Buddhist Hour
Script No. 429
Broadcast live on 3MDR 97.1 FM
11.00 pm to 12 midnight.
On Friday 26 May 2006 CE 2550 Buddhist Era

This script is entitled:
Applying the Buddha's Teachings to Everyday Life
Part 7 - Right Effort

We now continue with our series "Applying the Buddha's Teachings to Everyday Life" with Class No. 7, originally presented on the 3rd of January 2006 at the Dandenong Ranges Community Cultural Centre in Upwey.

Tonight we will talk about Right Effort, or samma vayama in pali, which is the sixth factor of the Noble Eightfold Path. We shall also discuss the precept of abstaining from taking 'intoxicants which cloud the mind’ followed by a brief introduction to the Perfection of Morality (sila-parami).

Right Effort is the first factor of the concentration group in the Noble Eightfold Path. The concentration group has two other factors, namely Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.

Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda explains Right Effort in his book What Buddhists Believe:

"Right Effort means that we cultivate a positive attitude and have enthusiasm and cheerful determination, whether in our career, in our study, or in our practice of the Dhamma. With such a sustained enthusiasm and cheerful determination, we can succeed in the things we do." (Dhammananda 1999)

Venerable Piyadassi writes in the The Spectrum of Buddhism:

"…the function of the sixth factor is to maintain vigilance in checking unhealthy thoughts, and to cultivate, promote, and maintain wholesome and pure thoughts. The (person) who has mastered his speech and his physical actions through virtue (sila), now makes the endeavour to scrutinise his or her thoughts and the (associated) mental factors." (Piyadassi 1991)

Venerable Piyadassi continues:

"Since even worldly progress, gain and profit, depend largely on our own efforts, we should strive even harder to train our minds, and so develop the best that is in us. As mental training requires the greatest effort, strive on now. Do not let your days pass away like the shadow of a dead cloud which leaves behind it no trace for remembrance." (Piyadassi 1991)

There are four aspects to Right Effort. These are:

1. The effort to discard the unwholesome minds which have already arisen;
2. The effort to prevent the unwholesome minds which are yet to arise;
3. The effort to promote the wholesome minds which have already arisen;
4. The effort to produce the wholesome minds which are yet to arise.

K. Sri Dhammananda continues:

"By applying Right Effort in our lives, we can reduce and eventually eliminate the number of unwholesome mental states and increase and firmly establish wholesome thoughts as a natural part of our mind." (Dhammananda 1999)

Bhante Henepola Gunaratana writes that:

"Skilful effort is the stick to it quality that makes the whole path possible. It is the gumption to say, ‘These unwholesome habits of thought and behaviour must go now!’, and the wisdom to see that only by cultivating positive and wholesome ways of thinking, acting and speaking can we hope to achieve happiness."

"In order to let go of our unwholesome mind habits, we need to recognise them. If you want to weed a garden, you have to be able to distinguish the weeds. We identify and remove unwholesome qualities, such as anger, and replace them with useful, skilful qualities such as loving-friendliness (metta)."

"If you think about it for a moment, you’ll be able to come up with your own list of mental weeds. You’ll know that when you‘re experiencing rage, jealousy, lust or revenge, you can’t be simultaneously happy. Underneath these negative states, no matter how they manifest, are the same basic roots: greed (desire), hatred (the flip side of greed) and delusion (or ignorance)."

"Greed manifests as ten deep, powerful psychic irritants called fetters. Fetters cause your thoughts to flow directly into suffering. We usually group these ten fetters to reflect the stages by which they must be overcome on the way to enlightenment."

"Fetters overcome to reach the first stage of enlightenment:"

1. Belief in the existence of a permanent self or soul
2. Doubt in the message of the Buddha
3. Belief that one can end suffering merely by following rules and rituals

"Fetters overcome to reach the second and third stages:"

4. Greed for sensual pleasures (gross greed)
5. Hatred

"Fetters overcome to reach the forth stage:"

6. Subtle desire to exist in fine material form
7. Subtle desire to exist in immaterial form
8. Conceit, or underlying perception of self-identity
9. Restlessness and worry
10. Ignorance

"Out of the ten fetters come certain crude, extremely unwholesome mind states that prevent you from making progress in your meditation or doing things skilfully in your life. We call these mind states hindrances. If a fetter is like a wind, a hindrance would be like a tornado. The five hindrances are:"

1. Greed
2. Ill will
3. Dullness and drowsiness
4. Restlessness and worry
5. Doubt

"Using skilful effort to pull the mind out of unwholesome states and to cultivate wholesome states is critical to the Eightfold path. You must continually ask yourself, ‘what, in this moment, am I cultivating?’ "

"One time the Buddha’s Aunt Maha Pajapati Gotami, asked the Buddha for brief advice to guide her practice. The Buddha told her to do whatever she knew from her own experience and common sense to lead to good qualities in herself. The things to do, he said, should lead to:"

Dispassion, not passion
Disentangling, not entanglement
Dispersion (of causes of suffering), not accumulation
Wanting little, not much
Contentment, not discontent
Peaceful solitude, not gregariousness
Effort, not laziness
Being easily supportable, not fussy and demanding

(Gunaratana 2001)

There is another aspect to Right Effort regarding the application of energy. It is not wise to waste energy by using more than is required for the task being done. Our energy comes from our good kamma created by us in the past - it is our life force. Whilst we can do specific practices to increase our 'reservoir' of life force or increase our long life, it makes sense to operate without wasting this limited energy. When we find out how to do this we will have more energy available from day to day, we will feel fresher and be able to rejuvenate our strength quicker, we will be able to live longer, and maintain our health and strength as we get old.

Our ‘kammic’ habits are what determine how much energy we use for a task. Through Buddhist practice we can develop lighter and less serious minds that can have a joyous aspect to them. Doing things becomes more and more of a pleasure. An almost playful enjoyment arises while doing things that previously seemed like doing a chore or doing some boring work.

As our mindfulness becomes stronger even repetitive work comes alive as it gives us an opportunity to focus our minds on our body's actions, just like we do in breathing meditation. The task becomes a meditation in action and is no longer a mere chore. Washing the dishes is an excellent example of when you can practice this.

When we use a repetitive task as meditation we can begin to see how we can relax and become focused in our activity in the present. We can begin to see that we are frequently using much more energy than is needed for the task.

To check this out as an experiment try doing a task like an old man or woman for a while. Pretend you are an old man with less energy than you have now. Act as though you have to do things slower, softly, in a relaxed manner. Lifting things gently, putting things down slowly - keeping all your attention on what you are doing second by second.

To learn to stay in the present, keeping our mind always in touch with "now", this is the key for practicing the concentration aspects of the Buddhist Path. If your mind starts wandering off to think about the past or future, bring it back to the present. Put your attention into your body, notice your bodily feelings, your body's posture. As you walk be aware of the experience of walking. If your mind starts worrying or thinking about something else - bring it back to the present. This practice is similar to meditation on the breath.

As you sit here now, put your attention on your body's posture. Notice the feeling of your body touching the seat you sit in, your feet touching the floor, your breathing, the position of your arms. You can do this many times a day. As you do it your mental energy stays inside your body. Your mental energy stays contained in your body for as long as you keep this mindfulness of it. When your mind is not in contact with your body, your mental energy dissipates outside your body and is wasted. It's called keeping your mind inside.

Tonight for our meditation session we will introduce you to walking meditation. We can do the walking meditation in this room. You can experience what it is like to focus your mind inside your body while you are doing an action.

You need to note that with energy you can go too far the other way as well. You can become so 'relaxed' that you become sleepy, slothful and lazy. This is the case when too little energy is being applied.

In the Sona Sutta from the Anguttara Nikaya, the Buddha instructs his disciple, Venerable Sona, how to avoid the extremes of ‘over-aroused persistence’ and ‘overly slack persistence.’

"As Venerable Sona was meditating in seclusion (after doing walking meditation until the skin of his soles was split and bleeding), this train of thought arose in his awareness: "Of the Blessed One's disciples who have aroused their persistence, I am one, but my mind is not released from the effluents through lack of clinging/sustenance. Now, my family has enough wealth that it would be possible to enjoy wealth & make merit. What if I were to disavow the training, return to the lower life, enjoy wealth, and make merit?"

"Then the Blessed One, as soon as he perceived with his awareness the train of thought in Venerable Sona's awareness - as a strong man might stretch out his bent arm or bend his outstretched arm - disappeared from Vulture Peak Mountain, appeared in the Cool Wood right in front of Venerable Sona, and sat down on a prepared seat. Venerable Sona, after bowing down to the Blessed One, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, the Blessed One said to him, "Just now, as you were meditating in seclusion, didn't this train of thought appear to your awareness: 'Of the Blessed One's disciples who have aroused their persistence, I am one, but my mind is not released from the effluents... What if I were to disavow the training, return to the lower life, enjoy wealth, and make merit?'"

"Yes, lord."

"Now what do you think, Sona. Before, when you were a house-dweller, were you skilled at playing the vina?"

"Yes, lord."

"And what do you think: when the strings of your vina were too taut, was your vina in tune and playable?"

"No, lord."

"And what do you think: when the strings of your vina were too loose, was your vina in tune and playable?"

"No, lord."

"And what do you think: when the strings of your vina were neither too taut nor too loose, but tuned to be right on pitch, was your vina in tune and playable?"

"Yes, lord."

"In the same way, Sona, over-aroused persistence leads to restlessness, overly slack persistence leads to laziness. Thus you should determine the right pitch for your persistence, attune ('penetrate', 'ferret out') the pitch of the [five] faculties [to that], and there pick up your theme." (Sona Sutta)

The text mentions that in a short time after receiving these instructions from the Buddha, Venerable Sona completed his practice and became an Arahant.

Right Effort, when properly developed, has many qualities, one of which is vigour; or energy, power, and stamina. This energy is of both body and mind.

The Indian Buddhist Master Atisha, it his is famous text A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment, it is written:

"He who seeks to bring to perfection swiftly the equipment for Perfect Enlightenment strives hard… for they are not accomplished by sloth." (Atisha & R. Sherburne)

‘Equipment’ here refers to the practice of accumulating virtue by engaging in good deeds, and accumulating wisdom by listening, reflecting and meditating upon the Dhamma. To engage in good deeds and gain wisdom in the Buddha Dhamma, you cannot be lazy.

"The emphasis on energy is evidenced by the fact that Buddhism requires a practitioner to operate at a heightened level of activity. The preliminary stages of training require the practitioner to make enormous quantities of good actions to generate causes to help themselves and others progress along the Buddhist Path. (Hughes & Eames)

Also:

"Here Viriya (energy) does not means physical strength, though this is an asset, but mental vigour or strength of character, which is far superior." (Hughes & Eames)

"At our Centre, Members participate in many projects. Often one Member may be working on four or five projects concurrently. Being able to organise and plan for the complexities that arise and the need for correct order of operation across such a broad involvement relates to the practice of the Perfection of Energy." (Hughes & Eames)

The result of having cultivated the Perfection of Energy over an extended period of time gives rise to great results.

"As a person proceeds in their practice along the Buddha Path, the degree of intensity of activity directed towards helping others increases manyfold. The practitioner's capacity to help others has become more skilful and effective." (Hughes & Eames)

We now briefly look at what is meant by the Buddhist practice of Perfection of Morality. The Venerable Nyanaponika Thera writes:

"Morality restrains the defilements in their coarsest form, their outflow in unwholesome actions; concentration removes their more refined manifestations as distractive and restless thoughts; and wisdom eradicates their subtle latent tendencies..." (Nyanaponika)

The Perfection of Morality trains us to abandon actions which cause harm to ourselves and others. The Buddha set out a system of morality that was based on his penetrative insight into the nature of cause and effect. Quite simply, the Buddha understood truly which actions cause happiness and which cause suffering.

As with the Perfection of Generosity, there is more to the Perfection of Morality than just abstaining from the five bad deeds of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and taking intoxicants.

The Perfection of Morality is described by Geshe Loden in his book Path to Enlightenment in Tibetan Buddhism:

"The sign of realisation of the Perfection of (Morality) is that one has no thought of harming others and no longer generates any thought or deed that is a natural non-virtue, or a non-virtue by decree, even while dreaming."

(Loden)

A natural non-virtue is when one does an action contrary to the Buddhist precepts, such as taking the life of another being. Kammically, the result is unwholesome and therefore it is called a ‘natural non-virtue’. For laypersons, there are the five precepts that avoid the five worst kinds of natural non-virtues, which are:

1) Abstaining from killing.
2) Abstaining from stealing.
3) Abstaining from committing sexual misconduct.
4) Abstaining from lying.
5) Abstaining from taking intoxicants that cloud the mind.

A ‘non-virtue by decree’ is when one does an action that is contrary to conventional laws or cultural customs. For example, in certain Asian countries it is considered impolite to use your index finger to point at persons, places or things. Although using the index finger to point is not bad by it’s nature, in the aforementioned scenario it can still cause disagreement and disturbance in the minds of others, therefore this ‘non-virtue by decree’ is abandoned. To summarise, one should try their best to accommodate the cultural differences amongst persons.

It is important to note that the avoiding of natural non-virtues takes precedent over avoiding non-virtues by decree.

'Even while dreaming' implies that when one has trained thoroughly in morality they cannot even dream of doing harm to another being. This level of attainment cannot be achieved through the mere ritualistic observance of precepts. The observance of precepts must be accompanied by an element of compassion for living beings combined with a deep understanding of cause and effect.

From The Path to Enlightenment in Tibetan Buddhism,

"Ethics (morality) is likened to the earth. Just as the earth is the base from which all good things grow, such as good, fruit, flowers and so on, ethics (morality) is the foundation from which all realisations and spiritual attainments arise." (Loden)

This is one of the reasons that the founder of the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. always began his teachings with five precepts.

The following is taken from the article The Five Precepts, Panca Sila, by Maha Upasaka U Nu:

"The beneficial results of refraining from taking intoxicants: The person who vigilantly and steadfastly observes this surameraya precept reaches the world of devas on his (or her) death. When he (or she) expires in the world of devas and is reborn in the world of human beings, he (or she) is endowed with the following qualities:"

1.being mindful of anything that is to be done at a given time;
2.being endowed with intelligence and intellectual power;
3.being always alert at all times;
4.having initiative and enterprise to meet all contingencies;
5.being industrious;
6.being free from deafness and dumbness;
7.being free from madness;
8.being free from shocks and alarms;
9.being free from oppression or restriction;
10.being free from a hateful attitude toward others;
11.being free from grudge and envy;
12.having always truthful speech;
13.being free from rough and futile speech and from back-biting;
14.being aware of the gratitude owed to others;
15.being able to make return for the favours of others;
16.being generous and charitable;
17.having Moral Practice;
18.being fair and just;
19.not being given to anger;
20.having a sense of decency and a dread of evil;
21.having true belief;
22.being in a noble or worthy state of life;
23.being wise;
24.having discretion and judgment as to advantages of any situation or question.

"The bad results of taking intoxicants: The person who takes intoxicants is extremely likely, on his (or her) death, to reach one of the four lower planes of existence, and after that, if he (or she) should be reborn in the human world, he (or she) is liable to suffer from madness, or psychopathic complaints, or he (or she) may be a deaf and dumb person." (Upasaka U Nu)

May you cultivate the path of Right Effort.

May you develop the Perfection of Morality and come out of suffering.

May you keep the precept of abstaining from taking intoxicants that cloud the mind.

May you be well and happy.

May all beings be well and happy.

This script was prepared and edited by Anita Carter, Frank Carter, David Ley, and Alec Sloman.

1. Dhammananda, K Sri. 1999. What Buddhists Believe. 10th Edition. Publication of the Yayasan Belia Buddhist Malaysia. 129 Jlan Seang Tek, 10400 Pulau Pinang, p.81, p.82.

2. Piyadassi, Mahathera. 1991. The Spectrum of Buddhism. Published by The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation, 11th Floor, 55, Hang Chow S. Rd., Sec 1, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C., p.80

3. Sona Sutta. Translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, 1997. Published by Access To Insight Edition Copyright 1997, <http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sacca/sacca4/samma> vayamo/

4. Atisha, Dipankara, Srijnana. 1983. A Lamp for the Path and Commentary. The Wisdom of Tibet Series. Vol. V. Translated and annotated by Richard Sherburne, Published by George Allen and Unwin (Publishers) Ltd., 40 Museum Street, London WC1A 1LU. p.9.

5. Hughes, J. & Eames, L. 2000. Working Toward Achievement of Perfection of Energy. (Series) Buddhist Hour Radio Program. (Volume) Script 73. Published by the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd., 33 Brooking Street, Upwey, Victoria 3158. p. 4, p.5

6. Nyanaponika, Thera. 1986. The Vision of Dhamma.. Published by Rider & Co. Ltd., 62 - 65 Chandon Place, Covent Garden, London, England. p.xxi

7. Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden. 1993. Path to Enlightenment in Tibetan Buddhism. Published by Tushita Publications. 1425 Mickleham Road, Yuroke 3063, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. p.684, p.700

8. Maha Upasaka U Nu. 1982. The Five Precepts- Panca Sila.. The Young Buddhists, the annual journal of the Singapore Buddha-Yana Organisation (SBYO).

9. Bhante Henepola Gunaratana. 2001 Eight Mindful steps to happiness. Wisdom Publications, Somerville, MA, USA

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