5. The Perfection of Energy

In matters of the perfection of energy, the texts give the example of a maned lion whose nature is to put forth maximum effort whether in hunting a rabbit or in hunting an elephant. He does not exert himself less in hunting a rabbit because it is a small animal, nor does he strive more in hunting an elephant because of its great size. In both cases, he uses an equal degree of exertion.

Following the ways of a maned lion, a Bodhisatta, while fulfilling the perfection of energy, does not make less effort for ordinary tasks nor puts forth more energy for more arduous ones. He always makes the same amount of maximum exertion, whether the task is small or great.

Deep Impression of Past Exertions of the Buddha

As a result of the habit of employing uniform energy whether attending to big or small affairs in past lives as a Bodhisatta, when he finally became an Awakened One, the Buddha made equal efforts when giving discourses. He did not reduce his effort when delivering an address casually to a single person, neither did he put forth more energy to enable the audience at the extreme end to hear him when addressing a huge assembly as, for example, at the time of delivering the first discourse. He maintained an even voice, putting forth equal energy on both occasions.

The Buddha being blessed with unthinkable majestic glory, his voice, uttered with uniform exertion, reaches all who listen. If there is only one person listening to him, only that person hears the discourse. When there are many people, each person, whether near or far from the Buddha, hears him clearly. This is the special glory of the Buddha.

Every Buddha exerts himself to fulfil the perfection of energy in all his previous lives as a Bodhisatta. In addition, in his last birth, when he would gain Awakening, he renounces the world and makes strenuous efforts to practise austerities (dukkara-cariyā) at least for seven days. Having performed the austerities, as the time draws near for becoming a Buddha, he sits on a seat of grass at the foot of the Bodhi tree and makes a resolute effort with a firm determination: “Let only my skin remain; let only my sinews remain; let only my bones remain; let all the blood and flesh dry up, I will not rise from this seat until I have attained omniscience (sabbaññutā-ñāṇa).”

Through this effort, he developed the knowledge of insight as powerful as a great diamond insight knowledge (mahā-vajira-vipassanā-ñāṇa), which enables him to realize first the law of dependent origination, followed by the knowledge of the three characteristics of impermanence (anicca), suffering (dukkha) and unsubstantiality (anatta) of all material and mental phenomena (nāma-rūpa).

Energy (viriya), like wisdom (paññā), is a mental concomitant, but whereas wisdom is always associated with moral consciousness, energy being a miscellaneous type of concomitant (pakiṇṇaka-cetasika) is associated with both moral and immoral consciousness and is of the indeterminate type (abyākata), which is neither moral nor immoral. Consequently, energy can be wholesome, unwholesome or indeterminate. Effort which is wholesome is known as right effort (sammā-vāyāma); effort employed for wrong purpose is unwholesome and is called wrong effort (micchā-vāyāma). It is only the right effort which should be cultivated to the fullest extent as the perfection of energy.

Right Exertion

Right effort (sammā-vāyāma) is also known as right exertion (sammappadhāna). The [1615] meaning is the same. In the expositions of right exertion of the Abhidhamma Analyses (Sammappadhāna-vibhaṅga, Vibh 8), the Buddha explains the four kinds of right exertion:

Eleven Factors of Developing Energy

The commentaries to the Analysis of Steadfast Mindfulness (Satipaṭṭhāna-vibhaṅga, Vibh 7) and the Long Discourse on Steadfast Mindfulness (Mahā-Satipaṭṭhāna-sutta, DN 22) describe eleven factors in the development of energy.

Energy will develop in him who reflects thus: “If I am lax in making an effort, I may be reborn in the realms of misery (apāya). Of the four realms of misery, if I am reborn in the realm of continuous suffering (avīci), I will suffer intense pains resulting from numerous, terrible tortures; if I am reborn in the animal world, I may be subjected to all forms of ill-treatment by human beings; if I am reborn in the ghost realm (peta-loka), I will be tormented by hunger for the long periods of the aeons between the appearance of one Buddha and of another; if I am reborn in the Asura world (Asura-loka), with a huge body, 60 or 80 cubits in length, of bones and skins only, I will suffer from heat, cold or winds. In any of these terrible rebirths, I will get no chance of developing the four right exertions. This life is my only opportunity to do so.”

Energy will develop in him who, reviewing and seeing the advantages of developing energy, reflects thus: “A lazy man can never get out of Saṁsāra and attain the supermundane paths and fruition states. Only the industrious can attain them. The beneficial result of making effort is the attainment of the supermundane path and fruition states which are so difficult to realize.”

Energy will develop in him who reflects thus: “All Buddhas, Paccekabuddhas and noble disciples of a Buddha realize their goals by being industrious. Exertion is the straight path trod by the noble ones. No idle person can follow this road. Only the industrious take to this path.”

This factor is the specific concern of monastics. Energy will develop in him who, regarding with esteem and appreciation the rich food offered by devotees, reflects thus: “These devotees are not my relatives; they give me this alms food not because they want to make their living by depending on me; they do so only because of the great merit that accrues from giving to the Saṅgha. The Buddha does not allow us to eat alms food in a light-minded, irresponsible manner or to live an easy-going life. He permits it only for the [1616] purpose of practising the Dhamma to achieve liberation from Saṁsāra. Alms food is not for the lazy or the indolent. Only men of diligence are worthy of it.”

Energy will develop in him who reflects thus: “The heritage of the Buddha known as “the treasures of the virtuous” to be received by his disciples is of seven kinds: faith (saddhā), morality (sīla), learning (suta), charity (cāga), wisdom (paññā), conscience (hiri) and concern (ottappa).

The indolent are not entitled to inherit from the Buddha. Just as bad children, disowned by their parents, cannot inherit from them, even so those who are lazy cannot receive the “treasures of the virtuous” as a heritage from the Buddha. Only men of diligence deserve this inheritance.

Energy will develop in him who reflects thus: “My Teacher, the Buddha, is so noble that the 10,000 world-element shook when he took conception as the Bodhisatta for his last life, renounced the world, became an Awakened One, expounded the first discourse (Dhamma-cakkappavattana-sutta), when he performed the twin miracle at Sāvatthī to defeat the heretics (titthiya), when he descended from the Tāvatiṁsa realm to Saṅkassa, when he renounced the vital principle (āyu-saṅkhāra) and when he passed into Parinibbāna. Being a true son or daughter of such a noble Buddha, should I remain care-free and lazy without exerting myself to practise his teachings?”

Energy will develop in him who reflects thus: “My lineage is not humble; I am descended from the first King Mahā Sammata of pure and high caste; I am the brother of Rāhula who is the grandson of King Suddhodana and Queen Mahā Māyā, who belonged to the House of King Okkāka, one of the descendants of Mahā Sammata; Rāhula is the Buddha’s son; since I have also taken the name of being a Buddha’s son of Sakyan ancestry, we are brothers. Being of such noble ancestry, I should not live a life of indolence but exert myself to practise the noble teaching.”

Energy will develop in him who reflects thus: “My companions in the holy life, the great elders Ven. Sāriputta and Ven. Mahā Moggallāna, as well as the other great disciples, who practised the noble Dhamma, have already realized the supermundane paths and fruition states. I should follow the way of these venerable companions in the holy life.”

Energy will develop in him who avoids idle people, those who forsake all physical, verbal and mental activities to lie down and roll in sleep like a python that has eaten its fill.

Energy will develop in him who associates himself with industrious and energetic people who are whole-heartedly devoted only to their task.

Men of dedication (pahitatta) are always determined not to leave their efforts in carrying out a set task until success is achieved or if not successful until death. Those lacking dedication hesitate even before beginning a work with the thought. “Shall I succeed or not?” While carrying out the work, if the expected goal is not easily achieved, he flinches with the thought: “Even though I carry on with the work, I shall not succeed,” and thus they stop putting forth effort.

Energy will develop in him who is intent on and inclined to cultivating it in all four [1617] postures of lying down, sitting, standing and walking.

These are the eleven factors which develop energy.

The Main Foundation of Energy

The main foundation of energy is spiritual urgency (saṁvega). It is of three kinds:

Disturbance of mind through urgency because of the dangers of elephants, tigers, weapons, such as swords, spears, etc. is known as urgency that disturbs (cittutrāsa-saṁvega). In terms of the Abhidhamma, it is the mental concomitant of aversion (dosa). Through weak aversion arises fear; through strong aversion arises aggressiveness.

Concern about doing evil is urgency from concern (ottappa-saṁvega). It is a wholesome type of mental concomitant (sobhana-cetasika).

Dread that arises as urgency through reflecting on cause and effect is known as urgency from knowledge (ñāṇa-saṁvega). It is the kind of fear of Saṁsāra felt by the virtuous. In the texts, urgency from knowledge is described also as the knowledge that is accompanied by concern about evil.

One should also include the wisdom of Arahats that arises accompanied by concern on seeing the dangers of conditioned phenomena (dhamma-saṁvega), then there will be four kinds of spiritual urgency (saṁvega).

Of these types of spiritual urgency, only urgency from knowledge (ñāṇa-saṁvega) should be considered as the main spring of energy. When one sees the dangers of Saṁsāra through wisdom and is stirred by concern, one would certainly work arduously for liberation from these dangers. Without such wisdom, one will not work for it at all.

Even in everyday mundane life, a student who is struck with fear of poverty, that is, one who has urgency from knowledge, will work hard reflecting thus: “Without education, I will be faced with poverty when I grow up.” Another one, who is not moved by such anxiety, that is, one who has no urgency from knowledge, will put forth no effort whatsoever to acquire knowledge.

Similarly, motivated by a fear of poverty, workers assiduously devote themselves to work which provides them with the necessities of life; whereas those who do not consider their future will remain indolent and carefree. It should be surmised from what has been said that only urgency from knowledge can cause the development of energy.

But this applies only to the development of energy which serves as a perfection. As already mentioned, there are two kinds of energy: energy which is developed for a wholesome act and energy developed for an unwholesome act. The energy necessary for an unwholesome act is also caused by the stirring of spiritual urgency (saṁvega), but it is urgency that disturbs the mind (cittutrāsa-saṁvega) and not urgency from knowledge (ñāṇa-saṁvega) that serves as its foundation.

An indigent person in need of money will make an effort to steal; he cannot take up a proper mental attitude (yoniso-manasikāra). This is an example of how wrong effort arises through an unwholesome urgency that disturbs the mind. A person who does not possess a proper mental attitude will have recourse to wrong efforts to prevent possible dangers falling upon him. But a person with the right frame of mind will not exert himself to do wrong actions; he always strives for good ones.

Thus, whereas the main foundation of energy is the spiritual urgency (saṁvega), it is the mental attitude which determines the kind of energy, whether wholesome or unwholesome, to develop. As a perfection, unwholesome energy is not to be considered; it is only blameless, wholesome energy that is reckoned as a perfection.

When we consider the four right exertions, it would seem that only energy that causes wholesome deeds serves as a perfection. But, although an effort may not result in wholesome [1618] deeds, if it is neither a wrong effort nor the kind that would produce unwholesome deeds, it should be counted as a perfection of energy.

As an example of a super effort for perfection, the commentary cites the story of Mahā Janaka. The Bodhisatta, as Prince Janaka, made the effort of swimming for seven days in the ocean when the ship he was travelling in sank. His strenuous endeavour was not motivated by a desire to perform wholesome deeds or to practise generosity, observe morality or cultivate meditation. It does not result in the arising of unwholesome states such as greed, hatred, delusion either and may thus be regarded as blameless. Prince Janaka’s supreme exertion, being blameless and free from unwholesomeness, counts as a fulfilment of the perfection of energy.

When the ship was about to be wrecked, 700 people on board wept and lamented in desperation without making any attempt to survive the disaster. Prince Janaka, unlike his fellow travellers, thought to himself: “To weep and lament in fear when faced with danger is not the way of the wise; a wise man endeavours to save himself from an impending danger. A man with wisdom such as I am, must put forth an effort to swim my way through to safety.” With this resolve and without any trepidation, he courageously swam across the ocean. Being urged by such a noble thought, his performance was laudable, and the effort he put forth for this act was also extremely praiseworthy.

Bodhisattas in every existence undertake what they have to do bravely and without flinching; not to say of rebirths in the human world, even when he was born as a bull, the Bodhisatta performed arduous tasks. Thus, as a young bull named Kaṇha (Ja 29), the Bodhisatta, out of gratitude to the old woman who had tended him, pulled 500 carts loaded with merchandise across a big swamp.

Even as an animal, the development of energy as a perfection by the Bodhisatta was not slackened; when reborn as a human, the tendency to put forth effort persisted in him. Extreme hardships he went through as King Kusa (Ja 531), in his endeavours to win back the favours of Princess Pabhāvatī who ran away from him because of his ugly appearance, are examples of the Bodhisatta’s determined effort, unyielding in the face of difficulties. The latent tendency to develop such energy remained with the Bodhisatta throughout all his various existences.

The Life of Mahosadha

The texts give the Birth Story of Mahosadha (Umaṅga-jātaka, Ja 542) to show the Bodhisatta’s fulfilment of the perfection of wisdom. But, in that very life, the Bodhisatta also developed the perfection of energy. On the whole, Mahosadha made use of wisdom as a guide in attending to his multifarious duties, but once a careful decision had been made, it was put into execution by making a continual effort. Such endeavours of Mahosadha, even though they were not intended to develop meritorious deeds of generosity, morality or meditation, should be considered as a perfection of energy since they were made for the welfare of others.

It may be asked whether some of Mahosadha’s endeavours did not cause suffering to others. For example, when King Cūḷani Brahmadatta laid siege to Mithilā with 18 divisions of his indestructible (akkhobhaṇī) army, Mahosadha, devising a stratagem, brought about a complete rout of the great army, causing much suffering to King Cūḷani Brahmadatta and his hordes. Should we not blame Mahosadha then for his attempts to make his opponents suffer?

In answer to that, take the simile of scaring a snake which is about to catch a frog. Some people take the view that such an attempt is blameworthy because by so doing the frog will no doubt get out of harm’s way but the snake will go hungry. The Buddha teaches that volition is the deciding factor in such a situation. If one frightens away the snake in order to make it suffer from hunger, it is blameworthy; on the other hand, if one acts only to get the frog out of danger, without giving any thought to the snake’s hunger, it is quite blameless.

Again, in the Questions of King Milinda on the [1619] Question about Devadatta’s Going-Forth (Devadatta-pabbajja-pañha, Mil 4.3, PTS 107), the king asked Ven. Nāgasena: “Venerable sir, is it not a fact that the Buddha knew that Devadatta would create a schism if he was permitted to become a monastic. Knowing thus, why did the Buddha admit him into the order? If he did not receive the going forth, he would not be able to cause the schism.”

Ven. Nāgasena replies: “King, the Buddha indeed foresaw that Devadatta would create a schism among monastics, but he also knew that if Devadatta did not gain admission into the Saṅgha, he would commit unwholesome deeds, such as holding a “wrong view with a fixed destiny” (niyata-micchā-diṭṭhi), for which he would suffer worse than he would for causing a schism. Creating the schism would no doubt lead him to the lower realms (apāya), but there is a time limit for suffering in these realms. Staying outside the Saṅgha, however, through his unwholesome deeds, such as holding wrong views with a fixed destiny, he would be doomed to unlimited misery in the realms of intense suffering, Niraya. Foreseeing this possible limit to his suffering, the Buddha, out of compassion, admitted him into the Saṅgha, thus mitigating his agony to a certain extent.

In the same way, by putting to rout the great army of King Cūḷani Brahmadatta, without causing suffering to his country, Mahosadha was saving his own country of Mithilā from complete destruction. He acted thus to serve the best interest of both and was free of any blame.

The Qualities of Energy

1. When Energy takes a predominant place in performing multifarious functions, it acquires the name of the predominance of energy (viriyādhipati), one of the four predominance-conditions (adhipati).

2. It forms a constituent part of the 22 controlling faculties (indriya) and is known as the faculty of energy (viriyindriya). But only the energy that is associated with mundane moral consciousness is reckoned as the perfection of energy. In the five controlling faculties (indriya) of the things on the side of Awakening (Bodhipakkhiya-dhamma) also, the faculty of energy, just as in the case of faculty of wisdom, is counted as a perfection only when it is included in the mundane purifications of morality and mind.

Likewise, concerning the four kinds of right exertion (sammappadhāna), it is only the energy included in the mundane purification that is considered a perfection.

3. The factor of energy included in the five powers (bala) is known as the strength of energy (viriya-bala); in the four psychic powers (iddhi-pada) as psychic power of energy (viriyiddhi-pāda); in the seven factors of Awakening (bojjhaṅga) as the energy factor of Awakening (viriya-sambojjhaṅga) and in the eight constituents of the noble path (ariya-maggaṅga) as right endeavour (sammā-vāyāma). These various factors of energy under different names are reckoned as perfections of energy only in association with mundane moral consciousness which arises while undertaking mundane purification.

Contemplating these special qualities of energy, may you fulfil the perfection of energy to its highest possible stage.