ཡང་དག་པར་སྤོང་བ་བཞི། | Glossary of Terms

Four types of effort consisting in abandoning existing negative mind states, abandoning the production of such states, giving rise to virtuous mind states that are not yet produced, and letting those states continue.

These are effort not to initiate sins not yet arisen; effort to eliminate sins already arisen; effort to initiate virtues not yet arisen; and effort to consolidate, increase, and not deteriorate virtues already arisen. For our use of “effort” (samyak­pradhāna) instead of lit. “abandonment” (samyak­prahāna) see Dayal, p. 102 ff. These four form a part of the thirty-seven aids to enlightenment.

Four correct ways in which to strive, sometimes also employed to explain “right effort” in the context of the noble path with eight parts. They are abandoning nonvirtuous dharmas that have not yet arisen and those that have already arisen, generating virtuous dharmas that have yet to arise, and maintaining virtuous dharmas that have already arisen.

Four types of effort consisting in abandoning existing negative mind states, abandoning the production of such states, giving rise to virtuous mind states that are not yet produced, and letting those states continue.

Four types of effort consisting in abandoning existing negative mind states, abandoning the production of such states, giving rise to virtuous mind states that are not yet produced, and letting those states continue.

Four types of effort consisting in abandoning existing negative mind states, abandoning the production of such states, giving rise to virtuous mind states that are not yet produced, and letting those states continue.

Ensuring that nonvirtuous qualities do not arise and are eliminated if they do; ensuring that virtuous qualities arise and ensuring that they remain and increase when they have arisen.

See UT22084-031-002-160 and UT22084-031-002-960.

Not giving rise to any negativity that has not yet arisen, abandoning those negativities that have arisen, actively giving rise to virtues that have not yet arisen, and causing those virtues that have arisen to increase.

Four types of effort consisting in abandoning existing negative mind states, abandoning the production of such states, giving rise to virtuous mind states that are not yet produced, and letting those states continue.

The four correct self-restraints are: giving up nonvirtues, avoiding nonvirtues, generating virtues, developing virtues. See Edgerton 1953, p. 389,2.

Four types of right effort consisting in (1) abandoning existing negative mind states, (2) abandoning the production of such states, (3) giving rise to virtuous mind states that are not yet produced, and (4) letting those states continue.

That the translation of this term should not follow the Tibetan literally (which would yield “four kinds of abandoning”) is widely agreed. It is possible that the Tibetan translators may originally have confused the meaning in Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit (BHS) of the term prahāṇa (“priority”) with its meaning in classical Sanskrit (“elimination”). The classical Sanskrit equivalent of BHS prahāṇa is pradhāna. See Dayal, p. 102 ff.

The four perfect endeavors are (1) relinquishing the existing evils and nonvirtues, (2) not giving rise to evils and nonvirtues currently absent, (3) giving rise to virtues not yet present, and (4) increasing virtues already developed.

Four types of relinquishment consisting in abandoning existing negative mind states, abandoning the production of such states, giving rise to virtuous mind states that are not yet produced, and letting those states continue.

Four types of right effort consisting in (1) abandoning existing negative mind states, (2) abandoning the production of such states, (3) giving rise to virtuous mind states that are not yet produced, and (4) letting those states continue.

The four right exertions (sometimes translated literally from the Tibetan as “abandonments”) aim at preventing the negative dharmas from arising, at removing those that have arisen, at producing those that have not arisen, and at maintaining those that have arisen. The Tibetan term, as exemplified in this text, may translate both the Sanskrit terms samyakprahāṇa and samyakpraṇidhiṃ.

Part of the thirty-seven aspects of awakening.