My Progress on JOYFUL EFFORT: Acquiring the Qualities in the “Six Perfections” (Paramitas) of Buddhism for the 6 Weeks prior to my 72nd Birthday

August 7, 2026 by Sally Ember, EdD

**My Progress on JOYFUL EFFORT: Acquiring the Qualities in the “Six Perfections” (Paramitas) of Buddhism for the 6 Weeks prior to my 72nd Birthday**

As readers of my books and blog posts know, I have been a practicing Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhist since 1996/1989/1983 and many lifetimes prior to this.
Fundamental parts of being this type of meditator are studying, attempting to gain the qualities and do the practices (and others) described at the end of this post, known as “The Six Perfections” (Paramitas).

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From https://www.namchak.org/community/blog/six-perfections-or-paramitas/

And, also check out: https://act4tibet.wordpress.com/2022/03/27/6paramitas/

For these six weeks prior to my birthday (July 17 – August 22, 2026), I plan to blog once each Friday about each of these qualities and my difficulties and seeming successes over the last 30 years of intensively practicing within this framework.
I have been studying and contemplating them and incorporating these as much as possible into daily life. Time for a self-assessment.

Stay tuned and check in each subsequent week, and please add your own experiences in the comments. Check this location for future posts: https://sallyember.com/2026/07/10/my-progress-on-acquiring-the-qualities-in-the-six-perfections-paramitas-of-buddhism-for-the-6-weeks-prior-to-my-72nd-birthday/

Week Four: Joyful Effort

Here we are, Week Four of the six weeks leading up to my 72nd birthday, assessing my progress (and lack thereof) on these Six Perfections/Paramitas, and feeling both joyful and despondent. I realize that is typical of doing this type of exercise, since the ruthless honesty I employ exposes all my shortcomings as well as my paltry successes in sharp contrast. Ahhhh.

How do I think I have been doing with Joyful Effort, working for the benefit of others without resentment, expectation of reward, prompting or external support? PracticeofZen.com states: “[This is] also known as vīrya paramita or ‘the perfection of diligence’ … It means engaging in good actions with energy, enthusiasm, and a deep sense of gladness rather than through forced stress or strain.”

Let’s take these aspects singly and determine how I’ve been doing; you do the same.

Laziness includes spiritual laziness, procrastination or getting sidetracked by distractions.
I give myself a “B” (Better than average, perhaps?) grade for these on some days, an “A” on some days (when I do A lot of practice or volunteering and try to maintain my practice during that), and a “D” or “F” (for DISTRACTED and FORGETTING) on too many parts of too many days. So it goes.

Building Momentum This vibrant energy is “needed to sustain the other paramitas—like generosity, patience, and meditation—turning routine tasks into joyful engagement” (from mindworks.org). I’ve always been a secret fan of “whistle while you work,” or other such Disney nonsense for singing or dancing while doing ordinary chores. Why not? Where are my helper bluebirds, though? Anyway, la la la.
I often enjoy mundane tasks, but only when I’m in the mood. Ha ha. My favorite is cooking. Least-favorite, housecleaning. Middle-ranked (but I love the results) are laundry, grocery shopping, trash/recycling duties and filing.
I regularly do grocery shopping for my upstairs 97-YO neighbor: I get points for that, right? NOT DOING IT FOR POINTS, though. Partly, I started doing it about a year ago because I did it for my mom and she’s gone (over 2 years, now). Partly, because I was already friendly with her when she started needing that help (about 1 year ago after knowing her for about a year). Plus, I am going, anyway, and I have a large pushcart (had to give up my 26-YO car when I moved here from St. Louis almost 2 1/2 years ago).
I get a “B” for this one, I guess.

Sustaining Practice Through Challenges
I have done VERY well with this in my life: meditating EVERY DAY since I first started, and for 25 years, TWICE a day (started in June, 1972). I have meditated twice daily or at least once, formally (and throughout the day, when I remember to do so), in arduous conditions: even when sick (35 years of gallbladder pain); just out of surgery (more than a few of these); after childbirth (and during days of labor, but only one child); when severely in pain (many car accidents and other causes); when distraught (stressing about money, jobs, relationships, child, the world, etc.); when happy (yes, sometimes that, too!); when living for weeks in a tent for meditation retreats and meditating for 15+ hours a day, even though the temperature would be 120°F for days or down to 40°F at night (not kidding); having just moved (I’ve moved 55 times as an adult); and, when heartbroken/lonely (for weeks, months, years, decades).
BUT, I am NOT using my “retirement” time as well as I might/should. I intend to do more individual home retreats for at least a week at a time, but I haven’t arranged that much in these last 2 years (yet). GOAL. Probably start doing that this fall when my granddaughter has more days in school and daycare and I won’t be with her much during the week. I’m also losing my main healthcare provider (acupuncturist, who dumped me out of his insurance as of September 1; very sad about that), so I’ll have more availability for meditation intensives.
GOTTA DO IT. HAIR ON FIRE and all that.
So, another “B.”

Bringing Energy and Wholeheartedness/Gladness/Enthusiasm (vs. forced stress or strain) to What is Wholesome and Beneficial
I generally don’t do things if I resent doing them (any longer; used to). So, I’m doing okay with this one, for sure. However, I could “do more” for others, I’m certain. It’s not selfishness or resistance that stops me, though. I plead tiredness and the problems of the time-suck of using public transportation to go anywhere.
I hope to overcome these or work around them better to do more volunteering this fall and winter/spring (see above, for having more time).
I seem to be getting “B”s all around, here.

“But keep in mind that winds are always changing. This is natural and normal. Impermanence exists in all parts of our lives, even our meditation practice. Amidst life’s ups and downs, we will experience periods when our motivation for meditation is difficult to find. If we approach the lulls with understanding, then they’re less likely to become overwhelming roadblocks on our path.”
image and quote from: The Namchak Community, https://www.namchak.org/community/blog/practicing-the-perfection-of-diligence-or-joyful-effort/

We can also look at this Paramita as these three kinds of Joyful Effort (from one of my favorite Tibetan Vajrayana spiritual teachers, one of the first Western women to do a 12-year retreat in a cave in Nepal and be ordained as a nun, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo (her Facebook page had this info, and she has several books out as well; I linked to her website with her name, there):

Armor-like Effort: A brave and ready attitude that protects the mind from discouragement before any challenge even begins;
Applying Effort to Virtue: The active, enthusiastic pursuit of wholesome actions, kindness, and learning in daily life; and
Effort for Others: Working tirelessly to benefit and support other living beings without seeking personal reward.

Either way, I seem to hover around “better than average, but not as good as I would like to be.” What about you? Comment here!

My Progress on ETHICAL DISCIPLINE: Acquiring the Qualities in the “Six Perfections” (Paramitas) of Buddhism for the 6 Weeks prior to my 72nd Birthday

July 24, 2026 by Sally Ember, EdD

My Progress on ETHICAL DISCIPLINE: Acquiring the Qualities in the “Six Perfections” (Paramitas) of Buddhism for the 6 Weeks prior to my 72nd Birthday

From https://www.namchak.org/community/blog/six-perfections-or-paramitas/

And, also check out: https://act4tibet.wordpress.com/2022/03/27/6paramitas/

Week Two: Ethical Discipline

Many meditators have challenges with keeping to a regular schedule, being consistent with our meditation times and lengths of practice sessions, and maintaining that for a period of time. Some have problems keeping commitments outside of a retreat or Dharma center setting, but do fine in a group or retreat experience.

Home and work responsibilities, distractions of every kind, and preferences are all tempting “reasons” to postpone or avoid or “forget” our meditation times when we are at home instead of on retreat or at a Dharma center. If we have caregiving duties, those can and often do take precedence, regardless of our commitment to meditate.

But, as important as those types of discipline (and lapses) are, these are not what is meant here for the 2nd “Perfection,” or Paramita, by Ethical Discipline. Achieving Ethical Discipline refers to being able to deal effectively with internal temptations, distractions and similar challenges, those in our minds and emotions, that pull us out of daily meditation or prevent us from maintaining those commitments. Ethical Discipline also refers to monitoring our behavior, meaning, being careful how we act around and toward others.

In detail, striving to attain Ethical Discipline involves the practice of personal integrity, harmlessness, and virtuous conduct, as the natural expression of an awakened mind. Ethical Discipline is often divided into three core aspects or practices:

1) Working to benefit others: Using one’s energy and resources to
actively help, protect, and care for sentient beings;
2) Refraining from destructive actions: Intentionally avoiding harmful behaviors,
such as the ten non-virtues
(killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, harsh speech, and malicious intent);
3) Engaging in constructive actions: Actively cultivating positive habits and virtues.

The Namchak community (https://www.namchak.org/community/blog/practicing-perfection-of-ethical-discipline/) states this: “Instead of stubbornly resisting harmful actions, Ethical Discipline helps us stop wanting to do them in the first place by showing us the benefits of virtuous choices.”

Another Buddhist site (Life of Mindfulness: https://www.lifeofmindfulness.com/six) about the 6 Paramitas offers this: Ethical Discipline is “the enlightened quality of virtuous and ethical behavior, morality, self-discipline, impeccability, personal integrity, honor, and harmlessness.”

So, after almost 30 years of practicing, how am I doing with Ethical Discipline? I’d give myself a B-, overall. Some aspects much better achieved than others, for sure, which I know is typical. And, since most humans aren’t even trying to achieve these, I put myself slightly above average in my attempts.

—I’m okay with refraining from physical harmlessness, but not so good with verbal restraint. Harsh speech and I are not separate enough, yet. I swear at people (usually they can’t hear me, but sometimes right to their faces). I yell (not often…). I get mad (too often). Working on this one, for sure.
—I almost always avoid intentional killing, but some roaches or ants get drowned in my sinks; sometimes I could possibly reach in and rescue them, first, but I don’t always.
—I do not steal, which means, I don’t take/personally appropriate anything that isn’t freely given.
—I have not engaged in ANY sexual conduct, much less misconduct, since 2010 (not entirely intentional, this 16-year period of celibacy, but I am almost 72 and am used to it, by now). When I did have sex, I was not engaging in sexual misconduct in the last 40+ years, but when I was younger, I did a few times.
—I think of doing things that are malicious (I have a great imaginary revenge machine), but I never DO them.
—I do a lot to benefit others. This refers especially to bringing people to Dharma, through fostering awakening, spiritual opening and/or mindfulness. Since I started leading a meditation group in my senior dorm residence a year ago, I’ve been very consciously going about benefiting others in these ways on a weekly basis, as well as in other contexts.
—I do actively engage in constructive actions every day. Some of the “good deeds” I do many people will never know about, and I’m glad about that. Don’t want a reputation as someone they can count on to do their jobs for them…. LOL.

Therefore, I can say with ruthless honesty that I’m doing fairly well with this Paramita, but always striving to do better.
[The image below, with its explanations of this Paramita, is from a Facebook page called Dharma.com]