The Marks That Prove the Six Perfections Are Real
Shansheng already knows, from an earlier chapter, that honoring the six directions and practicing the six perfections are the same undertaking. Here he presses further: what does a person who actually does this look like? The Buddha answers with six long lists of concrete, checkable behavior — not doctrine to be believed but conduct to be recognized — then defends, point by point, why these six can never be collapsed into four, three, two, or one, before closing with a single hard admission: leaving home makes this easy; staying home makes it genuinely difficult.
1. Milestone: Shansheng's Question — What Actually Marks Such a Person
The chapter opens by picking up a thread left dangling earlier: honoring the six directions and practicing the six perfections had already been identified as one and the same thing, said to increase both wealth and life. Shansheng now asks the obvious next question — not what the six perfections are, but how one would actually recognize a person who lives them.
善生言：「世尊！如佛先說供養六方，六方即是六波羅蜜，是人則能增長財、命，如是之人有何等相？」
Shansheng said: "World-Honored One! As the Buddha has already taught, honoring the six directions — the six directions being precisely the six perfections — that person is thereby able to increase both wealth and life. What marks does such a person actually have?"
Grand Master Taixu opens his own lecture notes on this chapter with a single image: the six perfections are six boats, and a bodhisattva simply relies on them to cross to the far shore. He reads this entire chapter as existing to state their general character — not the fine technical detail of each precept, but the recognizable shape practice actually takes in a life. Shansheng's question, on his reading, is exactly this demand for a general character rather than a definition: he already knows what the six perfections are called; what he wants now is some way to tell, from the outside, who is actually practicing them.
2. Milestone: The Six Marks — What Each Perfection Looks Like in a Life
The Buddha answers in six matching lists, one for each perfection, moving from giving through discipline, patience, vigor, meditative concentration, and finally wisdom. Each list is built the same way: not abstract praise of the virtue, but a string of everyday, checkable behaviors that only make sense if the virtue is genuinely present.
Giving Perfected
「善男子！若能不惜一切財物，常於他人作利益事，念於布施，樂行布施，隨有隨施，不問多少，當行施時，於身財物不生輕想，淨施不擇持戒、毀戒；讚歎布施，見行布施歡喜不妬，見有求者心則悅樂，起迎禮拜，施床命坐，前人諮問若不諮問，輒為讚歎布施之果；見恐怖者，能為救護，處飢饉世，樂施飲食，雖作是施，不為果報，不求恩報施；不誑眾生，能讚三寶所有功德，不以斗稱雜餘、異、賤欺誑於人；不樂酒博貪欲之心；常修慚羞愧恥之德，雖復巨富，心不放逸，多行惠施，不生憍慢。善男子！有是相者，當知是人則能供養施波羅蜜。」
"Good man! If a person begrudges no wealth or possession whatsoever, constantly acts for others' benefit, keeps giving in mind, delights in the practice of giving, gives whatever he has as it comes without asking how much; when he gives, he does not regard his own body or possessions as too precious to part with; his giving is pure, making no distinction between the precept-keeper and the precept-breaker; he praises giving, and on seeing another give, feels joy rather than envy; on seeing someone in need, his heart is glad — he rises to greet them, bows, offers a seat, and invites them to sit; whether or not they ask, he readily praises to them the fruit of giving; on seeing someone in fear, he is able to rescue and protect them; in a time of famine he delights in giving food and drink, and even so, he does not give for the sake of a reward, nor does he seek gratitude in return; he does not deceive other beings, and he can praise the virtues of the Three Jewels; he does not use short measures or scales, does not mix in inferior or cheap goods, and does not cheat people; his heart takes no pleasure in drink, gambling, or greed; he constantly cultivates the virtue of shame and conscience; even should he become exceedingly wealthy, his mind does not grow careless — he continues to give generously and does not become arrogant. Good man! One who bears these marks should be known as a person who honors the perfection of giving."
Discipline Perfected
「善男子！若有人能淨身、口、意，常修軟心，不作罪過，設誤作者，常生愧悔，信是罪業，得惡果報；所修善事，心生歡喜，於小罪中生極重想，設其作已，恐怖憂悔；終不打罵瞋惱眾生，先意語言，言輒柔軟，見眾生已，生愛念心，知恩報恩，心不慳悋，不誑眾生；如法求財，樂作福德，所作功德常以化人，見窮苦者，身代受之；常修慈心，憐愍一切，見作惡者，能為遮護，見作善者，讚德說果，復以身力往營佐之；身不自由，令他自在；常修遠離瞋恚之心，或時暫起，覺生愧悔；實語、軟語，遠離兩舌及無義語。善男子！有是相者，當知是人則能供養戒波羅蜜。」
"Good man! If a person is able to purify body, speech, and mind, constantly cultivates a gentle heart, and commits no offense — and should he mistakenly commit one, he constantly feels shame and remorse, believing that such an offense brings an evil result; toward the good deeds he performs his heart feels joy, while toward even minor faults he takes an extremely serious view, and once one is committed, he feels fear, regret, and remorse; he never strikes, scolds, or angers other beings; he speaks first and speaks gently; on seeing other beings, love and affection arise in him; he knows kindness and repays kindness; his heart is free of stinginess, and he does not deceive other beings; he seeks wealth in accordance with the Dharma and delights in doing meritorious deeds, using whatever merit he makes to transform others; on seeing someone destitute and suffering, he takes their suffering upon his own body in their place; he constantly cultivates a compassionate heart and has pity on all beings; on seeing someone doing evil, he is able to shield and restrain them; on seeing someone doing good, he praises their virtue, speaks of its fruit, and goes in person to help and support their effort; he does not keep his own freedom to himself, but gives others theirs; he constantly cultivates a mind far removed from anger, and should anger ever arise for a moment, he becomes aware of it and feels shame and remorse; he speaks truthfully and gently, staying far from divisive speech and idle talk. Good man! One who bears these marks should be known as a person who honors the perfection of discipline."
Patience Perfected
「善男子！若人能淨身、口、意業，眾生設以大惡事加，乃至不生一念瞋心，終不惡報，若來悔謝，即時受之；見眾生時，心常歡喜，見作惡者，生憐愍心；讚歎忍果，呵責瞋恚，說瞋果報多有苦毒；修施忍時，先及怨家；正觀五陰眾緣合和，若和合成，何故生瞋？深觀瞋恚乃是未來無量惡道受苦因緣，若暫生瞋，則生慚愧、恐怖、悔心；見他忍勝，不生妬嫉。善男子！有是相者，當知是人則能供養忍波羅蜜。」
"Good man! If a person is able to purify the deeds of body, speech, and mind, then even should other beings inflict some great evil on him, he does not give rise to so much as a single thought of anger, and never returns evil for evil; should the offender come to apologize, he accepts it at once; on seeing other beings his heart is always joyful, and on seeing someone doing evil, compassion arises in him; he praises the fruit of patience and reproaches anger, explaining that the fruit of anger holds much bitterness and poison; when he practices the patience that accompanies giving, he extends it first of all to his enemies; he rightly contemplates that the five aggregates are only a coming-together of conditions — and if they are merely a coming-together, what is there to be angry at? He deeply contemplates that anger is itself the cause of suffering in countless evil destinies yet to come, so that even should anger arise for a moment, shame, fear, and remorse follow at once; on seeing another's patience surpass his own, he feels no envy. Good man! One who bears these marks should be known as a person who honors the perfection of patience."
Vigor Perfected
「善男子！若有人能不作懈怠，不受不貪坐臥等樂，如作大事功德力時及營小事，心亦如是；凡所作業，要令畢竟，作時不觀飢渴、寒熱、時與非時，不輕自身；大事未訖，不生悔心，作既終訖，自慶能辦；讚歎精進所得果報——如法得財，用皆以理——見邪進者，為說惡果；善教眾生令修精進，所作未竟，不中休息；修善法時，不隨他語。善男子！有是相者，當知是人則能供養進波羅蜜。」
"Good man! If a person is able to refrain from laziness, does not indulge in or crave the ease of sitting or lying about, and holds the same attitude whether undertaking a great work of merit or attending to some small task; whatever work he undertakes, he sees it through to completion, paying no mind, while doing it, to hunger, thirst, cold, heat, or whether the time is fitting, nor treating his own body as too precious to spend; before a great task is finished he feels no regret, and once it is complete he rejoices at having accomplished it; he praises the fruit gained through vigor — wealth gained in accordance with the Dharma and used entirely according to reason; on seeing someone striving toward a wrong end, he explains to them the evil fruit awaiting; he skillfully teaches other beings to cultivate vigor, and does not rest partway through an undertaking; when cultivating wholesome practice, he does not let others talk him out of it. Good man! One who bears these marks should be known as a person who honors the perfection of vigor."
Meditative Concentration Perfected
「善男子！若有人能淨身、口、意，樂處空閑，若窟，若山、樹林、空舍，不樂憒鬧、貪著臥具，不樂聽說世間之事，不樂貪欲、瞋恚、愚癡；先語軟語，常樂出家教化眾生；所有煩惱輕微軟薄，離惡覺觀；見怨修慈，樂說定報；心若逸亂，生怖、愧、悔；見邪定者，為說罪過，善化眾生置正定中。善男子！有是相者，當知是人則能供養禪波羅蜜。」
"Good man! If a person is able to purify body, speech, and mind, delights in dwelling in quiet, empty places — a cave, a mountain, a grove of trees, an empty dwelling — takes no pleasure in noise and clamor or in attachment to fine bedding, has no wish to hear worldly affairs discussed, and takes no pleasure in greed, anger, or delusion; who speaks first and speaks gently, and constantly longs to leave the household life and teach and transform other beings; whose afflictions grow light and thin, and who is free of unwholesome thought and deliberation; who cultivates loving-kindness even toward an enemy, and delights in speaking of the fruits of meditative concentration; whose heart, should it grow restless and scattered, at once feels fear, shame, and remorse; who, on seeing someone fixed in a wrong concentration, explains to them its fault, and skillfully guides other beings into right concentration. Good man! One who bears these marks should be known as a person who honors the perfection of meditative concentration."
Wisdom Perfected
「善男子！若有人能淨身、口、意，悉學一切世間之事，於貪、瞋、癡心不貪樂，不狂不亂；憐愍眾生，善能供養父母、師長、和上、長老、耆舊有德；修不放逸；先語軟語，不誑眾生，能分別說邪道、正道及善惡報；常樂寂靜出家修道；能以世事用教眾生，見學勝己，不生妬心，自勝他人，不生憍慢；受苦不憂，受樂不喜。善男子！有是相者，當知是人則能供養般若波羅蜜。」
"Good man! If a person is able to purify body, speech, and mind, learns thoroughly all manner of worldly affairs, yet toward greed, anger, and delusion feels no craving or delight, and is neither deranged nor confused by them; who has compassion for other beings and is skilled at honoring his parents, teachers, preceptors, elders, and those of long standing and virtue; who cultivates diligence and avoids heedlessness; who speaks first and speaks gently, does not deceive other beings, and can discern and explain the difference between the wrong path and the right path, and between good and evil results; who constantly delights in stillness, in leaving the household life, and in cultivating the path; who is able to use worldly knowledge to teach other beings; on seeing another whose learning surpasses his own, feels no envy, and on surpassing others himself, does not become arrogant; who is troubled by neither suffering nor pleasure when either comes to him. Good man! One who bears these marks should be known as a person who honors the perfection of wisdom."
Taixu treats all six of these lists as one continuous answer to Shansheng's single question, and adds only one comment once the full set is complete — but it is a pointed one. He notes that anger is not quite parallel to the other two root afflictions named throughout these lists: greed and delusion can, in certain circumstances, be karmically neutral and can arise anywhere across all three realms of existence, but anger cannot — it is purely and only an unwholesome state, and it belongs solely to the desire realm. Read this way, the patience list's insistence on contemplating the five aggregates as nothing but a coming-together of conditions is not a generic meditation instruction; it is aimed specifically at anger's particular character, since nothing that is merely a coming-together of conditions offers any real, solid target worth taking offense at.
3. Milestone: Four Dimensions Within Each Perfection
Having named the marks, the Buddha now analyzes each of the six perfections along the same four axes — what it tames, what it removes, how it benefits the practitioner, and how it benefits others — moving through giving, discipline, patience, vigor, meditative concentration, and wisdom in turn.
「善男子！一一方中各有四事。施方四者：一者：調伏眾生，二者、離對，三者、自利，四者、利他。若人於財不生慳惜，亦不分別怨親之相、時與非時，是人則能調伏眾生。於財不惜，故能行施，是故得離慳悋之惡，是名離對。欲施、施時、施已歡喜，不生悔心，是故未來受人、天樂至無上樂，是名自利。能令他人離於飢渴苦切之惱，故名利他。
"Good man! Within each of these six directions there are four matters. The four matters of the direction of giving are: first, taming beings; second, freedom from its opposite; third, benefiting oneself; fourth, benefiting others. If a person feels no stinginess toward wealth, and makes no distinction between friend and foe, or between a fitting time and an unfitting one, this person is thereby able to tame other beings. Because he does not begrudge his wealth, he is able to practice giving, and thereby gains freedom from the fault of stinginess — this is called freedom from its opposite. Wishing to give, giving, and having given, he feels joy and no regret, and for this reason will in future receive the happiness of humans and gods, up to the unsurpassed happiness — this is called benefiting oneself. Being able to free other beings from the affliction of hunger and thirst is called benefiting others.
「戒方四者：一者、莊嚴菩提，二者、離對，三者、自利，四者、利他。莊嚴菩提者，優婆塞戒至菩薩戒，能為阿耨多羅三藐三菩提初地根基，是名莊嚴。既受戒已，復得遠離惡戒、無戒，是名離對。受持戒已，得人、天樂至無上樂，是名自利。既受戒已，施諸眾生無恐無畏，咸令一切離苦獲安，是名利他。
"The four matters of the direction of discipline are: first, adorning bodhi; second, freedom from its opposite; third, benefiting oneself; fourth, benefiting others. Adorning bodhi means that the upāsaka precepts, up through the bodhisattva precepts, are able to serve as the foundation of the first ground of unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment — this is called adorning. Having received the precepts, one further gains freedom from bad discipline and from having no discipline at all — this is called freedom from its opposite. Having received and upheld the precepts, one gains the happiness of humans and gods, up to the unsurpassed happiness — this is called benefiting oneself. Having received the precepts, one gives all beings freedom from terror and fear, causing every one of them to leave suffering behind and find peace — this is called benefiting others.
「忍方四者：一者、莊嚴菩提，二者、離對，三者、自利，四者、利他。莊嚴菩提者，因忍故得修善，修善故得初地乃至阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，是名莊嚴。既修忍已，能離瞋惡，是名離對。忍因緣故，得人、天樂至無上樂，是名自利。忍因緣故，人生喜心、善心、調心，是名利他。
"The four matters of the direction of patience are: first, adorning bodhi; second, freedom from its opposite; third, benefiting oneself; fourth, benefiting others. Adorning bodhi means that through patience one is able to cultivate good, and through cultivating good one attains the first ground, up to unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment — this is called adorning. Having cultivated patience, one is able to be free of the fault of anger — this is called freedom from its opposite. Through the causes and conditions of patience, one gains the happiness of humans and gods, up to the unsurpassed happiness — this is called benefiting oneself. Through the causes and conditions of patience, other people give rise to a joyful heart, a good heart, and a tamed heart — this is called benefiting others.
「進方四者：一者、莊嚴菩提，二者、離對，三者、自利，四者、利他。莊嚴菩提者，因精進故得修善，修善法故得初地乃至阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，是名莊嚴。修善法時，離惡懈怠，是名離對。因是善法，得人、天樂至無上樂，是名自利。教眾生修善，令離惡法，是名利他。
"The four matters of the direction of vigor are: first, adorning bodhi; second, freedom from its opposite; third, benefiting oneself; fourth, benefiting others. Adorning bodhi means that through vigor one is able to cultivate good, and through cultivating wholesome practice one attains the first ground, up to unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment — this is called adorning. While cultivating wholesome practice, one is free of the fault of laziness — this is called freedom from its opposite. Through this wholesome practice, one gains the happiness of humans and gods, up to the unsurpassed happiness — this is called benefiting oneself. Teaching other beings to cultivate good and freeing them from unwholesome practice is called benefiting others.
「禪方四者：一者、莊嚴菩提，二者、離對，三者、自利，四者、利他。莊嚴菩提者，因修如是禪定力故，獲得初地乃至阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，是名莊嚴。因是禪定修無量善，離惡覺觀，是名離對。修舍摩他因緣力故，常樂寂靜，得人、天樂至無上樂，是名自利。斷諸眾生貪欲、瞋恚、狂癡之心，是名利他。
"The four matters of the direction of meditative concentration are: first, adorning bodhi; second, freedom from its opposite; third, benefiting oneself; fourth, benefiting others. Adorning bodhi means that through cultivating the power of such meditative concentration, one attains the first ground, up to unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment — this is called adorning. Through this meditative concentration one cultivates immeasurable good and is free of unwholesome thought and deliberation — this is called freedom from its opposite. Through the causal power of cultivating calm-abiding, one constantly delights in stillness and gains the happiness of humans and gods, up to the unsurpassed happiness — this is called benefiting oneself. Cutting off other beings' minds of greed, anger, and deranged delusion is called benefiting others.
「智方四者：一者、莊嚴菩提，二者、離對，三者、自利，四者、利他。莊嚴菩提者，因修智慧獲得初地乃至阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，是名莊嚴。修智慧故，遠離無明，令諸煩惱不得自在，是名離對。除煩惱障及智慧障，是名自利。教化眾生令得調伏，是名利他。」
"The four matters of the direction of wisdom are: first, adorning bodhi; second, freedom from its opposite; third, benefiting oneself; fourth, benefiting others. Adorning bodhi means that through cultivating wisdom one attains the first ground, up to unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment — this is called adorning. Through cultivating wisdom, one is far removed from ignorance and no longer lets the afflictions act freely — this is called freedom from its opposite. Removing both the hindrance of the afflictions and the hindrance to wisdom is called benefiting oneself. Teaching and transforming other beings so that they too become tamed is called benefiting others."
Taixu pauses here to clarify a small but easily blurred technical distinction: the "hindrance of the afflictions" is named for what it obstructs with — the raw force of greed, anger, and delusion actively getting in the way — while the "hindrance to wisdom" (elsewhere called the cognitive hindrance) is named for what gets obstructed, the subtler failure to know things as they truly are, even once the coarser afflictions are gone. Both need to be removed, and they are removed differently.
He also draws out something practical about the whole fourfold scheme: these six practices are, in principle, meant to be cultivated in equal measure — no one of them is supposed to eclipse the rest. But he notes that because this particular sutra is addressed specifically to the householder bodhisattva, it places noticeably more weight on giving than on the other five, which is visible simply by comparing how much longer the giving material runs throughout this chapter. For someone still living inside a household, wealth is exactly the terrain where practice is tested first.
4. Milestone: Why Exactly Six — Refuting the Reductionists
The Buddha now turns to a specific objection: that the six perfections are not really six distinct things at all, but four, or three, or two, since discipline seems to already contain patience, and wisdom seems to already contain concentration. He refutes this directly, then explains the actual order in which the six are taught.
「善男子！或有說言『離戒無忍，離智無定，是故說有四波羅蜜。若能忍惡不還報者，即名為戒；若修禪定心不放逸，即是智慧，是故戒即是忍，慧即是定。離慧無定，離定無慧，是故慧即是定，定即是慧。離戒無進，離進無戒，是故戒即精進，精進即戒。離施無進，離進無施，是故施即精進，精進即施。故知無有六波羅蜜』者，是義不然！何以故？智慧是因，布施是果；精進是因，持戒是果；三昧是因，忍辱是果。然因與果，不得為一，是故應有六波羅蜜。
"Good man! Some say: 'Apart from discipline there is no patience, and apart from wisdom there is no concentration — so there are really only four perfections. One who is able to bear evil without returning it is precisely what is called discipline; one who cultivates meditative concentration with a mind free of heedlessness is precisely wisdom — therefore discipline is itself patience, and wisdom is itself concentration. Apart from wisdom there is no concentration, and apart from concentration there is no wisdom — therefore wisdom is itself concentration, and concentration is itself wisdom. Apart from discipline there is no vigor, and apart from vigor there is no discipline — therefore discipline is itself vigor, and vigor is itself discipline. Apart from giving there is no vigor, and apart from vigor there is no giving — therefore giving is itself vigor, and vigor is itself giving. From this we know there is no such thing as six perfections.' This reasoning does not hold. Why not? Wisdom is a cause, and giving is its fruit; vigor is a cause, and upholding discipline is its fruit; meditative absorption is a cause, and patience is its fruit. But a cause and its fruit cannot be made into one and the same thing — therefore there must be six perfections.
「若有說言『戒即是忍，忍即是戒』，是義不然！何以故？戒從他得，忍不如是；有不受戒而能忍惡，為眾修善忍無數苦，無量世中代諸眾生受大苦惱，心不悔退，是故離戒應有忍辱。善男子！三昧即是舍摩他也，智慧即是毘婆舍那；舍摩他名緣一不亂，毘婆舍那名能分別，是故我於十二部經說定、慧異，當知定有六波羅蜜。如來所以最初先說檀波羅蜜，為調眾生。施時離貪，是故次說尸波羅蜜。施時能忍捨離之心，是故次說忍波羅蜜。施時心樂，不觀時節，是故次說進波羅蜜。施時心一，無有亂相，是故次說定波羅蜜。施時不為受生死樂，是故次說智波羅蜜。」
"Should someone say, 'Discipline is itself patience, and patience is itself discipline,' this reasoning does not hold either. Why not? Discipline is received from another, but patience is not like this: there are those who, without having received the precepts, are still able to bear evil, who cultivate good on behalf of the multitude and endure countless hardships, and who, across immeasurable lifetimes, take on great suffering and affliction in the place of other beings without their heart ever regretting or retreating — therefore, apart from discipline, there must still be patience. Good man, meditative absorption is precisely calm-abiding, and wisdom is precisely clear seeing; calm-abiding means fixing on a single object without distraction, while clear seeing means being able to discern and distinguish — this is why, throughout the twelve divisions of the scriptures, I speak of concentration and wisdom as distinct, and you should know that there are definitely six perfections. The reason the Tathāgata speaks first of the perfection of giving is to tame beings. Because at the time of giving one must be free of greed, discipline is spoken of next. Because at the time of giving one must be able to bear the mind of relinquishing and letting go, patience is spoken of next. Because at the time of giving the mind should be joyful, giving no thought to whether the season is fitting, vigor is spoken of next. Because at the time of giving the mind should be single and undistracted, concentration is spoken of next. Because at the time of giving one should not give for the sake of receiving the pleasures of birth-and-death, wisdom is spoken of last."
Taixu reads this whole passage as systematically working through and dismissing every possible collapse of the six perfections — down to four, to three, to two, and implicitly to one — in order to establish, point by point, that each of the six has its own distinct essential nature that cannot simply be absorbed into another. He glosses the two technical terms precisely: "meditative absorption" here means right concentration as attained through calm-abiding practice, and "wisdom" here means the discernment of insight-observation. In his own shorthand, "fixing on a single object without distraction" is what the tradition calls stopping, and "being able to discern and distinguish" is what the tradition calls observing — two genuinely different operations of mind, however closely they end up working together in practice.
5. Milestone: Defining Each Perfection In a Single Line
Having established that there really are six, the Buddha closes the technical discussion with a single sharp test for each — not a description of typical behavior, as before, but the precise condition under which an act of giving, discipline, patience, vigor, concentration, or wisdom actually earns the name "perfection."
「善男子！云何名為波羅蜜耶？施時不求內外果報，不觀福田及非福田，施一切財，心不悋惜，不擇時節，是故名為施波羅蜜。乃至小罪，雖為身命尚不毀犯，是故名為戒波羅蜜。乃至惡人來割其身，忍而不瞋，是故名為忍波羅蜜。三月之中一偈讚佛，不休不息，是故名為進波羅蜜。具足獲得金剛三昧，是故名為禪波羅蜜。善男子！得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提時，具足成就六波羅蜜，是故名為智波羅蜜。」
"Good man! What is truly meant by 'perfection'? When giving, one seeks no reward, whether inward or outward, and pays no attention to whether the recipient is or is not a field of merit; one gives all one's wealth, the heart free of stinginess, choosing no fitting season — this is what is called the perfection of giving. Even for a minor offense, one does not violate it, not even for the sake of one's own body or life — this is what is called the perfection of discipline. Even should an evil person come and cut into his own body, he bears it without anger — this is what is called the perfection of patience. Over the course of three months reciting even a single verse in praise of the Buddha without ever resting or ceasing — this is what is called the perfection of vigor. Fully attaining the vajra-like concentration is what is called the perfection of meditative concentration. Good man, when one attains unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment, one thereby fully accomplishes all six perfections at once — this is what is called the perfection of wisdom."
Taixu treats the giving definition as the interpretive key to all six: an act of giving only truly becomes a "perfection" when it is joined with wisdom — specifically, the understanding that one's own body, faculties, and the surrounding world are all empty of any fixed, inherent self. Refusing to distinguish a worthy field of merit from an unworthy one is not carelessness, on his reading, but a direct expression of the equality of all dharmas, none genuinely higher or lower than another — and he takes this same equality-principle to run underneath the other five definitions as well, even where it is not stated outright.
For patience, he points to the well-known story of the Buddha as the Patient Sage in a former life, who allowed his own limbs to be cut away without a trace of anger arising — offered here as the concrete case where patience is genuinely fused with the wisdom that sees both self and phenomena as empty, rather than patience as mere endurance. And for the "vajra-like concentration" that defines meditative concentration at its perfection, he explains it as the specific absorption in which a bodhisattva at the very last stage of the path severs the most extremely subtle afflictions still remaining; the wisdom grounded in this concentration cuts through every last habitual residue the way a diamond cuts through anything else, and one who attains it stands on the very threshold of buddhahood. Taken more broadly, he notes, the same term can describe the "uninterrupted path" at the summit of ordinary practice, or, in its widest sense, the passage from any one bodhisattva ground into the next.
6. Milestone: Householder and Monastic — The Harder Path
The chapter closes not with a technical point but with a plain, almost blunt admission about who this teaching is actually hardest for — directly relevant to Shansheng himself, who has been asking these questions throughout the sutra as a layperson, not a monastic.
「善男子！菩薩有二：一者、在家，二者、出家。出家能淨六波羅蜜，是不為難；在家能淨，是乃為難。何以故？在家之人多惡因緣所纏繞故。」
"Good man! There are two kinds of bodhisattva: the householder and the monastic. For the monastic to purify the six perfections is not difficult; for the householder to purify them is truly difficult. Why is this so? Because the householder is entangled by so many unwholesome causes and conditions."
Taixu reads this closing line as doing exactly one thing: making plain how rare and praiseworthy it is when a householder bodhisattva actually manages to practice the six perfections purely. He does not read it as discouragement. The point of naming the household life's many entangling, unwholesome causes and conditions is not to excuse a lesser standard for those who stay home, but to make clear how much more the six marks described earlier in this chapter are actually worth, precisely because the person keeping them is doing so from inside the very entanglements the monastic has already set aside.