This Issue of Effort
The introductory meditation instructions tend to encourage relaxation, ease, and acceptance (and indeed, we can practice this for a long while). And yet, we know from experience that it takes some effort or energy to actually accomplish this. If we make no effort while sitting, we will simply think for the whole session, and the mind will become tired or agitated. Only with some well-directed effort will the mind settle and experience the deeper benefits of meditation.
All along the path, we are accompanied by this issue of effort – this is why Wise Effort appears as an element of the Eightfold Path. Teachings on effort encompass both how much effort to bring forth, and what type. Often the focus is on what type – this is the division of Wise Effort into four actions (preventing, abandoning, cultivating, and maintaining). In this piece I will address the other aspect of how much effort is appropriate.
When should we ease up? When should we bring in energy? Let’s apply these questions to our effort on the cushion. When we practice this in sitting meditation, we’ll have a much better sense of how to do it in the wider world.
There is no way to study early Buddhist teachings without hearing their strong emphasis on making effort. Of all the qualities and factors, Effort or Energy appears in the most lists, and suttas often talk of “striving,” being “unremitting,” and generating “zeal” for practice. About the Buddha’s own quest for Awakening, he made this declaration: “'Gladly would I let the flesh & blood in my body dry up, leaving just the skin, tendons, & bones, but if I have not attained what can be reached through human firmness, human persistence, human striving, there will be no relaxing my persistence.' From this heedfulness of mine was attained Awakening. From this heedfulness of mine was attained the unexcelled freedom from bondage.” (AN 2.5 and MN 70).
Clearly we are not expected only to relax and accept. Although this degree of striving is quite extreme, we can perhaps recall that there are times in practice when strong physical sensations or emotions come, and we must bring forth tremendous strength of attention to meet them mindfully. Or we may be caught by a powerful wave of sleepiness or torpor, and serious effort is needed to stay present.
Other teachings emphasize the need for balanced effort. In the Sona Sutta (AN 6.55), the Buddha teaches Sona – who has been doing such vigorous walking meditation that his feet are bleeding – about “tuning” his effort as one tunes a musical instrument. Only when the strings are neither too taught nor too loose will the instrument be “in tune and playable.” And only when one’s persistence is neither “overly aroused” nor “overly slack” can the mind reach stable concentration.
Along the same lines, AN 3.102 tells of a goldsmith working to purify gold – from time to time, he blows on it, sprinkles water on it, or just looks on. Similarly, a meditator working to refine her mind would from time to time emphasize concentration, energetic effort, or equanimity. The key is to do what is needed in each moment to keep the task on track.
More generally, the Buddha speaks of his own path in this way (SN 1.1): “By not halting and by not straining, I crossed the flood. When I came to a standstill, then I sank. But when I struggled, then I got swept away. It is in this way, by not halting and by not straining, that I crossed the flood.”
There is a clear message that practice is not formulaic or uniform in how effort is applied. We must sense what is needed and respond appropriately.
Sometimes what is appropriate is no effort at all. Consider this interesting verse (Sn 3.12), offered here by two different translators:
Sadhatissa:
One insight is that effort is the basis of all suffering. The other insight is that by the complete cooling and cessation of effort, no more suffering is produced…. Every form of suffering grows out of effort. Eradicate effort and no more suffering is produced.
Bhikkhu Bodhi:
…Whatever suffering originates is all conditioned by instigation. With the cessation of instigation, there is no origination of suffering.
(The Pāli is ārambha, translated as either “effort” or “instigation.” It refers to the inception of energy, the first movement toward doing something).
These passages suggest that the mind can be so still that any movement creates some tension, some strain – some dukkha. Such a mind lets go of intention itself, which is a very deep surrender. Maybe “relax and accept” is actually the deepest instruction.
What is going on?
These teachings point out the need for wisdom in how much effort to apply, and where. We could summarize like this:
As we work with our own body and mind on the path, we will come to see how much effort works well for us under various conditions. Furthermore, as the self fades in prominence, we will come to rely less and less on “personal effort” that is done deliberately by an agent, and more and more on the natural unfolding of the path. Even if a lot of effort is needed at a given moment, it will be applied by / accompanied by wisdom or compassion, rather than being something “I” must “do.”
The fruit of learning balanced effort is, in a sense, forgetting about effort. When we learn a skill or craft, at first we are painfully deliberate, going through each movement with our conscious will. Later, it flows naturally without our having the sense that we are doing it. It may not always be easy or simple, but we can bring forth the right skills in the right proportion when needed.
The introductory meditation instructions tend to encourage relaxation, ease, and acceptance (and indeed, we can practice this for a long while). And yet, we know from experience that it takes some effort or energy to actually accomplish this. If we make no effort while sitting, we will simply think for the whole session, and the mind will become tired or agitated. Only with some well-directed effort will the mind settle and experience the deeper benefits of meditation.
All along the path, we are accompanied by this issue of effort – this is why Wise Effort appears as an element of the Eightfold Path. Teachings on effort encompass both how much effort to bring forth, and what type. Often the focus is on what type – this is the division of Wise Effort into four actions (preventing, abandoning, cultivating, and maintaining). In this piece I will address the other aspect of how much effort is appropriate.
When should we ease up? When should we bring in energy? Let’s apply these questions to our effort on the cushion. When we practice this in sitting meditation, we’ll have a much better sense of how to do it in the wider world.
There is no way to study early Buddhist teachings without hearing their strong emphasis on making effort. Of all the qualities and factors, Effort or Energy appears in the most lists, and suttas often talk of “striving,” being “unremitting,” and generating “zeal” for practice. About the Buddha’s own quest for Awakening, he made this declaration: “'Gladly would I let the flesh & blood in my body dry up, leaving just the skin, tendons, & bones, but if I have not attained what can be reached through human firmness, human persistence, human striving, there will be no relaxing my persistence.' From this heedfulness of mine was attained Awakening. From this heedfulness of mine was attained the unexcelled freedom from bondage.” (AN 2.5 and MN 70).
Clearly we are not expected only to relax and accept. Although this degree of striving is quite extreme, we can perhaps recall that there are times in practice when strong physical sensations or emotions come, and we must bring forth tremendous strength of attention to meet them mindfully. Or we may be caught by a powerful wave of sleepiness or torpor, and serious effort is needed to stay present.
Other teachings emphasize the need for balanced effort. In the Sona Sutta (AN 6.55), the Buddha teaches Sona – who has been doing such vigorous walking meditation that his feet are bleeding – about “tuning” his effort as one tunes a musical instrument. Only when the strings are neither too taught nor too loose will the instrument be “in tune and playable.” And only when one’s persistence is neither “overly aroused” nor “overly slack” can the mind reach stable concentration.
Along the same lines, AN 3.102 tells of a goldsmith working to purify gold – from time to time, he blows on it, sprinkles water on it, or just looks on. Similarly, a meditator working to refine her mind would from time to time emphasize concentration, energetic effort, or equanimity. The key is to do what is needed in each moment to keep the task on track.
More generally, the Buddha speaks of his own path in this way (SN 1.1): “By not halting and by not straining, I crossed the flood. When I came to a standstill, then I sank. But when I struggled, then I got swept away. It is in this way, by not halting and by not straining, that I crossed the flood.”
There is a clear message that practice is not formulaic or uniform in how effort is applied. We must sense what is needed and respond appropriately.
Sometimes what is appropriate is no effort at all. Consider this interesting verse (Sn 3.12), offered here by two different translators:
Sadhatissa:
One insight is that effort is the basis of all suffering. The other insight is that by the complete cooling and cessation of effort, no more suffering is produced…. Every form of suffering grows out of effort. Eradicate effort and no more suffering is produced.
Bhikkhu Bodhi:
…Whatever suffering originates is all conditioned by instigation. With the cessation of instigation, there is no origination of suffering.
(The Pāli is ārambha, translated as either “effort” or “instigation.” It refers to the inception of energy, the first movement toward doing something).
These passages suggest that the mind can be so still that any movement creates some tension, some strain – some dukkha. Such a mind lets go of intention itself, which is a very deep surrender. Maybe “relax and accept” is actually the deepest instruction.
What is going on?
These teachings point out the need for wisdom in how much effort to apply, and where. We could summarize like this:
- We don’t apply effort to work with the content of experience. Nowhere are we taught to hash out arguments or figure things out during sitting.
- Neither are we instructed to apply effort toward obtaining pleasant things and eliminating unpleasant ones (our usual modus operandi!). Teachings not quoted here emphasize instead directing effort to the creation of wholesome states and the letting go of unwholesome ones.
- We are asked to put effort into setting up good conditions in the mind – strong attention, balanced energy, a happy and equanimous emotional tone, etc. These lead toward concentration and eventually insight. Many texts also point toward maintaining good posture and a relaxed, clear breath – ie, good conditions for the body.
- And when the conditions are optimal at a given moment, we take our hands off the wheel.
As we work with our own body and mind on the path, we will come to see how much effort works well for us under various conditions. Furthermore, as the self fades in prominence, we will come to rely less and less on “personal effort” that is done deliberately by an agent, and more and more on the natural unfolding of the path. Even if a lot of effort is needed at a given moment, it will be applied by / accompanied by wisdom or compassion, rather than being something “I” must “do.”
The fruit of learning balanced effort is, in a sense, forgetting about effort. When we learn a skill or craft, at first we are painfully deliberate, going through each movement with our conscious will. Later, it flows naturally without our having the sense that we are doing it. It may not always be easy or simple, but we can bring forth the right skills in the right proportion when needed.
