RIGHT EFFORT
Abandoning Arisen
Unhealthy States
Whatever a person frequently
thinks about and ponders, that will become the inclination of their
mind. If one frequently thinks about and ponders unhealthy states, one
has abandoned healthy states to cultivate unhealthy states, and then
one’s mind inclines toward unhealthy states. (MN 19)
Here a person rouses the will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts
the mind, and strives to abandon arisen unhealthy mental states. One
abandons the arisen hindrance of ill will. (MN 141)
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Unhealthy
mental states arise all the time. The causes and conditions for their
arising have been forged in previous mind moments, and we have no direct
conscious control over whether or not they arise. The practice of right
effort has to do entirely with how we handle them once they have come
up. In other words, we have no control over what hand we are dealt in
each moment, but we have the power to play that hand more or less
skillfully.
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The conscious
mind cannot control what emerges from the unconscious, but it can
exercise some influence over how we respond. Take, for example, ill
will, which can manifest as annoyance, resentment, or hatred; practice
the art of acknowledging it but choosing not to feed it. To abandon ill
will is not to suppress it or block it but rather to see it, know it to
be harmful, and abandon it—to let it pass through and wave farewell.
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Tomorrow: Establishing Mindfulness of Feeling and Abiding in the Second Jhāna
One week from today: Developing Unarisen Healthy States
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