THE SIXTH LINK OF THE PATH, RIGHT EFFORT, SAMMA-VAYAMA. What now, Brothers, is Right Effort? There are, Brothers, Four Great Efforts: The Effort to Avoid, the Effort to Overcome, the Effort to Originate, and the Effort to Maintain. I. What now, Brothers, is the Effort to Avoid ? The disciple, Brothers, begets in himself the will not to permit to arise evil unwholesome things. that have not arisen, and summoning all his strength, he struggles and strives and incites his mind. The Effort to Avoid (Samvarappadhana.) When, Brothers, this disciple sees a form with the eye, hears a sound with the ear, smells an odour with the nose, tastes a taste with the tongue feels a contact with the body, perceives an object (idea) with the mind, he does not indulge in the aspect of the same, neither of the whole nor of its parts; and he begets in himself the will to avoid that, which, if he remained with unguarded senses, would give occasion for the arising of evil things, of desire and discontent. And so, watching over the senses, he succeeds in becoming master of them. Possessed of this noble control over the senses, he experiences inwardly a feeling of joy into which no evil thing can enter. This, Brothers, is called the Effort to Avoid. What now, Brothers, is the Effort to Overcome. The disciple, Brothers, begets in himself the will to overcome evil, unwholesome things that The Effort to have arisen, and, summoning all his Overcome. (Pahana-ppadhana.) strength, he struggles and strives and incites his mind. He does not allow a thought of Greed, Anger or Delusion that has arisen, to find a foothold; he suppresses it, expels it, annihilates it, causes it to disappear. And whatsoever there is of evil, unwholesome things, he does not allow them to find a foothold, he overcomes them, expels them, annihilates them, causes them to disappear. 2. If, Brothers, by the dwelling upon a certain idea, there arise in the disciple, evil, unwholesome Five methods thoughts, of Greed, Anger, Delusion,—(1) of expelling evil thoughts. then the disciple out of this idea should gain another and a wholesome idea, (2) or, he should dwell upon the misery of those thoughts, thus, 'There they are again, these unwholesome thoughts; there they are again, these pernicious thoughts; there they are again, these pain-producing thoughts.' (3) Or he should pay no attention to them. (4) Or he should analyse them into their constituent parts. (5) Or, with teeth clenched and tongue pressed against the gums, he should suppress these thoughts with his mind; and in doing so, these evil, unwholesome thoughts of Greed, Anger, or Delusion, will dissolve and disappear, and the mind will become settled and quiet, concentrated and strong. This, Brothers, is called the Effort to Overcome. 3. What now, Brothers is the Effort to Originate ? The disciple, Brothers, begets in himself the will to originate wholesome things that have not arisen, and summoning all his strength, he struggles and strives and incites his mind. The Effort to Originate. (Bhavana-ppadhana). And he originates the Constituent Parts of Enlightenment (Bojjhanga) born of solitude, depending upon detachment, connected with extinction, and leading to relinquishment,-namely, Attentiveness, Penetration (Dhammavicaya), Energy, Joy, Tranquility, Concentration (Samādhi) and Equanimity.28 This, Brothers, is called the Effort to Originate. The Effort to Maintain. 4. What now, Brothers, is called the Effort to Maintain? The disciple, Brothers, begets in himself the will to maintain wholesome things that have arisen, the will not to permit them to perish but to bring them to perfection; and summoning all his strength, he struggles and strives and incites his mind. This, Brothers, is called the Effort to Maintain. Such a disciple, Brothers, is vigorous and alert; his energies are equally balanced, neither too ardent nor too sluggish in pursuing the Middle Path. And he is filled with the thought: May muscles, skin and sinews, together with bones, flesh, and blood, shrivel together and dry up, rather than that I should abandon my efforts while as yet I have not attained whatsoever is attainable by human perseverance, energy, and endeavour.' This, Brothers, is Right Effort. 28. The Bojjhangas are also possessed in some degree by the Puthujjana or Worldling, that is, by one, who is still outside the four Ultramun dane Paths (of the Sotapanna, Sakadāgāmi, etc.) THE SEVENTH LINK OF THE PATH. RIGHT ATTENTIVENESS, SAMMA-SATI. What now, Brothers, is Right Attentiveness? The Four Satipatthanas or Fundamentals of Attentiveness. The disciple, Brothers, lives in Contemplation of the Body, lives in Contemplation of the Sensations, lives in Contemplation of the Mind, lives in Contemplation of Internal Phenomena, unweariedly, clearly conscious, with senses awake, having overcome worldly desires and sor rows. The only way, Brothers, that leads mortals to the attainment of purity, to the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, to the cessation of suffering and grief, to the entering upon the right path and the realisation of Nibbana, is the "Four Fundamentals of Attentiveness," the Four Satipatthānas. 1. THE CONTEMPLATION OF THE BODY, (KAYA).29 But how, Brothers, does the disciple dwell in the Contemplation of the Body? The disciple, Brothers, retires to the forest, to the foot of a tree or to a solitary place, sits himself down with legs crossed, body erect, and mind present and fixed. or Anapana sati "Watching over in and Outbreathing.' With attentive mind he breathes in, with attentive mind he breathes out. When he takes a long inward breath, he knows: 'I take a long inward breath '; when he makes a long outward breath, he knows: I make a long outward breath '; when he makes a short inward breath, he knows I take a short inward breath;' when he makes a short outward breath, he knows: 'I make a short outward breath.' Clearly perceiving the entire breath, I will breathe in;' thus he trains himself; Clearly perceiving the entire breath, I will breathe out' thus he trains himself. 'Calm 29. Kava-here, Rūpa-kāya—constitutes the Rūpa-khandha or Aspect of Material Existence. ing the breath, I will breathe in,' thus he trains himself; 'Calming the breath, I will breathe out,' thus he trains himself.30 Thus he contemplates his own Body;31 thus he contemplates the Bodies of others; thus he contemplates both his own Body and the Bodies of others. He beholds how Bodies arises; beholds how Bodies passes away; beholds the arising and the passing away of Bodies. 'Bodies only are there :32 this clear knowledge is present to him, just because he possesses understanding, possesses insight, and he lives independent, unattached to anything in the world. Thus, Brothers, does the disciple dwell in Contemplation of the Body. And further, Brothers, the disciple knows in going,. Insight into the Four Positions of the Body. Thus he contemplates his own Body; thus he contemplates the Bodies of others; thus he contemplates both his own Body and the Bodies of others. He beholds how Bodies arise; beholds how Bodies pass away; beholds the arising and the passing away of Bodies. 'Bodies only are there': this clear knowledge is present to him, just because 30. After the disciple through Watching over In and Out-breathing, has attained the Four Jhanas or Trances (See The Eighth Link of the Path), he considers in his mind as to what In and Out-breathing is based upon, and he understands: In-and Out-breathing presuppose the existence of the body.' The body however, is only a name for the Four Chief Elements and the properties dependent upon them, namely (Eye, Ear, Nose, Tongue, Body, Form, Sound, Odour, Taste, etc., (See Note, 5). Dependent upon the contact of these, consciousness (Viññāņa) arises; and through consciousness there arise all the five Aspects of Existence, namely, the Mental Aspects (Nāma): Sensation, Perception, Subjective Differentiations, and Consciousness, and the Material Aspect (Rūpa); all which, taken together, constitute the subjective-objective Anschauung (Nama-rūpa).' Here the disciple clearly perceives: There is no being present, but only the Five Khandhas or Aspects of Existence whose arising is dependent upon causes;' and in the moment of deep Insight (Vipassana) into the Transiency, Suffering, and Unsubstantiality (Anatta) of all that has thus arisen, he may realise any one of the Four Ultramundane Paths; in other words, enter into Sotapanna-ship, Sakadāgāmi-ship, Anāgāmi-ship or Arahatship. (Cf. Note, 50.) 31. "By body in this case is meant breath, the latter being a Kayasankhara or bodily function." (Commentary.) 32. "This is only a material body; it is no living being, no individual, no woman, no man, no self, nothing that belongs to a self; neither a person nor anything belonging to a person." (Commentary.) 33 "The disciple understands that there is no living being, no real / that goes, stands, sits, or lies down, but that it is by a mere figure of speech that one says: 'I go,' 'I stand,' and so forth." (Commentary.) he possesses understanding, possesses insight, and he lives independent, unattached to anything in the world. Thus, Brothers, does the disciple dwell in Contemplation of the Body. The Four-fold Clear Consciousness. And further still, Brothers; the disciple is clearly conscious in his coming and going, clearly conscious in directing his eyes towards an object and in turning away his eyes, clearly conscious in bending and in straightening any part of his body, clearly conscious in eating, drinking, chewing and tasting; clearly conscious in evacuating excrement and urine; clearly conscious in walking, standing and sitting; clearly conscious in falling asleep and in awakening; clearly conscious in speaking and in keeping silence. 34 Thus he contemplates his own Body; thus he contemplates the Bodies of others; thus he contemplates both his own Body and the Bodies of others. He beholds how Bodies arise; beholds how Bodies pass away; beholds the arising, and the passing away of Bodies. 'Bodies only are there': this clear knowledge is present to him, just because he possesses understanding, possesses insight, and he lives independent, unattached to anything in the world. Thus, Brothers, does the disciple dwell in Contemplation of the Body. And further still, Brothers, the disciple contemplates Contemplation on the impurity of the Body. this Body up and down from the sole of the foot to the crown of the head, a skin drawn over it, filled with manifold impurities: 'This Body has hair on the head, is covered with hair, has nails and teeth, skin and flesh, sinews, bones and marrow, kidneys, heart, and liver, diaphragm, spleen, lungs, stomach, bowels, mesentery and excrement; has bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, lymph, tears, sperm, spittle, nasal mucus, oil of the joints, and urine.' Just, Brothers, as if there were a sack, tied up at both ends, filled with all kinds of grain,-with rice, beans, sesamum,—and a man not blind opened it and investigated its contents, thus: That is rice these are beans, this is sesamum'-just so Brothers, does the disciple consider this body from the sole of the feet to the crown of the head, skin drawn over it, filled with manifold impurities. 34. "In all that the disciple is doing he is clearly conscious: (1) of his Intention, (2) of his Advantage, (3) of his D uty, 4) of the Reality." (Commentary.) |