Energy (viriya)
Includes tags: Energy, Devotion to wakefulness
See also: Right Effort
5. “When you guided meditation in the past two afternoons, I’ve enjoyed slipping past the high energy of rapture/joy. I found these meditations grounding and at the same time streaming with energy. I’m finding it difficult to get past joy without your vocal guidance. Can you offer suggestions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Rapture] [Energy] [Right Concentration] // [Mindfulness of body] [Mindfulness of breathing]
6. “Whenever I try mindful breathing when trying to fall asleep, I get really alert and can’t fall asleep. What is your advice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Devotion to wakefulness ] // [Tranquility] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Time management]
Quote: “That mindfulness is also a resting.” [Mindfulness]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno meets a monk who didn’t sleep for a month. [Tudong] [Seclusion] [Devotion to wakefulness ] [Rains retreat] [Concentration]
13. “Do you ever work with the ‘thin line’ between sleep and waking, dreaming and lucidity? It seems like a powerful or useful fulcrum.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Devotion to wakefulness ] [Dreams] // [Continuity of mindfulness] [Posture/Lying down] [Determination]
7. “Late night news, sports, and a sleeping pill. Any suggestions how my mind is going to be affected in the long run?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [News] [Media] [Devotion to wakefulness] // [Heedlessness] [Self-reliance]
24. “Any tips for stirring up the energy (viriya) that fuels Right Effort when coffee isn’t enough?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Energy ] [Right Effort] // [Desire]
6. “Can brightness of mind and fatigue coexist? Is mental fatigue a defilement?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Energy] [Sloth and torpor] [Unwholesome Roots]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno felt mental fatigue while preparing for Ajahn Chah’s cremation yet had a bright mind. [Ajahn Chah] [Funerals] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Energy] [Merit]
9. “Meditation is work. Sometimes I’m very tired, can’t think, can’t hear, can’t sit, can’t sleep; I just show up and breathe. How are you doing? What keeps you going? I’m so touched with your generous presence, patience, and deep commitment.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation] [Sloth and torpor] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Energy] [Gratitude] // [Not-self] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “There’s only two things you need to do in Dhamma practice: know and let go.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Mindfulness]
6. “What are skillful ways to increase energy (viriya)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Energy ] // [Gladdening the mind] [Three Refuges] [Benefit/gratification] [Happiness]
Note: Refer to the earlier question about gladdening the mind.
4. “Could you expand on the causes necessary to enter the stream? Is it simply a question of amassing these causes and the experience of the eventual fruit or does the practitioner also need to ‘get in shape’ like an athlete preparing for an event who must be in top form? If the latter simile applies, does the yogi need to give it his all or does he merely need to just hang in there long enough for the cause to bear fruit, with just the right amount of dynamic tension?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Stream entry] [Conditionality] [Energy] // [Factors for stream entry] [Discernment]
Sutta: SN 55.5: Factors for stream entry explained in terms of the Eightfold Path. [Eightfold Path]
Simile of splitting a log with an axe. [Right Effort] [Similes]
5. “What is your take on satisfaction, being in tune, and stagnation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Contentment ] [Energy] [Ardency ] // [Skillful qualities] [Discernment] [Buddha/Biography] [Spiritual search] [Right Effort]
Sutta: AN 2.5: Effort and non-contentment with wholesome states.
Story: The Thai government made it illegal for monks to teach contentment. [History/Thai Buddhism] [Monastic life] [Teaching Dhamma]
Comment about the simile of the lute. [Middle Path] [Similes]
Sutta: AN 6.55: Soṇa Sutta
1. “Thank you for your talk. Can you flesh out: ‘dispassionate about what?’ Also, trying to encourage dispassion along with arousing energy.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dispassion ] [Energy] // [Craving] [Sense bases] [Body/form] [Emotion] [Contentment] [Tranquility]
Quote: “When there’s a coolness towards the world around one, that frees up a lot of energy for directing attention to what’s actually useful and beneficial.” [Energy] [Discernment]
11. “I had a hard time getting up this morning...Any advice on getting up?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Devotion to wakefulness]
2. “What were the interesting practices you used so that you would get up as soon as you woke up?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Devotion to wakefulness] // [Mindfulness of body] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Sitter's practice]
5. “With investigating sleep, it seems sleeping less is an effect from good meditation practice rather than a cause; is it because there is less proliferation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Devotion to wakefulness] [Conditionality] [Proliferation] // [Craving not to become] [Sloth and torpor] [Habits] [Ardency] [Energy]
2. “Which of the three unwholesome roots is most prominent when the mind is lazy?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Energy] [Unwholesome Roots] [Sloth and torpor] // [Delusion]
9. “Sometimes I’ve been sitting a long time and am too tired to keep sitting, walk, or stand. Any suggestions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Postures] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Sloth and torpor] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Pain] [Posture/Standing]
2. “Is the Buddha quoted as saying “I teach a path of the application of effort?”” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha] [Energy] [Right Effort] [Eightfold Path] // [Aids to Awakening]
Sutta: AN 3.137: Doctrine of energy (vīriyavādā). [Energy]
Sutta: DN 16.3.50: The Buddha teaches the bodhipakkhiyā dhammas.
3. “Is there a distinction between viriya and vāyāma?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Energy] [Right Effort]
4. “Can you speak about the roots of wholesome and unwholesome desire?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Energy] [Desire] [Becoming] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] // [Discernment] [Right Effort] [Learning] [Ajahn Chah]
Sutta: AN 10.58: Roots.
Reference: Listening to the Heart by Kittisaro and Ṭhānissarā (commercial).
12. Comment: Exercise in the morning can be used to overcome sloth. [Exercise] [Sloth and torpor] [Energy]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno]
6. “When you don’t feel like practicing, what do you do?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Energy] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Wat Pah Pong] [Cleanliness] [Ajahn Chah] [Spiritual friendship]
11. “How can you chant to generate energy?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Energy] [Chanting] // [Postures] [Mindfulness of breathing]
6. “When will I get wisdom? How can we not get exhausted when observing the monkey mind?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discernment] [Mindfulness of mind] [Energy] [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Knowing itself] [Mindfulness of body] [Tranquility]
4. “I have trouble maintaining wakefulness and alertness in the afternoon. What guidance would you give to cultivate more skillfulness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sloth and torpor] [Devotion to wakefulness] // [Buddho mantra] [Recollection] [Unattractiveness] [Posture/Walking] [Posture/Standing]
4. “What makes you keep on moving?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno ] [Energy] // [Liberation] [Human]
2. Comment: There’s the suggestion that just four hours of sleep is enough, and I know that some people can cope with that, but I’ve always struggled with not getting much sleep, and it feels like torture if I force myself to stay awake. [Devotion to wakefulness ]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Devotion to wakefulness ] [Ajahn Chah] [Fasting] [Truth] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Moderation in eating]
3. “Was there a Winter Retreat where Ajahn Chah had the community practice midnight vigils every night? Were you there at that time?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Rains retreat] [Sitter's practice]
Quote: “Ajahn Chah fired up. That’s pretty scary.”
2. “You mentioned more of the physical remedies to reduce drowsiness, but if there is mental fatigue or lack of joy, how could we bring up more energy?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Sloth and torpor] [Energy] // [Investigation of states] [Recollection] [Chanting] [Posture/Walking] [Clear comprehension] [Culture/West]
3. “You talked about the end of striving, the end of straining, the end of forcing just now. Yesterday you were talking about standing on one side and neither straining nor moving back. It seems to be a bit of a paradox. Do we strain now and stop when we get there?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro. [Right Effort] [Energy] // [Middle Path] [Learning] [Aspects of Understanding]
Sutta: MN 39: Don’t be content with wholesome states.
Sutta: AN 2.5: The qualities that allowed the Buddha to realize full Awakening. [Energy]
7. “How did Luang Por Chah cultivate his wisdom (satipañña)? How did he generate his energy (viriya)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discernment] [Energy] [Ajahn Chah] // [Doubt] [Teaching Dhamma]
Quote: “He was always curious to reflect, to investigate, to experiment, to try out things and to see what worked and what didn’t work.” [Personality] [Appropriate attention]