Use code SUMMERPRACTICE for a 25% discount on all On Demand Courses through August 31.

Search Sangha Live

A Practical Approach to Understanding Right Effort

With Dave Smith recorded on July 22, 2018.

Found our teachings useful? Help us continue our work and support your teachers with a donation. Here’s how.

All schools of Buddhism acknowledge that if we are to “awaken” in this lifetime, our aim is to cultivate and develop the eight-fold path. This path consists of behavioral (sila), meditative (samadhi) and philosophical (panna) dimensions. When skillfully interwoven, this system of training directs us towards a liberation-based lifestyle by embracing the limitations and the possibilities of the human experience.

In recent years, the practice of mindfulness has exploded across the global landscape as a tool for self-improvement. Despite the current trends and hype, mindfulness practice can be limited if it does not have a specific focus or aim.

As a system of mental training, the development of mindfulness must also be supported by the path factors of effort and concentration. When balanced accordingly, these factors lead to the development of wisdom, equanimity and genuine happiness.

During this online teaching session, Dave outlines the role and the goal of establishing the four great efforts, as outlined in the Pali canon.

Listen to the audio version below, or click here to download the mp3.

Discussion

Leave a Reply

Discover more from the Dharma Library

  • A Global Crisis. The Wisdom of Action while Living with Uncertainty

    Recorded : May 31, 2020

    The Mind/Body Crisis provides an opportunity to wake up or live in fear and despair. Are our politicians, billionaires, pharmaceutical industry, food industry, and scientists fit for purpose?Change is required. Inner and Outer. Radical. Unprecedented.Are we fit for purpose?What do we have to offer?

    Read More

  • Kaira Jewel Lingo

    This is, because that is

    Recorded : October 29, 2017

    “This is, because that is. This is not, because that is not. This comes to be, because that comes to be. This ceases to be, because that ceases to be.” – The Buddha When conditions are sufficient things manifest. But if there aren’t enough conditions, things cannot yet manifest. How can we skilfully live in…

    Read More

  • Eugene Cash

    The Paradox of Being: Alive & Aware

    Recorded : February 17, 2019

    “The World is its Own Magic” – Suzuki Roshi As we practice and our understanding deepens, we’re often surprised by paradox. We begin to discover what the Laṅkāvatāra Sutra pointed to: Things are not what they seem… Nor are they otherwise. We intuitively know that there is more to life/reality then the usual, the familiar…

    Read More

  • Dave Smith

    Mindfulness and the Four Noble Truths

    Recorded : July 16, 2023

    Across all Buddhist lineages and traditions, the four noble truths hold the utmost importance. They are the Dharma’s most fundamental teaching. In modern society, the focus of Buddhism often shifts to meditation, particularly mindfulness, as the practice continues to be integrated into contemporary culture. How can we bring the teachings of the four noble truths…

    Read More

  • Nirmala Werner

    Daily Meditation Recordings, with Nirmala Werner – Week of Apr 29 – 3 May, 2024

    This week’s topic is “Mindfulness of the nervous system: transforming fear, struggle and separation into love and connection”. We humans are social animals and need each other to feel safe and secure, to grow and to nourish ourselves. How can we live with a sense of connection, loving-kindness, and inner family? Our meditation practice allows us to take a break between stimulus and response. When we come into contact with our loved ones, we all too easily lose the inner freedom we think we have achieved and avoid our difficulties, also called spiritual bypassing. This week we explore what supports us to react flexibly to the internal and external world, to relax and to allow closeness and real intimacy. We will look into the first foundation of mindfulness, mindfulness of the body, including harmonizing the body formations and nervous system to meet our difficulties with gentleness.

    Read More

  • Zohar Lavie

    Daily Meditation Recordings, with Zohar Lavie – Week of February 7, 2022

    This week’s theme is: Finding Happiness and Wellbeing on the Path

    The understanding of how dukkha is conditioned and constructed lies at the heart of Dharma teachings. Dukkha and wellbeing are in relationship with each other; the abandonment of the causes of dukkha leads to wellbeing. The nourishment of the causes for wellbeing decreases dukkha. During this week we will explore our capacity to uncover and develop wellbeing through our practice, in ways that enrich our lives.

    Read More

  •

    Wise Resolve: Finding Inner Strength

    Recorded : June 26, 2022

    In an effort to counter tendencies towards striving and over-achieving, many Western approaches to meditation and spirituality emphasize relaxation. While relaxation and ease are essential ingredients on the meditative path, they must be integrated with whole-hearted effort. How do we find inner strength and make a clear resolve that is informed by wisdom and balanced…

    Read More