AllatRa by Anastasia Novykh 2 www.allatra.org

AllatRa by Anastasia Novykh
of God must finally part with his attachments and wishes. In the fifth one – the Valley of
Unity – realise the Unity of the world. In the sixth one – the Valley of Wonderment – to
contemplate and feel the ocean of Divine Love. And in the seventh – the Valley of
Death – the loss of the human “I” and egocentrism takes place, and the the seeker’s Soul
fuses with God, according to the Sufis’ understanding. The stage of consciousness when
“I” disappears, and only the divine, the true essence remains inside man, is called “fana”
(“nothingness”), which is similar to the Buddhist Nirvana.
Rigden: That’s right, these are their associative concepts of spiritual steps on the way to
God. By the way, Buddhism, basically, has the same six successive steps of perfection
leading to enlightenment and liberation, the attainment of Nirvana. However, they are
called “paramita” which in Sanskrit means a “crossing”, a “means of salvation”, “that
with which the opposite bank is reached” (Nirvana).
Anastasia: Yes, the same steps which Sufis have are reflected in the earlier beliefs of
India – in Buddhism, and still earlier – in Hinduism. Six perfections – paramitas.
The first paramita is perfection in generosity of alms. For in Buddhism it means exactly
work on yourself, detachment from the attachment to material things, comforts,
accumulation, desire for possession, and power. And also the aspiration to stop the circle
of suffering from endless earthly wishes (in Sufism in the first Valley, the seeker also
lets go of all his earthly wishes), transformation from an egoist into a generous person
capable of unselfishly giving, sharing, helping, and doing good not for profit and his
own glory.
The second paramita is perfection in morality. Moral purity is the basis for the other
stages of self-perfection, and it allows one to open the door into the spiritual world
(Sufis at this stage are trying to find the God through their elevated feelings). It is shown
in the perfection of the discipline of the mind, having good thoughts and doing good
actions and deeds, observing the ethical moral and universal human principles. And, of
course, this stage in Buddhism, just like in any other religion, prescribes to keep the
vows and follow the rules determined by this religion.
The third paramita is perfection in patience. This is the development of self-control
(Sufis consider this as the initial stage of knowing God, the perception of the light of the
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