The fifth of the spiritual powers in Buddhist tradition is wisdom. Wisdom is also the sixth paramita, and is described as the perfection of all the paramitas. I’ve written already about wisdom in many other posts, so I’ve been pondering what it means for wisdom to be a spiritual power.

I think the key is impermanence.

I know, impermanence doesn’t sound like wisdom at first. But until we accept impermanence, I’m not sure the path of wisdom will be open for us. Impermanence tells us that everything changes. Nothing remains the same. We cannot keep something the same even if we cling to it with all our might. It teaches us that mortality is real, and it reaches everyone and everything.

Impermanence is direct insight. In other words, when we see with the eyes of impermanence, we see things as they are, and not as we want them to be.

When I think of my own path to wisdom- which is not remotely close to finished!- I sensed a real shift when I accepted the reality of these truths. When I accepted that I had control over a lot of big, important things, but I also had little to no control over all the rest. When I stared at my mortality in the face, and the mortality of all I call beloved, and received its end as inevitable. I am still working on all of these things. But I believe the path to wisdom, and the spiritual power behind it, may come only when we accept the pain of our limits. The pain of our mortality. The difficulty of living in a world that changes all the time, often for the worse. But also, if we are wise, sometimes for the better.

I wonder if the spiritual power of wisdom comes when we find our hope in that place of understanding. I wonder if the spiritual power of our perseverance comes only after this acceptance. If the wise teachers are right, it is this death of ego that makes way for transformation in our lives.

To be wise is to be humble. To be wise is to see clearly and rightly. Only when we do that can we begin to choose the right response, and walk in wisdom.

This post is part of the Paramita Project, where I’m practicing a paramita each month. Read all my posts on bala, spiritual power, here.