Question

Is the order of the Paramis important?

Answer

I don't really think so. Apparently Generosity is considered to be the easiest of them, but perhaps that was in Asian society because in materialistic societies sometimes Generosity is not so easy. So I don't really think that the order of the Paramis is important except as a way to try to memorize them, as it helps if we have a certain order. Sometimes I believe that Equanimity is last because it is one of the most difficult, and so in that sense I can understand why it's last. Morality and Renunciation are difficult for a lot of westerners as well. So perhaps if Westerners focused on having to do those three first, they wouldn't get to the other ones. As far as I understand the Western mind, Compassion and Wisdom help to bring about Generosity and Morality, so perhaps they may need for those two to be first. At least this is how we try to help people to develop more Morality and Generosity. So I don't really think that having an order is important as long as you develop them.

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