Exploring the Path - Pāli Course

Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa

Introduction to 3.7.1:  Sammāvāyāmo - 

Vibhaṅgasuttaṃ-7 : What is Right Effort?

Subhānupassiṃ viharantaṃ, indriyesu asaṃvutaṃ;

Bhojanamhi cāmattaññuṃ, kusītaṃ hīnavīriyaṃ;

Taṃ ve pasahati¹ māro, vāto rukkhaṃva dubbalaṃ.

Asubhānupassiṃ viharantaṃ, indriyesu susaṃvutaṃ;

Bhojanamhi ca mattaññuṃ, saddhaṃ āraddhavīriyaṃ;

Taṃ ve nappasahati māro, vāto selaṃva pabbataṃ.²

Who dwells pursuing pleasures, uncontrolled in his senses;

Immoderate in food, slothful and indifferent;

Will get defeated by Māra like a gale will throw down a week tree!

Who dwells scrutinizing impurities, with senses restrained;

Moderate in food, filled with faith and unyielding energy;

Māra will not overcome, like a gale will not move a rocky mountain!

      While the present lesson intends to delineate the basic characteristics of sammāvāyāmo³, this chapter proceeds by presenting respective and required qualities to develop sammāvāyāmo. Also it refers to dangers the Buddha regularly used to alert his disciples not to fall prey to laziness, sloth, negligence, idleness: - appamādo, kosajjaṃ, ālasyaṃ - direct, apparent and ever present adversaries to spiritual progress.

      The suttas use three main terminologies in Pāli when expressing endeavour, effort perseverance and striving one has to undertake: vīriya; vāyāmo and padhāna.

      Vīriya is often highlighted as āraddhavīriya⁴ and comprises the unrelenting, unyielding mental energy behind all endeavours. It appears as an indispensable constituent not only of sammāvāyāmo: vīriyaṃ ārabhati - but also constitutes one of the essential factors of the indriyabala and the third, essential part of the seven bojjhaṅge.

      Sammāvāyāmo as a constituent of the Path and the main factor to shun all manifestations of micchādiṭṭhi is qualified in the following way: ‘So micchādiṭṭhiyā pahānāya vāyamati, sammādiṭṭhiyā, upasampadāya, svāssa hoti sammāvāyāmo. So sato micchādiṭṭhiṃ pajahati, sato sammādiṭṭhiṃ upasampajja viharati, sāssa hoti sammāsati. Itiyime, itissime tayo dhammā sammādiṭṭhiṃ anuparidhāvanti anuparivattanti, seyyathidaṃ – sammādiṭṭhi, sammāvāyāmo, sammāsati.’ – ‘He stirs up effort to abandon wrong view and to acquire right view: that is that one’s right effort. Thus fully aware he abandons wrong view and acquires right view and dwells therein: that is that one’s right awareness. These three states follow and circle around right view, these are: right view, right effort and right awareness.’

      This accentuates the motivation and the base of what is sammāvāyāmo – it is the unrelenting effort on the base of sammādiṭṭhi with the intention of moving further on the Eightfold Noble Path by understanding the importance of coming out of suffering by eliminating all unwholesome states and driving out all facets of wrong views⁵.

      Padhāna, translated as exertion is explained in the Saṃvarasutta⁶, which qualifies the four distinctive marks of saṃvarappadhānaṃ, pahānappadhānaṃ, bhāvanāppadhānaṃ, anurakkhaṇāppadhānaṃ—the exertion of striving to restrain, striving to reject, striving to develop and striving to preserve.

      Their respective characteristics will be further highlighted in related texts that demonstrate how to ward off, to restrain –saṃvara– the influence of the sense-doors –indriyesu susaṃvutaṃ – which would result in evil and unwholesome states—pāpakā akusalā dhammā⁷. The Nīvaraṇapabbaṃ⁸, selected from the Mahāsatipaṭṭhānasutta reveals endorsed procedures for a meditator rejecting the negative and disturbing impact of the hindrances–pahāna⁹. A selection from the Ānāpānassatisutta¹⁰ describes the gradual process of establishing the sambojjhaṅga–bhāvanā, while a selection from the Visuddhimagga refers to an narrative of Mahātissatthero who’s example of maintaining his chosen object of meditation with steadfast effort is an inspiring model for every meditator–anurakkha¹¹.

      The well-known simile the Buddha provided to Bhikkhu Soṇa, who mistook unbalanced effort with sammāvāyāmo points to the need for exertion with well-balanced equanimity¹², while the final selections of this chapter depict quotations that highlight proper development of adhiṭṭhāna - resolved, but steadied determination in one’s own exertions and tallied efforts¹³.

May the suttas chosen for this chapter prove beneficial in supporting meditators in their spiritual quest, may more and more come out of their suffering!

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