PTC Monastery’s affiliated dharma center in Richmond, Virginia, Palpung Shenpen Tharchin, is devoting this year to study and practice of the six paramitas. We’ll meet the first Thursday evening of one month, beginning in January 2026, to discuss a paramita, and the first Thursday of the second month to compare notes and discuss any challenges that may have arisen. The homework between meetings will be to look for opportunities to practice the paramita as much as possible. During January and February our topic and practice will be the paramita of generosity.

The paramitas, aka perfections, aka transcending actions, are the action plan of bodhicitta, which is the intention to fully awaken to our own true nature of wisdom and compassion in order to help others do the same. There are six paramitas, and according to Gampopa they unfold naturally in the order in which they are traditionally presented: generosity, ethics, patience, joyful diligence, meditative stability, and transcendent knowledge (aka the wisdom that realizes emptiness). Actually putting the paramitas into practice (not just studying them) is how we wake ourselves up.

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