Four Right Exertions
The Four Right Exertions | ||||
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unwholesome states of mind |
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The Four Right Exertions (also known as, Four Proper Exertions, Four Right Efforts, Four Great Efforts, Four Right Endeavors or Four Right Strivings) (Pali: sammappadhāna; Skt.: samyak-pradhāna or samyakprahāṇa) are an integral part of the Buddhist path to Enlightenment (understanding). Built on the insightful recognition of the arising and non-arising of various mental qualities over time and of our ability to mindfully intervene in these ephemeral qualities, the Four Right Exertions encourage the relinquishment of harmful mental qualities and the nurturing of beneficial mental qualities.
The Four Right Exertions are associated with the
In the Pali literature
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The Four Right Exertions are found in the
Four Right Exertions
The Four Right Exertions (cattārimāni sammappadhānāni) are defined with the following traditional phrase:
- "There is the case where a monk generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for:
- "[i] the sake of the non-arising [anuppādāya] of evil, unskillful qualities that have not yet arisen.
- "[ii] ... the sake of the abandonment [pahānāya] of evil, unskillful qualities that have arisen.
- "[iii] ... the sake of the arising [uppādāya] of skillful qualities that have not yet arisen.
- "[iv] ... the maintenance [ṭhitiyā], non-confusion, increase, plenitude, development, & culmination of skillful qualities that have arisen."[2]
This elaboration is attributed to the Buddha in response to the following questions:
- "What is right effort?" (SN 45.8,[3] in the context of the Noble Eightfold Path)
- "What is the faculty of energy?" (SN 48.10,[4] in the context of the Five Spiritual Faculties)
- "What are the four right strivings?" (SN 49.1ff.)[5]
This formulation is also part of an extensive exposition by Ven.
A similar two-part elaboration is provided by the Buddha in SN 48.9, again in the context of the Five Spiritual Faculties, when he states:
- "And what, disciple dwells with energy aroused for the abandoning of unwholesome states and the acquisition of wholesome states; he is strong, firm in exertion, not shirking the responsibility of cultivating wholesome states. This is the faculty of energy."[9]
What constitutes "unskillful" or "unwholesome" (akusala) and "skillful" or "wholesome" (kusala) qualities is taken up in the
Four Exertions
Throughout the Pali Canon, a distinction is made between the fourfold "exertions" (padhāna) and the four "Right Exertions" (sammappadhāna). While similarly named, canonical discourses consistently define these different terms differently, even in the same or adjacent discourses.[14]
The four exertions (cattārimāni padhānāni) are summarized as:
- Restraint (saṃvara padhāna) of the senses.
- Abandonment (pahāna padhāna) of defilements.
- Cultivation (bhāvanā padhāna) of Enlightenment Factors.
- Preservation (anurakkhaṇā padhāna) of concentration, for instance, using charnel-ground contemplations.[15]
See also
- Ayatana(Sense Bases)
- Bodhi(Enlightenment)
- Bodhipakkhiyadhamma(Enlightenment Qualities)
- Bojjhanga(Enlightenment Factors)
- Buddhist meditation
- Iddhipada (Bases of Spiritual Power)
- Indriya (Spiritual Faculty)
- Kilesa(Defilement)
- Noble Eightfold Path
- Samadhi(Concentration)
- Viriya(Effort)
Notes
- ^ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 411, entry on "padhāna" identifies the following Pali texts: "Vin i.22; S i.105; iii.96 (the four); A ii.15 (id.); iii.12; iv.125; Nd1 14; Ps i.21, 85, 90, 161; SnA 124; PvA 98."
- ^ Thanissaro (1996), boldface added, repetitions elided. The Pali for what Thanissaro translates as "evil, unskillful qualities" is pāpakānaṃ akusalānaṃ dhammānaṃ and the Pali for "skillful qualities" is kusalānaṃ dhammānaṃ.
- ^ Bodhi (2000), pp. 1670-71; and, Thanissaro (1996).
- ^ Bodhi (2000), pp. 1671-72.
- ^ Bodhi (2000), pp. 1709-12.
- ^ Walshe (1995), pp. 480, 487, set of four #2.
- ^ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), entry for "Accharā" (p. 9), retrieved 2007-08-25.
- ^ AN 1:394-397 (Upalavanna, n.d.). Archived 2011-01-16 at the Wayback Machine For the original Pali, see AN 1.16.6.13-16 at MettaNet-Lanka's http://metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/4Anguttara-Nikaya/Anguttara1/1-ekanipata/016-Ekadhammapali-p.html.
- ^ Bodhi (2000), p. 1671. Thus here the Buddha speaks of abandoning and acquisition as opposed to the abandoning, non-arising, arising and maintenance of SN 48.10.
- Vibh 208-14; and, the post-canonical Vibh.-atthakatha (Sammohavinodani) 289-96, and Vism679.
- clingings, etc. See, for instance, Buddhaghosa & Ñāṇamoli (1999), pp. 707-709, XXII.47-63.
- ^ Bodhi (2000), op. cit.
- Sariputtaidentifies unwholesomeness as killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, malicious speech, abusive speech, gossip, covetness, ill will and wrong view. (Wholesomeness is abstaining from these unwholesome acts.) The roots of the unwholesome are greed, hate and delusion. (Roots of the wholesome are non-greed, non-hate and non-delusion.)
- ^ Discourses that include separate definitions for both these terms either within the same or adjacent discourses include:
- in DN33, when listing "[sets of] four things which were perfectly proclaimed by the Lord," Ven. Sariputta elaborates upon the "Four Right Exertions" (or "four great efforts") as the second set of four and upon the "Four Exertions" as the tenth set (Walshe, 1995, pp. 487, 490).
- in ANii. 15, the "Four Right Exertions" are defined; while AN ii.16 defines the "Four Exertions" (Jayasundere, n.d., sutta 3 ("Exertions (a)") and sutta 4 ("Exertions (b)")).
- in Psi.84, the "Four Exertions" are defined; while in Ps i.85 the "Four Right Exertions" are defined.
- in
- ^ Translations primarily based on Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), entries for "padhāna" (p. 411), "saŋvara" (p. 657), "pahāna" (p. 448), "bhāvanā" (p. 503) and "anurakkhā" (p. 41) (all pages retrieved on 2007-05-29).
Examples of discourses that expand on the four exertions are AN 4.14 (Jayasundere, n.d., sutta 4, "Exertions (b)," retrieved 2007-05-30). For more information on charnel-ground contemplations, see, for instance, the Satipatthana Sutta.
Sources
- ISBN 0-86171-331-1.
- ISBN 1-928706-00-2.
- Jayasundere, A.D. (trans.) (n.d.). "Caravaggo" (AN 4, ch. 2). Retrieved on 2007-05-30 from "METTANET - LANKA" at: https://web.archive.org/web/20130705174936/http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/4Anguttara-Nikaya/Anguttara2/4-catukkanipata/002-caravaggo-e2.html.
- Ñanamoli Thera (trans.) & Bhikkhu Bodhi (ed.) (1991). The Discourse on Right View: The Sammaditthi Sutta and its Commentary (The Wheel Publication No. 377/379). Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society. Retrieved on 2007-08-25 from "Access to Insight" (1994) at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/nanamoli/wheel377.html.
- Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary. Chipstead: Pali Text Society. A general on-line search engine for the PED is available at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/.
- SN 45.8). Retrieved on 2007-05-28 from "Access to Insight" at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn45/sn45.008.than.html.
- Upalavanna, Sister. (trans.) (n.d.). "Ekadhammapali: One thing" (AN 1, ch. 16). Retrieved on 2007-08-25 from "METTANET - LANKA" at: https://web.archive.org/web/20110116045748/http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/4Anguttara-Nikaya/Anguttara1/1-ekanipata/016-Ekadhammapali-e.html.
- Walshe, Maurice O'C. (1995). The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha Nikaya. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-103-3.