Dispositions
388
There are sixteen dispositions of a good type: inclinations to renunciation
(
nekkhammajjhāsaya
); to solitude (
pavivekajjhāsaya
); to non-greed
(
alobhajjhāsaya
); to non-hatred (
adosajjhāsaya
); to non-delusion
(
amohajjhāsaya
); to liberation (
nissaraṇajjhāsaya
); and inclination towards
each of the ten perfections (
dānajjhāsaya
,
sīlajjhāsaya
), etc.
Because of their intense inclination for renunciation, Bodhisattas see danger in
sense-pleasures and household life; because of their intense inclination for
solitude, they see danger in company and social life; because of their intense
inclination for non-greed, non-hatred, and non-delusion, they see danger in
greed, hatred and delusion; because of their intense inclination for liberation,
they see danger in all forms of existence.
The perfections do not arise in him who does not see danger in greed, hatred,
etc., and who has no intense inclination to non-greed, non-hatred, etc. Therefore,
the six inclinations for non-greed, non-hatred, etc., are also the conditions of the
perfections.
388
Ajjhāsaya
, mental disposition is an inclination or temperament which influences the
formation of one’s personality. It is basically of two types: good and bad.