RIGHT EFFORT
Maintaining Arisen Healthy States
Whatever a person frequently
thinks about and ponders, that will become the inclination of their
mind. If one frequently thinks about and ponders healthy states, one has
abandoned unhealthy states to cultivate the healthy state, and then
one’s mind inclines to the healthy states. (MN 19)
Here a person rouses the will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts
the mind, and strives to maintain arisen healthy mental states. One
maintains the arisen investigation of states-awakening factor. (MN 141)
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Because the
mind is inclined in the direction of whatever you frequently think about
and ponder, influencing your own mind becomes the way of changing
yourself for better or worse. When healthy states arise, such as
kindness or insight or mindfulness, or when the factor of awakening
called the investigation of states is present, this is beneficial and
needs to be maintained through the deliberate and skillful application
of effort.
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When
mindfulness is present enough to give rise to the awakening factor of
the investigation of mental and emotional states, do what you can to
strengthen and maintain this quality of mind. Investigating your own
experience is the primary way of gaining wisdom, but like so many other
habits of value in our lives, it does not just happen by itself and
requires the application of effort. This is worthwhile to do, so do it.
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Tomorrow: Establishing Mindfulness of Mental Objects and the Fourth Jhāna
One week from today: Restraining Unarisen Unhealthy States
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