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LA PRIMERA PARAMITA: Dana, Generosidad Por Roshi Joan Halifax

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LA PRIMERA PARAMITA: Dana, Generosidad Por Roshi Joan Halifax LA PRIMERA PARAMITA: Dana, generosidad (First Paramita: Dana, generosity) Por Roshi Joan Halifax -Traducción Santiago Avilés Lee- Tomado de, Upaya Zen Center weekly Newsletter, diciembre 1, 2015. www.upaya.org Tomado de un “Dharma Talk” de Diciembre de 1999, durante un rohatsu sesshin El invierno es una estación de oscuridad y también de luz; una estación de violencia y también de paz; la estación del nacimiento y la estación de la muerte; una estación de muchos cambios para muchos individuos a nivel personal, así como también cambios globales que son difíciles para nosotros incluso de comenzar a entender. Las Paramitras tienen sus raíces en las enseñanzas budistas ancestrales, sin embargo, las ideas que se han desarrollado como Paramitas corresponden más al budismo Mahayana y no tanto a la tradición Therevadan. Las seis Paramitas fueron formuladas hace unos 2000 años, cuando comienza a surgir el Mahayana. En unos pocos cientos de años la lista se subió a diez bajo la influencia de Persia y de otras culturas. Las Paramitas son las cualidades de la mente del Bodhisattva, el ser iluminado que ayuda a llevar a los otros a la otra orilla, la orilla de la liberación. Y esto es lo que significa la palabra Paramita: llevar a la otra orilla. Las Paramitas están vinculadas a los Bhumis que son los niveles profundos de concentración de los que los Bodhisattvas hacen conciencia a través de todos los tiempos y espacio. Como cualidades de la mente, las Paramitas son hermosos adornos de vacuidad. Las paramitas pueden verse como prácticas a ser cultivadas, sin embargo, en su aspecto más interior, son también cualidades de la mente y percepciones del sendero. Hablemos ahora de la primera Paramita: Dana Paramita. Dana, es una hermosa palabra que significa generosidad, generosidad de mente. pero, ¿cómo es esto?, sentados en un salón de meditación, ¿cómo practicas generosidad de mente? ¿qué es lo que estamos dando? Las enseñanzas, el Dharma, nos hablan de cuatro regalos que podemos dar. Podemos aportar soporte material, como alimento o vestuario. Podemos dar protección. Podemos dar el Dharma, en forma de enseñanzas. Y lo más importante, y sutil a la vez, podemos dar el regalo del no-miedo. El regalo del no-miedo aparece en el Sutra del Corazón: “los Bodhisattvas enraizados en Prajna Paramita, no encuentran obstáculo para sus mentes. Al no tener obstáculos, ellos superan todos los miedos”. Enraizado en la prajna, la sabiduría, no hay obstáculos. No hay miedo. En el salón de meditación nosotros practicamos este no-miedo de manera que lo podamos compartir con otros. La Dana Paramita, también está asociada con los primeros dos de los cuatro inconmensurables. Los cuatro inconmensurables son: bondad amorosa, compasión, alegría altruista y ecuanimidad. Dana, la mente de la generosidad, está unida a las cualidades de la bondad amorosa y la compasión. Hay un obsequio maravilloso que surge cuando practicamos bondad amorosa y compasión. Al comienzo hay separación. Nosotros somos el dador y le estamos dando a alguien. Sin embargo, en el verdadero dar, la separación desaparece. No hay dualidad. Dana, bondad amorosa y compasión, están presentes, sin embargo, ya no hay dador, ni receptor. Los cuatro inconmensurables son inherentes a tu propia naturaleza, a tu naturaleza búdica. Pero lo que hace el miedo es fomentar la avaricia, en lugar de la generosidad. En la Orden Zen del Hacedor de Paz llamamos a la mente del miedo y la avaricia, la mente de la pobreza. No fomentes una mente de pobreza en ti mismo, ni en los demás. Este es uno de los votos que nosotros tomamos. Nuestro sentido del ser, construido desde una infancia que nos condiciona, posee un sentido de profunda inferioridad, un sentido de “Yo no soy suficiente para esto”. Desde esta debilidad y temor, surge la avaricia. La Dana Paramita, es la medicina para esto. El obsequio del no-miedo despierta la mente de la generosidad. .
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