The Ten Paramis are Generosity, Morality, Renunciation, Wisdom, Energy, Patience, Truthfulness, Resolution, Compassion/Lovingkindness and Equanimity. It is always helpful to remember when you look at these Ten Paramis, that concentration and mindfulness are not listed. Always keep that in mind. Concentration and mindfulness are not listed.
Concentration and mindfulness are tools to help develop the Paramis, but they are not Paramis themselves. It's very helpful. People can have lots of concentration and mindfulness, people can have heaps more than any of you, and in fact all of the retreatants all put together. Take an Olympic diver who wins the gold medal, how focused those divers get. I was a swimmer, I used to watch those guys, they would land flat, horizontal on the water, then they'd get up and they'd go again. They have determination, they have lots of Parami in their actions, so to speak, Energy, Determination, but where's the wisdom in landing flat on the water? You win a gold medal: lots of concentration, lots of mindfulness, but we can't say that person is enlightened. Probably they're going to be an ordinary twenty-odd year old man or woman. So the concentration and mindfulness, for many people like that, can be super, better than anyone in this retreat. But it is not necessarily developing any Paramis.
I also like to give the example of the thief: the thief in the middle of Berlin who has been robbing banks for fifteen years and never been caught. How good is their concentration and mindfulness? It's super. But they've got wrong understanding, wrong intention and a lot of other wrong things, because they are creating harm. So the Paramis in Theravadin Buddhism are something that we want to develop. It is something that Rosemary and I stress for all old students, to focus your practice on the Ten Paramis. Concentration and Mindfulness are nice to help develop, that gives you sharper tools, but just like a knife, if it's super sharp, it can harm or it can be of benefit. But keep in mind your Parami growth. If you see your Paramis growing, then you know you are going in the right direction.