During this week’s Sangha, Jeffrey facilitated the topic of Right Effort. A talk by Ayya Anandabodhi and the discussion focused on improving one’s practice through pursuit of Right Effort, the 6th element in the Eightfold Path.
Right Effort addresses the quality of effort, proper amount of effort, and finding the appropriate approach to each situation. All of that constitutes skillfulness. The Buddha laid out Four Tasks or Exertions that constitute Right Effort:
- Preventing the arising of unwholesome states
- Abandoning unwholesome states that have arisen
- Cultivating the arising of wholesome states
- Maintaining wholesome states.
Jeffrey chose the topic because he felt his practice was stagnant. A vibrant practice includes curiosity, energy and joy. The group discussed their experiences in meditation and how curiosity, energy and joy can be cultivated.
Resources:
– Talk on Right Effort by Ayya Anandabodhi: http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/379/talk/49511/
– The Joy of Effort – Thanissaro Bikkhu: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/joyeffort.html
– “Right Effort” in The Noble Eightfold Path – Thannissaro Bikkhu: https://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Writings/eightfoldPath_150211.pdf
Burlington Buddhist Sangha 