The Paramitas—ultimately—are actions which are free from the crimp of duality – actions which arise spontaneously from the non-dual state. They are the actions of the bodhisattva—the awakened-mind warrior—who has gone beyond the confines of referentiality, and who dwells within the meaning of ocean and its ornamental waves. In Tibetan the word which equates to ‘bodhisattva’ is ‘changchub sempa’ (byang chub sems dPa). Changchub sempa has a specific meaning which differs from the Sanskrit word, which means ‘one who has Bodhi’ or ‘one who has awakened-mind’ or ‘one who has the compassionate Mind of enlightenment’. The Tibetan spelling should be ‘byang chub sems pa’ – but we find instead that it is ‘byang chub sems dPa’. ‘dPa’ is a contraction of the word ‘dPa bo’ which means ‘warrior’ rather than ‘pa’ which means ‘person’. Changchub sempa therefore means awakened-mind warrior.
