The four right efforts

The four right efforts (sammappadhāna) describe how a practitioner works with the mind. They are the traditional definition of right effort, the sixth factor of the Noble Eightfold Path. Put simply, they are about reducing what is harmful in the mind and growing what is helpful.

The four efforts

The early suttas list them in this order:

1. To prevent unwholesome states that have not yet arisen, such as greed, ill will or cruelty.
2. To abandon unwholesome states that have already arisen.
3. To develop wholesome states that have not yet arisen, such as mindfulness, kindness and generosity.
4. To maintain wholesome states that have already arisen, so that they do not fade but grow to fulfilment.

For each one, the texts describe a person who generates desire, makes an effort, rouses energy, and applies the mind. “Desire” here means wholehearted enthusiasm for what is good, not craving.

Wholesome and unwholesome

The Buddhist words translated as “wholesome” and “unwholesome” (kusala and akusala) also carry the sense of skilful and unskilful. A state is unwholesome if it is rooted in greed, hatred or delusion and leads to suffering for oneself or others. It is wholesome if it is rooted in generosity, kindness and understanding, and leads to happiness.

The four efforts do not ask us to fight the mind. They ask us to notice which way it is going and to guide it gently, the way a gardener pulls weeds and waters seedlings.

Balanced effort

The Buddha warned against both too much and too little effort. In a well-known teaching he compared practice to tuning a lute: if the strings are too tight or too loose, the instrument will not play well. Effort should be steady and sustainable, not strained.

In practice

You can apply the four efforts in meditation and daily life:

• Guard the senses, so that you are not constantly feeding craving or irritation.
• When anger or craving arises, notice it early, and let it go or turn to a remedy such as loving-kindness or reflection.
• Deliberately cultivate good qualities, for example by practising generosity or patience.
• When a good quality is present, appreciate it and keep returning to it.

Over time, these small efforts change the overall tone of the mind.