Written for the AQA syllabus by Upeksacitta (Robert Ellis), member of the Western Buddhist Order and a former Head of RS.
Right Effort
With Right Effort we come to that part of the Noble Eightfold Path which is concerned with the mind and mental states. Effort can sometimes mean physical exertion, but more often (and especially here), exerting the will constantly towards a particular goal. This needs to be done in a way which can be sustained, rather than subjecting ourselves to a level of stress we cannot keep up. But nevertheless, progress towards Enlightenment can only be made by constantly trying.
The Four Exertions
Traditionally Right Effort is analysed into The Four Exertions : preventing, eradicating, developing and maintaining.
1. Preventing the arising of unskilful thoughts
2. Eradicating unskilful thoughts that have already arisen
3. Cultivating skilful thoughts
4. Maintaining skilful thoughts which have already arisen
'Skilful' and 'unskilful' are terms often used by Buddhists to translate the Pali kusala and akusala: that is, helpful in working towards Enlightenment and unhelpful in working towards Enlightenment (avoiding some of the assumptions we might make when talking of good or evil, but roughly equivalent). By working in these four ways we can produce the overall result of having more skilful thoughts and fewer unskilful ones.
1. Preventing the arising of unskilful thoughts involves the attempt to remain aware of ways in which we might be influenced by what we experience, and how this might give rise to greed, hatred, or ignorance. For example, if you know that if you spend an evening with a certain unhelpful friend you’re likely to end up drunk and strongly influenced by their prejudices, you decide not to expose yourself to these conditions and refuse the invitation. After you’ve exposed yourself to temptation to a certain extent, habit is likely to take over: so the best way to change your habits is to avoid the situation which produces the temptation to begin with.
2. Eradicating unskilful thoughts which have already arisen -
supposing you haven’t avoided the situation. You have exposed yourself to the sense-experiences which give rise to unskilful mental states, and those unskilful mental states have arisen. You can still do something about this, according to Buddhism. Exactly what you can do depends on the type of unskilful mental state: unskilful mental states correspond to the Five Hindrances which prevent concentration in meditation: greed, hatred, doubt, restlessness & anxiety, and sloth & torpor. There are four common techniques which can be used for dealing with any of these types of unskilful mental state:
- Considering the consequences: Reflect on what will happen if you carry on in this mental state. The more strongly you can envisage this the better, because you may then look beyond the current situation enough to change your attitude. E.g. if you’re trying to give up smoking and reach for that cigarette, feeling that nicotine-craving, you can visualise pictures of lungs full of tar or imagine yourself undergoing premature death.
- Cultivating the opposite: Some of the hindrances are opposed to another hindrance: so greed is opposed to hatred and sloth is opposed to anxiety (whereas doubt is opposed by faith, a positive quality). So if you’re in a greedy state you can think about what’s hateful about the object of your greed, or if you’re in a state of anxiety you can try and calm down by measured breathing and concentrating lower in your body. E.g. If you’re attracted to someone ill-advised, you can think about all their unattractive features, such as their bodily excretions (there’s a tradition of this in Buddhist texts!)
- Detachment: You can just let the unskilful thoughts pass like clouds in the sky. You just witness them as an impartial observer and detach yourself from them. E.g. if you have a feeling of resentment about what someone said to you, you can just let it go by, or alternatively analyse it psychologically.
- Suppression: A last resort is to simply exert strength of will to force yourself not to think in this way. This is not really advisable (because there will be a backlash from the suppressed feeling later) unless you have to act in this way to avoid acting immorally. E.g. If your hatred means you’re about to do someone else an injury, it may be better to just stop yourself!
3. Cultivating skilful thoughts involves the converse of number 1. Rather than just negatively avoiding putting yourself in situations where unskilful thoughts are likely to arise, you positively put yourself in situations where skilful thoughts are likely to arise. This might mean spending time with friends who are wise and compassionate, or doing some activity (e.g. yoga) which one knows to be liable to produce wholesome thoughts, or deliberately dwelling on positive thoughts in meditation. Some forms of visualisation practice in Mahayana Buddhism involve visualising a Buddha or bodhisattva who is associated with skilful thoughts: so by using the symbol one constantly puts oneself back into a skilful frame of mind through association.
4. Maintaining skilful thoughts which have already arisen: once skilful mental states have been developed, it is very easy to slip out of them, so it is necessary to stay on one’s guard. So again, this exertion may mean avoiding unhelpful influences, as well as practices such as regular meditation which help to keep up skilful mental states.
Task: work out your own example of how the Four Exertions might be applied