Absolute freedom and happiness – our true essence

IV. Perfection of Diligent Effort
(Sanskrit: Virya Paramita; Pali: Virya Paramita)

Having laid a solid foundation in the form of the Paramitas of Offerings, Precepts, and Patience, we enter into the practice of Diligent Effort. In brief, Diligent Effort is the complete transformation of our ordinary life into the life of a spiritual practitioner.

The Six Paramitas do not call us to renounce our worldly life and become a monk or hermit, but even so, our lifestyle should change significantly, as we continue our spiritual practice. The difference between a monk and a layman is the amount of time devoted to practice. A layman may well realize Enlightenment and Emancipation if he gradually increases the amount of practice time in his daily life to do so, and in the latter stages enters into intensive 24-hour practice.

1. Effort in practice

Spiritual practice can be divided into two kinds.

The first kind is the practice that we should engage in in our daily lives. For example, studying the Dharma and considering phenomena on its basis, performing virtuous deeds, accumulating merit, observing the precepts, and practicing Patience. In other words, it is a practice that has no particular form. It is a practice carried out in our minds. The highest formless practice is perfect mindfulness in daily life.

The second kind is, on the contrary, a practice that has a concrete form. For example, yogic asanas, pranayamas, and mudras. Taoist Qigong. Buddhist walking practice (although, it is used in almost all systems of practice), mantra chanting. In other words, it's a technical practice aimed primarily at developing the physical body and lifting energy.

The top, or the result, of both practices is meditation, the essence of which is a perfect concentration of consciousness. That is, having created a solid foundation in the form of preliminary formless practices, as well as having laid an equally solid foundation through external and internal technical practices, we can begin the full-fledged practice of meditation. Through these practices, we can get into a state of complete absence of thoughts, with our energy rising and falling, which is the entry into true deep meditation.

According to my experience, in order to simply maintain our energy and mental level in today's polluted world, we need a daily technical practice, for at least 2–3 hours. If we want real progress, however, our daily practice, which includes techniques and meditation, should approach six hours. In other words, if we want to realize Enlightenment and Emancipation, we must practice essentially 24 hours a day: six hours of technical practice and meditation, the rest of the time is formless practice: Dharma mindfulness, merit, precepts, and mindfulness.

Since we cannot, like monks or hermits, meditate twenty-four hours a day, our meditative practice must be maximized. For this, we need a rigorous technical practice that precedes meditation. Our practice should be as concentrated as possible, allowing us to achieve the same results in six hours as in twenty-four hours. In other words, we must make a double or even triple effort.

How is this possible? This is where the results of our practice of the previous Paramitas come into play: our consciousness is calm, we have many virtues and merits, we have «shed» a lot of bad karma, and we do not accumulate new karma because we strictly observe the precepts. However, the determining factor as to whether we can truly make the best effort to practice is Patience. When we attain the Perfection of Patience, we gain a powerful «weapon» called «willpower». Because of this, our practice continues with redoubled vigor – it is «great, fierce striving», as Master Hakuin used to say.

Therefore, the first aspect of the Paramita of Diligent Effort is the effort itself: to make a hundred percent effort to practice based on Dharma understanding and willpower.

2. The Four Right Efforts

The second part of practicing Diligent Effort is to increase merit and decrease bad karma-in other words, to develop right thoughts, speech, and actions and to suppress wrong ones:

1. Carry out the practice that is possible to carry out now. For example, a practitioner is able at this moment to make material donations and accumulate merit by Selfless Service. So he should diligently continue to perform that practice.

2. Strive in the future to perform the practice that cannot be performed now. For example, a practitioner cannot yet explain the Dharma to others because he has not yet mastered the Teaching sufficiently. So he should make efforts to study the Dharma so that he can freely expound the Teachings in the future.

3. Stop the accumulation of bad karma that can be stopped now. For example, a practitioner, instead of watching entertainment on TV or the Internet, can devote that time to meditation. So he should do that.

4. Strive to suppress in the future the accumulation of bad karma that cannot be suppressed now. For example, someone can't get rid of bad habits, say smoking or addiction to sweets. Therefore, that person should make every effort to get rid of these habits in the future. For example, in the case of smoking tobacco, he should do special pranayama and purification techniques.

In addition to this, the fourth point says that efforts should be made so that wrong thoughts, words, or actions do not arise in the future. For example, the practitioner has suppressed his own irritability and backbiting. Then he should make an effort to fix the tranquility he has gained and not allow irritation or ill-will to take hold of him again.

Thus, the practice of the Four Right Efforts increases the amount of data (karma) of the high worlds in our Five Aggregates and helps to reduce the amount of contrary data.

3. Awareness and concentration

Through all of the above practices, we begin to control our consciousness and come first to mindfulness in daily life and then to unidirectional concentration, or focus, in meditation. In other words, the third component of Diligent Effort practice is the effort to be in a state of mindfulness every moment and to always be in control of one's consciousness: «„Consciousness rules the world”, said the Buddha. A well-controlled consciousness is a most useful friend, but when uncontrolled and wandering, it is bound to become the worst enemy. A well-controlled, tamed mind brings peace and happiness» (Venerable Ananda Maitreya^[23]).

Awareness and concentration is calm attention directed toward an object. Attention to the object is held through willpower – we do not allow our consciousness to move away from the object of our concentration, nor do we allow it to come at the expense of willpower.

Awareness means to direct your attention to some process or action. For example, we are walking down the street, driving a car, cooking a meal, or cleaning the house. It can be some kind of work process, such as the process of assembling something. It can be a learning process where we need to memorize a sequence of certain movements, like learning to drive a car, or martial arts, or computer skills. It can be the observation and awareness of our sensations, such as when practicing yogic asanas or Taoist Qigong. In other words, mindfulness does not involve having one single object to which our attention is directed. Mindfulness is quiet attention directed to some process in which several objects interact with each other. For example, if I am cleaning, I am using a vacuum cleaner, dusting rags, moving chairs, taking out the trash, and so on. That is, I constantly need to shift my attention from one object to another and consciously perform a certain sequence of actions.

Concentration is, on the contrary, quiet attention directed exclusively to one single object. Usually, concentration, or single-minded focus, refers to our meditation and inner peace. For example, we recite a mantra or concentrate on our breath during pranayama, and at that moment, there is nothing but the mantra being recited or the breath. Our awareness merges with the object of concentration and stops.

Thus, mindfulness is primarily the outer world and daily life, and concentration is our inner world and meditation. Therefore, we can say that mindfulness in daily life creates the basis for unidirectional concentration in meditation.

As the practice continues, the outer and inner worlds become one to us, and we realize the ability to be naturally present in both daily life and meditation.

Two components of mindfulness and concentration

So, mindfulness and concentration are slightly different in form, but their essence is identical because both mindfulness and concentration have two components. Moreover, if one of them is not fulfilled, it will not be full and true mindfulness and/or concentration.

The first component is the foundation, without it; there is no mindfulness and concentration. It is well known to all, easy to explain and understand, but quite difficult to fulfil. The first component is to be fully present in the present moment. What does «presence» mean? Presence in the present moment means to concentrate, to focus, to be attentive, not to be distracted, and to be fully present in the here and now through willpower. Actually, this is the definition of willpower itself, i.e. the work of consciousness to continue concentration, the work of consciousness to continue doing what you are doing at the present moment. It is the fixation of consciousness on an object. Consciousness does not move away and does not deviate from the object of our awareness or concentration. So what keeps us from being present in the present moment and focusing our consciousness on the object? Extraneous meaningless thoughts that are usually related to either the past or the future. In other words, we get distracted by reminiscing about the past or dreaming about the future. This is why it is said to be present, mindful, or focusing specifically on the present moment. The presence or absence of thoughts about the present moment itself will be discussed below.

So, the first component is the practice of Calmness: we have to calm, or empty, our mind and attain a state where no extraneous thoughts arise. We control our consciousness through willpower and direct it completely to the object of our awareness or concentration.

The second component of mindfulness and concentration arises from the first. We can say that this second component is the essential aspect for which mindfulness and concentration are realized. Unlike the first, the second component cannot be understood intellectually or logically, because when this second component is fully realized, our consciousness will be in its natural original state. In other words, our consciousness, and with it the false «self», will disappear.

Therefore, we have been able to concentrate on the object, extraneous thoughts have gone away, and our consciousness has become clearer. The next question arises: what should we do with the object of concentration itself? For example, when we recite a mantra or perform pranayama – how should we relate to the mantra or our breath, what should we think, and should we think? On the other hand, there is certainly less thinking, but worldly desires have not gone away – what about attachment or anger, for example, which may or may not appear in meditation?

The usual dualistic way of thinking says that mantra or breath are «good» objects, so one should «concentrate» on them. Attachment or anger, on the other hand, are «bad» objects and should not be «concentrated» on, they should be negated. However, in reality, this kind of thinking has to do with the beginning level of the Right View, not with meditation. In Right Meditation, we concentrate equally on both the breath and the attachments. Of course, we must first master concentration on the «good» objects, and afterward concentrate on the «bad» objects to stop their effects. Consequently, in the end, the object of our concentration or the process we realize can be anything: «good and right», for example, it can be what we study, it can be our practice, training, doing some work, etc.; and «bad and wrong» as, for example, our weaknesses, shortcomings, worldly desires or unpleasant thoughts, painful memories, etc.

However, if one is not aware, at least theoretically, of what the original state of consciousness is, confusion and substitution of concepts are bound to arise at this point. However, this is the essential part of concentration, its true deep part, to which the practitioner must come, and if this does not happen, then the previous practices are useless from the point of view of Enlightenment.

There are only two opposite and mutually exclusive ways or processes of perceiving any object, any action, or any phenomenon. The first is grasping the object; the second is concentrating on the object. In ordinary life, however, they are seen as exactly the same thing. The problem is that we confuse grasping and concentration; in other words, we get caught up, and attached to the object, instead of being dispassionately aware of the object.

There is a process: movement of consciousness – perception of the object – identification with the object – discernment of the object based on past experience and information – arising of desire or no desire for the object – suffering^[24].

However, there is another process, or rather the absence of it. Consciousness is stopped and remains in its original state of Calmness and Contemplation. An object appears which we perceive. However, it is perception without perception. Our consciousness does not come into motion, which means we do not follow the process of grasping. As a result, the object does not affect us.

If we have not yet experienced this state of complete cessation of thinking, we use concentration on a «good» object to experience this state. Through willpower, we do not allow our consciousness to move toward the object, to be grasped by the object, to enter the path of discernment and the arising of desires. «Object» is the object of our concentration or awareness. We try to replace the process of ordinary perception and discernment with calm observation without engagement. We can say that at this point we are imitating the original state of our awareness.

When the complete stopping of thinking at the level of actual consciousness is experienced, the very place where the process of discernment and grasping was, will be replaced by the state that has always been there – the state of natural presence, contemplative peace, or Calmness and Contemplation. When this is realized, we will be able to make our weaknesses and worldly desires (i.e., the «bad» objects) a full-fledged confrontation and terminate their action by concentration and contemplation in further meditation.

Therefore, the second component of mindfulness and concentration is non-involvement. First, we direct our consciousness to the object of our concentration and do not allow it to be distracted by thoughts of the past or future. Then we do not allow the consciousness to move: to start moving towards the object, to distinguish or interpret the object of concentration itself, to be carried away, to be absorbed by the object or process to which our calm attention is directed. This is why concentration is called calm attention directed toward an object. Control of consciousness is realized by us at the expense of willpower. Willpower is developed through Patience and Diligent Effort.