Higan is a seven-day period that happens three days before and three days after the Spring and Fall Equinox. During this period Buddhists are asked to consciously reflect upon themselves and their deeds in relation to the Six Paramitas, the perfections in behavior that make up the Bodhisattva practice. The three days before the Equinox and the three days after focus on each of these perfections. On the day of the Equinox, which this fall is Sept. 22, a ceremony his held honoring one’s ancestors and loved ones who have passed away.

The Sanskrit word traditionally translated as “perfection” is pāramitā. This is an ancient word whose origins are obscure. On one account, pāramitā derives from pāram, meaning “the other side” plus the past participle itā, meaning “gone.” From this perspective, something is perfected when it has “gone to the other side,” that is, when it has fully transcended what it would be in ordinary lives. Others, however, link pāramitā to the term pārama, which means “excellent,” or “supreme,” such that something is perfected when it arrives at the state of excellence or supremacy. But whatever its etymology, the word pāramitā soon became a technical term in Buddhist ethics naming the dimensions of human character that are most important in the state of enlightenment.