| 6. Right Effort | | | | involves a total change of being. Spiritual training |
| "Here, monks, a monk engenders wishes, makes | | | | consists of meditation and morality. Right effort is |
| effort, arouses energy, exerts the mind and strives | | | | working through the Five Hindrances (sensual desire, |
| for the non-arising of evil, unwholesome states that | | | | anger, sloth, restlessness, and doubt). Spiritual training |
| have not arisen - strives for the abandoning of evil, | | | | also involves battling the defilements of greed (lust |
| unwholesome states that have arisen - strives for | | | | and passion). Hatred (anger and ill will. And delusion |
| the arising of wholesome states that have not arisen | | | | (infatuation, ignorance, and ego). Right effort means |
| - strives for the stabilizing, for the collation, for the | | | | conviction, faith, diligence, mindfulness, tranquility, |
| increase, for the maturity, for the development, for | | | | patience, and discernment. |
| the perfection through cultivation of wholesome | | | | Right effort always involves balance - not too strong, |
| states that have arisen. This, monks, is called Right | | | | not too weak; just right. If we try to storm heaven, |
| Effort." | | | | we will find some kind of heaven all right - but not |
| Without right effort, we cannot traverse the rest of | | | | the real one - we will overshoot the real one. If we |
| the Eightfold Path. Everything involves effort; even | | | | lie back, on the other hand, and wait for heaven to |
| the effort to be effortless involves effort if our ego | | | | come to us, we will be waiting a very long time. So it |
| is behind it. The mind always directs the effort, | | | | must be a relaxed effort - persistent, but not |
| receiving its signals from our underlying karma. When | | | | straining - that's the best way to put it. |
| we begin training, and before shifts in our | | | | Without effort, nothing can be accomplished, and |
| consciousness occur to alter our karma, our mind | | | | although it may be true that there is truly nothing to |
| may use effort in the wrong way. It might promote | | | | accomplish, in order to understand this in one's heart |
| violence or hatred. After we train for awhile, | | | | requires effort! To pretend to understand this and |
| however, the mind will change its effort and involve | | | | stop all effort prematurely will prove disastrous. We |
| itself with compassion and kindness. | | | | could end up with one foot in heaven, and the other |
| Spiritual training is right effort. Spiritual training | | | | in hell! |
| permeates every aspect of life and eventually | | | | |