One of the reflection meditations we teach in the 20-day retreat, which we do not teach in this retreat, is concerned with the Ten Paramis and looking at them in pairs, and to actually reflect on them in pairs. How do they work together, who comes first, who comes second, what happens if I work them this way, what happens that way. So Compassion and Determination are two Paramis that would be one of the pairs of the reflection. If you actually add up how many there are there are 45 different pairs. You can try for yourself one afternoon or whenever, you can try and meditate on the Ten Paramis in pairs. Look at them one way, look at them another. See for yourself how they go together. With some Paramis, it is very obvious how they go together, some Paramis it is not.
Compassion and Determination can go together quite easily really. You think about being swept away by an unpleasant thought, or somebody says to you, "Hey let's go to the bar and have a beer." Now out of compassion for yourself, I hope you don't go to the bar, but you are going to have to be determined, right? Because if you don't have enough compassion for yourself, your friend is going to get you to that bar, you are going to fall under the influence of peer group pressure, and so on. So, your compassion needs that determination right there to protect yourself. In fact every different thing you think about concerning yourself that you want to change needs to have compassion close at hand. One person, not one, many cannot keep their formal practice going in their normal life. They can't do it. They come to retreats and they can stay with the formal practice for a little while, then they can't do it. Can you be determined to keep your formal practice going?
Think about New Year's Resolutions? Resolution or Determination, we often use these words interchangeable for this Parami. Out of compassion to yourself, can you be determined to do your formal practice every day? When you leave the retreat, can you keep that determination, out of compassion for yourself? Sometimes when I have used this example in this way it has been very effective. At least one or more of you in this room have heard it before and have become more determined, out of compassion for yourself. So, this is important, Compassion stays strong actually when we have Determination present with it. We are resolved, we want to keep it going.
Now, if you want to follow a little on how to do the reflection on pairs, we want to go the other way, too. Compassion is important for you to be determined. You have to have compassion for yourself to get your determination up. So, back and forth, back and forth, in and out.
It is actually written that after our Buddha made his vow to become a Buddha, he went up in the hills and started meditating. Now, according to the commentary I read, that basically he sat down and a contemplated similar to this "Well, Now I vowed to become a Buddha, what do I have to do?" He had just passed up getting enlightened, and now he has got to do something bigger. It is said he meditated on the Ten Paramis for days, he realized he had to perfect them. If you don't know, with enlightenment a Buddha has all Ten perfected, other enlightened people may have some perfected but not all, yet all of them are developed to a very high level. But in a Buddha, all Ten are perfected. So for days he meditated on the Ten Paramis. Forward, backward, in pairs, probably triplets, probably quadruplets. He figured them out and once he understood what they were, then he could start applying his life towards them.