RIGHT EFFORT (samma vayama)
Right Effort is the beginning of the third set of practices
known collectively as samadhi or concentration. For a number
of reasons, it is a critical link in the path. As Right Intention
provides the energy and movement to go from panna to sila,
Right Effort provides the energy and movement to go from sila
to samadhi. In this way, the two factors have similarities.
Right Intention on the mundane level involves ethical thought
or a kind of "wise want". Similarly, the Buddha spoke
of developing a "zeal" (chanda) in Right Effort
to restrain and abandon unskillful states and to develop and maintain
skillful ones.1 In this way, both Right Intention and Right Effort
as chanda work at the level of Craving (tanha) in
leading us away from selfish and destructive desire and towards
desire as an expedient method of ethics which ultimately goes
beyond desire and positive and negative. As both of these practices
develop critical ethical elements to benefit others, they both
involve the development of the four brahmaviharas: friendliness
(metta ) and compassion (karuna ) on an initial
level and joy in the joy of others (muditha ) and equanimity
(upekkha ) on higher levels. In this way, both of these
practices work against the alienating energies of too much competition
and put us in touch with the natural ecology of cooperation.
As Right Effort is the first practice in the samadhi progression,
however, it goes beyond Craving (tanha) towards Feeling
(vedana) and Phassa.. Right Effort plays the critical role
of bringing the power of our awareness to bear at the arising
of Phassa-Feeling-Craving, the section of paticca samuppada
which affords the best opportunity to deconcoct from the arising
of a suffering "self". The mental states before Phassa
are very sublime and require extensive practice to deconcoct.
Further, once we get into Craving (tanha) and onto to Clinging
(upadana) and Bhava, it is much more difficult
to avoid the concocting of Birth (jati). Aging & Death
(jaramarana) provide an opportunity to deconcoct but this
requires the experiencing of a lot more Dukkha than working at
this level of Phassa-Feeling-Craving.
When the Buddha talked about developing skillful states in Right
Effort, he spoke of the seven factors of enlightenment which form
a progression from mindfulness to investigation of phenomena to
energy to rapture to tranquillity to concentration to equanimity.2
The middle three factors of this progression match stages 3, 4
and 6 in the nirodhavara. This time, however, we begin
by using mindfulness instead of saddha to arouse investigation
of phenomena. Furthermore, the progression ends in equanimity
(upekkha), the highest practice of the brahmaviharas
of cooperation. Finally, the progressive energy of this sequence
shows the characteristic of Buddhist grace in Right Effort.
As we noted in the Buddha's sermon on process and means as ends,
the thoughts and actions in which we invest create their own inertia
and results through the psychic law of kamma and the natural
law of idappaccayata . Thus Right Understanding leads to
Right Action which leads to Right Mindfulness in a progressive
and timely development. When we follow a method of proper mental
and natural ecology, knowledge develops in a timely method towards
action which benefits others. This in turn leads to a natural
and healthy progression of growth. In such a way, Right Effort
and the larger series of samadhi practices debunks the
notion that Buddhism is a passive practice and that Buddhist culture
is an anathema to development and progress.
Right Effort, however, is certainly an anathema to modern "development"
and "progress". By building on appropriate and timely
knowledge as wisdom towards helping others, Dhammic Development
contrasts modern development's frantic rush forward to a constantly
receding horizon of material satisfaction. In this same teaching
on means as ends, the Buddha said:
If I think and ponder upon this thought (of renunciation) even for a night, even for a day, even for a night and a day, I see nothing to fear from it. But with excessive thinking and pondering, I might tire my body, and when the body is tired, the mind becomes disturbed, and when the mind is disturbed, it is far from concentration. So I steadied my mind internally, quieted it, brought it to one-pointedness, and concentrated it. Why is that? So that my mind should not be disturbed.3
Like a tired body, our natural
environment is worn out from the excessive "pondering"
of material development. With a "tired" environment,
our mental ecology as humans has become disturbed. It is time
that we as a human race break with our obsession with technological
speed and material development and slow down to quiet our collective
mind and re-establishment our mental ecology.
In consumer society, Right Effort first evolves as the application
of our initial understanding in panna and practice of sila
to the problems and difficulties of our daily lives in Craving
(tanha) and Dukkha. By further developing the brahmaviharas
of cooperation, our society learns the value of Right Play.4 For
example, sport becomes the art of teamwork as opposed to vicious
competitive ladder as metaphor of society. Children are no longer
destroyed under the guise of overbearing parents or an illusory
dream of social and economic advancement. Perhaps, in such a society
of Right Play, we might throw out our scoreboards, standings and
the minutiae of statistics to watch the competition of cooperation
as teams strive to practice sport as art through the perfection
of successful teamwork. As part of the larger construction of
society Right Effort begins the construction of the third pillar
of our Dhammic Society, Dhammic Development. In Dhammic Pedagogy
and Dhammic Culture, our society has skillful and wholesome foundations.
Dhammic Development then leads these foundations at the right
speed and in the proper final direction of the highest panna,
a society balanced in inner and outer ecology and imbued with
the value of idappaccayata.
RIGHT MINDFULNESS (samma sati)
Right Mindfulness follows Right Effort deeper into deconcocting
paticca samuppada. Right Mindfulness is the using of Right
Effort to bring mindfulness (sati) to bear on Phassa so
that unskillful Feeling (vedana) and Craving (tanha)
do not arise. From the meditative standpoint in Buddhism, Right
Mindfulness is a core practice and was taught in detail by the
Buddha in the method of anapanasati, the mindfulness (sati)
of breathing in and out (anapana). In the Anapanasati
Sutta and the Satipatthana Sutta (the Four Foundations
of Mindfulness), the Buddha teaches a systematic method for
developing awareness of body, feelings, mind, and phenomena (specifically
the laws of nature). This practice is the systematic method for
moving through the states of the nirodhavara. The initial
purpose is to calm the mind and develop concentration (samadhi).
This then develops into insight (vipassana) which leads
us to panna. As such, the practice of mindfulness begins
the road of deconcocting deep into the mind beyond Phassa and
through Salayatana-Mind/Body-Consciousness-Sankhara.
After the practices of sila help to simplify and clear
out space in our lives, Right Effort arises to apply sati to
the moment of contact in our minds and the place of conflict in
our lives.
The word sati itself implies speed...Sati is that which is quick....It is more like a lightning bolt or a laser beam. Sati is this speed which can bring wisdom to the point of contact, at the moment of contact, so that contact is governed by correct understanding and not by ignorance. Sati, if it is going to work usefully, must have wisdom and understanding to bring to the contact. If not, then sati works for nothing. But where does this intuitive wisdom come from? It can be developed completely though the practice of anapanasati. In practicing mindfulness with breathing, sati is developed, which is followed by correct understanding....The particular wisdom that sati brings for this specific contact we call sampajanya, which is the specific knowledge needed at a certain time to control contact. So sati brings that particular wisdom to contact which acts to regulate the contact so that nothing foolish occurs. Sati has to be trained so that it is not only quick enough to bring wisdom, but also must be able to select the correct wisdom to deal with each different and specific case....What we call sampajanya, the specific application of wisdom, and samadhi, a mind that is firm, clearly focused, active is developed through anapanasati. So we can have these four necessary tools: sati, panna , sampajanya, and samadhi. If we have these four at Phassa, they can do their work at the moment of contact, and contact will not be foolish. You can even call it wise contact. 5
In a Dhammic Society, sati is Right Technology, and it involves the use of wisdom in applying the power of technology to guide our lives in the direction of Dhammic Development. Thus when we come in contact with and use all the myriad technologies in our modern societies, we should employ these four aspects: sati, panna, sampajanya and samadhi. Sati is the property of the technology itself, the power of speed and efficiency. Panna is used then to determine the purpose of the technology, principally in what way it can benefit others and oneself. Sampajanya is the critical ethical element of proper application. Samadhi is the result of this proper use in the creation of a proper inner ecology which leads to personal and social empowerment. This empowerment is then a tool for realizing ever greater personal and social benefit in the higher form of panna.
In consumer society, we have lots of potential sati which
is not properly put into use. Our consumer society lacks the two
elements of proper determination for purpose to benefit others
(panna) and the application of technology in beneficial
ways (sampajanya). In this way, the vast potential sati
of all our modern technologies rarely leads to samadhi.
For example, the television has incredible potential sati
in the power to bring images from distant places into our home
for exposure and awareness. However, since the purpose of television
is most often for mindless entertainment and the developing of
consumer Craving (tanha), the application of this technology
results in dispersion and delusion as concocted further through
Clinging-Bhava. On the other hand, with Dhammic Pedagogy instilling
a core purpose to benefit and Dhammic Culture eschewing advertising
and developing entertainment which creates spiritual connection,
television can be used to develop awareness and insight for greater
human accomplishment. The examples of public television given
in Right Speech are instances where this principal is practiced.
This intertwining of panna and samadhi through the
practice of Right Technology brings to fore another Dhammic value
connected with Right Mindfulness, conscientiousness (appamada).
Conscientiousness is the power of effort to perform our duty to
ourselves, others and nature. Performing our natural duty is not
allowing ourselves to get into harmful situations, not missing
opportunities, and doing what needs to be done.6 Conscientiousness
(appamada) forms the core of a true social contract to
be aware of others and to act in benefit towards them. In this
way, conscientiousness creates Right Monitoring where individuals,
communities, and whole societies come together to practice awareness
and guide social interactions in a beneficial way.7 This Right
Monitoring is not like a police state like in the United States,
a military state like in Burma, or communities where repressive
religious bodies control followers. Nor is it overdeveloped punitive
legal systems which create mountains of litigation and backlogged
courts. All of these structures are the monitoring by the few
over a majority and create alienation, resentment and rebellion.
In Right Monitoring, everyone has a duty to practice personal
as well as social awareness. When every one is involved and accountable
for their own behavior and the larger well being of the community,
Right Monitoring becomes a collective practice of connection and
cooperation.
If we apply the four objects of awareness in anapanasati
(body, feelings, mind, phenomena), we can further develop Right
Monitoring as a social practice:
a) body - The body of society is the family, community and larger political grouping. A good example of Right Monitoring on the community level is the neighborhood watch where neighbors form an alliance to guard each others houses when the other is away. In the Caribbean, the women of a community have a communal bell. If one of them is being physically abused by her husband, the others ring the bell to call all the women of the community together to come and rescue the abused woman. In consumer society, Right Monitoring might express itself in families and communities helping each other to avoid over consumption and to practice the material requisites. On a multi-national level, the United Nations has experimented with "peace keeping forces". This is an excellent idea which unfortunately has done been implemented well. The predominant use of elite paramilitary forces trained in violence creation in places like Cambodia has only led to further violence and disrespect for UN workers in such areas. Training an elite corps in the methods of active non-violence and conflict resolution would be a more progressive way of dealing with this problem. In Cambodia, the creative adaptation of the traditional Dhamma Walk (dhammayatra) has been a far more effective, grassroots method of raising awareness of peace and non-violent attitudes. The core participants in this yearly walk are trained in active non-violence skills. Their success in walking through the most war torn parts of Cambodia where UN workers refuse to go and their ability to win support from the various military factions is proof of the merits of such an approach.
b) feelings - Feelings correspond to how we try to enjoy ourselves
and thus come under the spiritual requisites in culture and entertainment.
This practice involves monitoring what is broadcasted in our media
and importantly having the power to hold media accountable for
what they broadcast. This practice is extremely important on the
family level as family members must monitor how they consume entertainment.
This requires parents to devote more time to spending with their
children instead of putting them in front of the TV and buying
them all sorts of toys and games to occupy them with. This also
calls for children to remind parents of any hypocrisies in their
own consumptive habits. The practice of Right Monitoring in the
family involves Right Relationship, i.e. spending time together
and being involved in each other's lives. This is something we
might take for granted but in this century we have seen the dissolution
of the three and four generation household unit and the further
breakdown of the atomic family into groups of individuals partitioned
off in their own rooms with their own TVs, phones and consumer
toys.
c) mind - The mind corresponds to our intellectual development
and thus education. Alumni boards and PTAs are one way we monitor
our education systems. Student organizations which protest unethical
investment by universities is another good example. Right Monitoring
of education also involves monitoring our scientific research.
We need to make sure that research is working in areas which will
lead to human benefit and not in areas funded by businesses with
selfish interests and governments with military agendas.
d) phenomena - Phenomena translates to nature and the living world
of which we are a part. The blooming of environmental watchdog
groups over the last twenty years is a prime example of this kind
of Right Monitoring. We need, however, to do more by incorporating
monitoring of phenomena into monitoring of body. Our neighborhoods,
communities and regions also include natural habitats and natural
resources. Through the expanding of commons, the traditional practice
of publicly owned lands, and the rollback of the privatization
of property to limited individual plots, local accountability
and monitoring will have the power to persevere nature and its
resources from exploiters from the outside who have no investment
in local well being. Buddhism has developed a few practices to
add to this. Tree ordination is a popular practice in Thailand
to prevent logging as the cutting down of an ordained tree becomes
tantamount to murdering a monk or nun. The Mahayana concept of
certain natural areas embodying the holy archetype of a mandala
has provided another means of protecting nature. By violating
any of the nature within the mandala, one destroys the regions
liberative energy and sets off a chain of destructive energy.
This concept has many parallels with indigenous spiritual practices.
RIGHT CONCENTRATION (samma samadhi)
Right Effort puts
Right Mindfulness into practice which builds into Right Concentration.
As a practice to deconcoct consumer attachment, concentration
(samadhi) is the build up of the power of the technology
of sati. Like a big hydroelectric dam which stems the tide
of water and can deliver energy to far off places, samadhi
halts the flow of paticca samuppada at Phassa and then
redirects the energy usually put into Craving-Clinging-Bhava into
looking deeply into the mind (vipassana). This penetration
into the mind works to extinguish the subconscious concoctings
of Sankhara-Consciousness-Mind/Body-Salayatana.
When we reach this stage of practice, we begin to experience many
results like the peace and serenity of a mind with inner ecology.
As a high level of realization in the spiritual requisites, abiding
in meditative peace and tranquillity can serve as the highest
form of break from work or stress. We saw this in Right Effort
when the Buddha moved out of excessive pondering and thinking
and concentrated his mind so as not to be disturbed.8 On a social
level, Right Concentration is like living in a beautiful and harmonious
neighborhood. As a place of peace, there is no need to get into
the car or on a plane to take a vacation. Being inherently connected
to Right Understanding and panna, Right Concentration is
the practice of Right Community and Right Solidarity. Individually,
samadhi is a unified, stable and clear mind. Collectively,
it is a community in unity, harmony and solidarity.9 As a practice,
we develop it within ourselves and our communities making them
stable happy places with a strong inner ecology.
Right Concentration as the last of the eight practices as samadhi
in general, however, is not the culmination of the path. To
not sustain our energy forward into the next level of Right Understating
and a deeper panna presents high level dangers. We may
develop a selfish kind of well-being where we become attached
to the enjoyment and preservation of this state. In consumer societies,
this is the practice of the wealthy and wealthy nations not truly
helping those of lesser means. When we live in beautiful tree
lined communities with gentile neighbors in disregard of others
parts of our city lying in urban decay or when our country has
created wonderful national parks and clean air while exporting
polluting factories to other countries, we are practicing a selfish
kind of development which sees problems as my Dukkha and
my liberation. As we have pointed out, this was not the
Buddha's intention when he went looking for the solution to suffering.
He searched for the end of Dukkha period, not the end of his
Dukkha.
When this selfish kind of development is pursued, we create a
paternalistic, charity-like development. Firstly, we tend to feel
our solution to suffering is the solution, and we
attach to our individual insight as "expertise" that
all others must "need". Amidst all the problems that
still linger in northern countries like urban crime, homelessness,
and consumption diseases like anorexia, there is a surprisingly
large number of "experts" from these countries wandering
around the South telling people how to build their societies.
Secondly, we tend to be interested in helping others as long as
it doesn't threaten our liberation. This means we get halfway
involved in other people's suffering. Many of our "experts"
help those in need from fine houses with domestic servants. We
are happy to send our charity dollars to starving Africans, but
we're not ready to give up our addictions to fancy packaging which
destroys other countries' rain forests and to consumer goods made
by abused foreign workers.
Some may feel that doing away with competition as we know it today
will rob humanity of its drive for achievement and overcoming
difficulties. In Dhammic Development, however, we have seen how
Right Effort as proper desire (chanda) and Right Mindfulness
as the technology of sati and conscientiousness (appamada)
show us a way to succeed and develop within a cooperative framework.
In Right Concentration, these energies are developed higher as
stages of the nirodhavara which dispel dullness and drowsiness,
doubt, ill will, restlessness and worry, and sensual desire.10
Furthermore, Right Concentration must involve insight (vipassana)
and the cultivation of greater wisdom as benefit to others through
pushing unrelentingly back into the deepening of these eight practices.
Only by continuing to deepen our practice and experience can we
dissolve the root of paticca samuppada in Ignorance (avijja).
For those who use political socialism as an example of the inefficiencies
of non-competition and laud political capitalism for its efficiency
in competition, Dhammic Development as it culminates in Right
Concentration offers a mode of intense, sustained and appropriate
energy towards a cooperative goal which is beneficial to all.
This experience of a peaceful and joyous mind and community provides
a great energy and empowerment, and pushes us outwards to widen
the web of relations. This is a vision of development where people
are connected by a common vision and common standards as set forth
in Dhammic Pedagogy. However, this connection operates like a
flexible network and not a rigid hierarchy where one party or
small group creates the pedagogy, spreads its culture and
"develops" others. In such a way, small community can
be built and strengthened while feeding into an ever widening
web of community. In the end, a truly beneficial global society
can arise where community, bio-region, land mass, continent and
world are united in a cooperative social project.
CONCLUSION
We have attempted to digest
much material by integrating a personal practice to transform
our consumer mentalities with a social practice to transform our
consumer cultures. Let us review the core ideas in order to gain
a clearer view on the system's integrated dynamics:
THE THREE METHODS OF PERSONAL
PRACTICE:
panna (the wisdom of ethical benefit)-->
sila (virtuous action) -->
samadhi (awareness and concentration) -->
panna II (the wisdom of liberation)
THE THREE PILLARS OF DHAMMIC
SOCIETY:
Dhammic Pedagogy (systematic
education for benefit)-->
Dhammic Culture (society with healthy structures)-->
Dhammic Development (society with proper direction and pace)-->
Dhammic Society (a healthy global society)
PANNA & DHAMMIC PEDAGOGY:
Right Understanding -
Right Education
1. Dhamma as
-idappaccayata (natural duty & freedom) & panna
(systematic education for benefit)
2. Faith/Confidence (saddha) as awareness
-Systematic reflection (yoniso-manasikara) as analysis
-sila as action
Right Intention - Right Leadership
-renunciation (material and spiritual requisites)
-good will
-harmlessness
SILA & DHAMMIC CULTURE
Right Speech - Right Media
-mantra and gatha
-public media and public service announcements
Right Action
1. abstaining from violence - Right Heroes
2. abstaining from theft - Generosity (dana) & Simplicity
3&4. abstaining from improper sex & abstaining from intoxicants
-Right Relationship, Right Consumption, Right Maturity
Right Livelihood
-abstaining from exploitative employment & integrating life
-Right Economics & Right Ecology
SAMADHI & DHAMMIC DEVELOPMENT
Right Effort
-Zeal (chanda ) and the four brahmaviharas of cooperation
-Right Cooperation & Right Play
Right Mindfulness
1. sati - Right Technology (body, feelings, mind, phenomena)
2. Conscientiousness (appamada)- Right Monitoring (community,
entertainment, education, nature)
Right Concentration
-Insight (vipassana) --> panna II
-Right Community & Solidarity --> Right World Order
NOTES:
1 Majjhima Nikaya, Saccavibhanga Sutta: The Exposition of Truths,
141:29 (III.252).
2 Majjhima Nikaya, Satipatthana Sutta: The Foundations of Mindfulness,
10:42-43 (I.61-62).
3 Majjhima Nikaya, Dvedhavitakka Sutta: Two Kinds of Thought,
19:8 (I.116).
4 Santikaro Bhikkhu develops this idea of Right Play coming from
Right Effort in Entering the Realm of Reality, 148.
5 Buddhadasa, "Buddhism In All Aspects: Talk 4 Controlling
Paticca-Samuppada".
6 Payutto, Buddhadhamma, 256.
7 Santikaro Bhikkhu develops this idea of Right Monitoring coming
from Right Mindfulness in Entering the Realm of Reality,
148-50.
8 Majjhima Nikaya, Dvedhavitakka Sutta: Two Kinds of Thought,
19:8 (I.116).
9 Santikaro Bhikkhu develops this idea of Right Community and
Solidarity coming from Right Concentration in Entering the
Realm of Reality:, 150-53.
10 The Five Hindrances (nivarana) see Majjhima Nikaya,
Satipatthana Sutta: The Four Foundations of Mindfulness, 10:36
(I.60).