The root word for the Pali word ‘viriya’ is “hero” … and in the Buddhist tradition, when we start walking on the path of meditation, we are considered warriors.

This is because what we are doing as we practice is acting as ‘warriors’ against the great forces of greed, hatred, and fear in ourselves. We are also courageously facing and confronting our natural tendencies … which are to run away from ourselves and our problems, or to fight them, or to completely ignore them, drown them out, or pretend they aren’t there …

In this talk, Shell explores this 5th parami (energy) and how it can inspire us to become more dedicated to our path towards freedom. (*This is talk #6 in a series of 11 talks on the paramis, or "perfections" - 10 qualities of mind and heart that the Buddha tells us are essential to nurture in order to discover freedom from suffering.)