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cattasallaThere are four parts to the four strivings, which can be neatly summed up in the acronym PACK. They are the effort to Prevent unarisen unskillful or bad mental states or qualities from arising, to Abandon any unskillful/bad qualities or mental states that have arisen, Cultivate unarisen skillful or good qualities or mental states, and Keep those good qualities which have already arisen. This is given as a definition for "vigor" in the list I've been looking at in several posts, the five spiritual faculties. I've previously covered faith, and introduced vigor. This post will (almost) wrap up the discussion of vigor, then the next post will move on to what I am choosing to translate as "recollection", "stillness", and "wise discernment", although those first two are usually translated as "mindfulness" and "concentration".
In my last post, I took a look at the first two: Prevent and Abandon. I examined a handful of strategies that I've found helpful in applying these efforts. This post will wrap it up by covering Cultivate and Keep.
So, you've set yourself the goal of getting rid of those bad qualities. No more hate or ill-will, no more getting caught up and attached to unhealthy things that harm you. You are watching yourself to see when these things arise, you are avoiding situations in which they do arise, and when they arise releasing them rather than creating more aversion and stress around them.
Or you're trying. But just doing those things alone isn't going to work. In order to counter those bad qualities, instead of simply removing them, it's good to develop good or skillful qualities.
The first, basic, thing, is to recognize what exactly is good and what is bad. This requires the development of mindfulness and discernment. There are some handy heuristics that can help point you in the right direction, of course, like the ten perfections (giving, ethical conduct, letting go, persistence, wise discernment, truthfulness, patience, goodwill, equanimity) or the divine abidings (goodwill, compassion, sympathetic joy, equanimity) or the right purposes (letting go, goodwill, compassion), or the seven factors of awakening (mindfulness, curiousity, vigor, joy, tranquility, stillness, equanimity). At this point, I hope you're getting the idea...but ultimately, instead of relying on lists, you can rely on your own wisdom. Watch yourself and watch your actions: Are you creating more stress, or less stress? Watch your thoughts, words, and deeds. Your mental states. Look for whether things are getting more tense and difficult, or more relaxed and easy. Some care must be taken, because sometimes one can be mistaken for another (e.g., if we have some unspoken problem with a person that needs to be talked through, we may think we should avoid it because that introduces difficulty, but that ignores that not talking the problem through creates an underlying tension that will be released by handling it).
How do you arouse those states, when they are not present? Are there particular things you can do? If you are low on energy, for example, what activities recharge you? Do those! Are there particular things you can turn your attention to that inspire the good qualities in you? When I first started doing loving-kindness meditation practice, I had a lot of trouble calling up and sustaining the feelings--especially for myself! But one guaranteed way to do it was to think of my nieces and nephews, and how I felt about them, and how they felt about me. And then once I had called up that feeling, I could sustain it throughout the meditation and call it up throughout the day. And now, I don't even need to do that mental exercise to call up those feelings. I also find post-it notes helpful as simple reminders. In the corner of my monitor right now, is a sticky note that says, "Am I aware? What is the most obvious thing I'm aware of? How am I relating to my experience?" as part of my attempt to establish mindfulness and presence of awareness throughout my daily life. Reading inspirational texts or stories, can help. I find the Buddha is a pretty reliable person to turn to if I need some inspiration (thus my adherence to this whole "Buddhist" thing!), but when reading a sutta seems like too much effort, some Gil Fronsdal or other Audio Dharma teachers work great, or just perusing Dharma Seed or some Thanissaro Bhikkhu, or Ajahn Brahm if I want the Dharma from a big goofy dork who is also very wise and moving.
Once you have a good quality, the next task is to maintain it. The full list of things you should do, from the text (SN 48.10, is (in my translation):
(We'll actually get to the series of verbs starting with "generate" in the next post, because that is about the four bases of spiritual power...part of the reason I chose to do this sutta and this list of the five spiritual faculties is because it contains five other lists within it, the four right strivings being one of them! So many lists in Buddhism!)
So you want to keep them, you want to make them abundant, and stable, and become established in them. You want them to ground you, and be the basis from which you take any mental, verbal, or physical action.
Here, as always, wisdom and mindfulness come into play. Just as to bring it about, it's good to pay attention to the conditions that give rise to it, to maintain it, pay attention to the conditions that support it. What do you do throughout the day that helps you do that? Are there particular conversations, or people, or situations, that strengthen your good qualities, or resolve to good qualities? Seek these out! Spiritual friends are vital to the Path...there's a well known passage in which Ven Ānanda said to the Buddha, "Good friends are half of the spiritual life", and the Buddha corrected him and said, "Good friends are the whole of the spiritual life."
Just as important as finding out what supports those good qualities is finding out what causes them to cease. When you stop being mindful, what has happened? What knocked you out of it? If you lose your sense of generosity or kindness, if you snap at a stranger or flip someone off in traffic, what happened? What are the things that knock you off? Notice when you've lost some good quality, notice what caused you to lose it, and then work to bring it back. It can be helpful to choose one or two particular ones to work on for a given period. These can be qualities that you lack and wish to strengthen, or qualities in which you are already strong but feel you could still establish better. Doing this deliberately is what right striving is all about.
One final thing that can be very helpful in this is pride. In the last post, I mentioned developing a sense of dignity, a sense that doing bad things is simply beneath you, is helpful. Similarly, taking pride when you do good is helpful. Indeed, one of the fundamental meditation exercises given in traditional Buddhist texts is reflecting on your own virtue. Feel good about doing good things, because they were good to do and you should feel good about them.
Pride isn't a problem. A sense of dignity isn't a problem. However, if they become conceit or arrogance, then you have a problem. Taking pride in the good things you do is good for you, but letting that lead to you thinking you are better than others is harmful and unskillful. So pride must be tempered by humility.
A final note, it may seem contradictory, since pride is a form of attachment to a self. It's true. I agree with a take often articulated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu on this, which is that it's okay to do less unskillful things in order to make you overall more skillful, and advance you along the path. Once you reach Stream Entry and have a taste of the Deathless, you can set aside the self. But until then, it's not a terrible thing to develop a healthy sense of self. To some extent, Buddhism is the ultimate psychotherapy, and on the way to reaching the ultimate goal, it requires you hit all the marks that conventional, secular psychotherapy sets, including a healthy sense of self. View yourself as someone who is on the Path, which means you do certain things, and don't do other things. You are aiming for liberation, and it's beautiful, and joyful, and serene. There is no higher good than this.
It's important not to beat yourself up when you don't live up to certain standards, of course: It's a journey, and none of us start out as fully realized Buddhas or Arahants. You will stumble along the way, but as long as you keep going, you'll reach the mountain. Or so I believe (see my earlier post about faith!). And hey, even if I never make it to the mountain, I've still had a beautiful walk!
In my last post, I took a look at the first two: Prevent and Abandon. I examined a handful of strategies that I've found helpful in applying these efforts. This post will wrap it up by covering Cultivate and Keep.
So, you've set yourself the goal of getting rid of those bad qualities. No more hate or ill-will, no more getting caught up and attached to unhealthy things that harm you. You are watching yourself to see when these things arise, you are avoiding situations in which they do arise, and when they arise releasing them rather than creating more aversion and stress around them.
Or you're trying. But just doing those things alone isn't going to work. In order to counter those bad qualities, instead of simply removing them, it's good to develop good or skillful qualities.
The first, basic, thing, is to recognize what exactly is good and what is bad. This requires the development of mindfulness and discernment. There are some handy heuristics that can help point you in the right direction, of course, like the ten perfections (giving, ethical conduct, letting go, persistence, wise discernment, truthfulness, patience, goodwill, equanimity) or the divine abidings (goodwill, compassion, sympathetic joy, equanimity) or the right purposes (letting go, goodwill, compassion), or the seven factors of awakening (mindfulness, curiousity, vigor, joy, tranquility, stillness, equanimity). At this point, I hope you're getting the idea...but ultimately, instead of relying on lists, you can rely on your own wisdom. Watch yourself and watch your actions: Are you creating more stress, or less stress? Watch your thoughts, words, and deeds. Your mental states. Look for whether things are getting more tense and difficult, or more relaxed and easy. Some care must be taken, because sometimes one can be mistaken for another (e.g., if we have some unspoken problem with a person that needs to be talked through, we may think we should avoid it because that introduces difficulty, but that ignores that not talking the problem through creates an underlying tension that will be released by handling it).
How do you arouse those states, when they are not present? Are there particular things you can do? If you are low on energy, for example, what activities recharge you? Do those! Are there particular things you can turn your attention to that inspire the good qualities in you? When I first started doing loving-kindness meditation practice, I had a lot of trouble calling up and sustaining the feelings--especially for myself! But one guaranteed way to do it was to think of my nieces and nephews, and how I felt about them, and how they felt about me. And then once I had called up that feeling, I could sustain it throughout the meditation and call it up throughout the day. And now, I don't even need to do that mental exercise to call up those feelings. I also find post-it notes helpful as simple reminders. In the corner of my monitor right now, is a sticky note that says, "Am I aware? What is the most obvious thing I'm aware of? How am I relating to my experience?" as part of my attempt to establish mindfulness and presence of awareness throughout my daily life. Reading inspirational texts or stories, can help. I find the Buddha is a pretty reliable person to turn to if I need some inspiration (thus my adherence to this whole "Buddhist" thing!), but when reading a sutta seems like too much effort, some Gil Fronsdal or other Audio Dharma teachers work great, or just perusing Dharma Seed or some Thanissaro Bhikkhu, or Ajahn Brahm if I want the Dharma from a big goofy dork who is also very wise and moving.
Once you have a good quality, the next task is to maintain it. The full list of things you should do, from the text (SN 48.10, is (in my translation):
For the persistence, certitude, increase, abundance, development, and completion of already arisen skillful qualities, they generate desire, try, arouse vigor, apply the mind and heart, and strive.
(We'll actually get to the series of verbs starting with "generate" in the next post, because that is about the four bases of spiritual power...part of the reason I chose to do this sutta and this list of the five spiritual faculties is because it contains five other lists within it, the four right strivings being one of them! So many lists in Buddhism!)
So you want to keep them, you want to make them abundant, and stable, and become established in them. You want them to ground you, and be the basis from which you take any mental, verbal, or physical action.
Here, as always, wisdom and mindfulness come into play. Just as to bring it about, it's good to pay attention to the conditions that give rise to it, to maintain it, pay attention to the conditions that support it. What do you do throughout the day that helps you do that? Are there particular conversations, or people, or situations, that strengthen your good qualities, or resolve to good qualities? Seek these out! Spiritual friends are vital to the Path...there's a well known passage in which Ven Ānanda said to the Buddha, "Good friends are half of the spiritual life", and the Buddha corrected him and said, "Good friends are the whole of the spiritual life."
Just as important as finding out what supports those good qualities is finding out what causes them to cease. When you stop being mindful, what has happened? What knocked you out of it? If you lose your sense of generosity or kindness, if you snap at a stranger or flip someone off in traffic, what happened? What are the things that knock you off? Notice when you've lost some good quality, notice what caused you to lose it, and then work to bring it back. It can be helpful to choose one or two particular ones to work on for a given period. These can be qualities that you lack and wish to strengthen, or qualities in which you are already strong but feel you could still establish better. Doing this deliberately is what right striving is all about.
One final thing that can be very helpful in this is pride. In the last post, I mentioned developing a sense of dignity, a sense that doing bad things is simply beneath you, is helpful. Similarly, taking pride when you do good is helpful. Indeed, one of the fundamental meditation exercises given in traditional Buddhist texts is reflecting on your own virtue. Feel good about doing good things, because they were good to do and you should feel good about them.
Pride isn't a problem. A sense of dignity isn't a problem. However, if they become conceit or arrogance, then you have a problem. Taking pride in the good things you do is good for you, but letting that lead to you thinking you are better than others is harmful and unskillful. So pride must be tempered by humility.
A final note, it may seem contradictory, since pride is a form of attachment to a self. It's true. I agree with a take often articulated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu on this, which is that it's okay to do less unskillful things in order to make you overall more skillful, and advance you along the path. Once you reach Stream Entry and have a taste of the Deathless, you can set aside the self. But until then, it's not a terrible thing to develop a healthy sense of self. To some extent, Buddhism is the ultimate psychotherapy, and on the way to reaching the ultimate goal, it requires you hit all the marks that conventional, secular psychotherapy sets, including a healthy sense of self. View yourself as someone who is on the Path, which means you do certain things, and don't do other things. You are aiming for liberation, and it's beautiful, and joyful, and serene. There is no higher good than this.
It's important not to beat yourself up when you don't live up to certain standards, of course: It's a journey, and none of us start out as fully realized Buddhas or Arahants. You will stumble along the way, but as long as you keep going, you'll reach the mountain. Or so I believe (see my earlier post about faith!). And hey, even if I never make it to the mountain, I've still had a beautiful walk!