Abhidhamma in Daily Life (by Ashin Janakabhivamsa)

by Ashin Janakabhivamsa | 66,666 words

English translation of "Abhidhamma in Daily Life" by Professor Ko Lay. Revised by Sayadaw U Silananda, International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University, Yangon, 1999...

Viriya means effort or endeavor. An industrious person exerts effort decisively and boldly to realize his aims. Persons who lack viriya (effort) are the lazy, the timid; they have excuses in store. One who shuns work or is afraid to take responsibility and one who gives lame excuses such as being too early, too late, too cold, too hot, too hungry, too full, etc. to dodge work, are said to be the victims of thina (sloth) and middha (torpor). These two akusala cetasikas are the very opposite of viriya.

A man of viriya never falters, even in the face of hardships, difficulties and problems, He is not hesitant to sacrifice even his life to realize his aim. For example, as Bodhisattva, Prince Janaka, when his ship wrecked, jumped overboard boldly to safety and swam with great perseverance, to be saved by a good Devi. His shipmates all died while crying in fear and praying to their traditional deities. They were devoured by fishes and sharks by Prince Janaka swam unflinchingly for seven days with effort and observed uposatha precepts all the while. This is viriya endeavor and boldness in face of difficulties.

Health Care

The benefit of viriya is evident in everyday life. Regular walking, jogging, proper eating habit, personal hygiene, nutrition and medication are good habits, which call for viriya. Only the persevering and not the lazy can practice health discipline regularly to their own benefit.

Earning a Living

In the field of trade and commerce, those with viriya will in every way outdo those without. The lazy will always lag behind in every aspect. See for example the viriya of foreign merchants and traders in Myanmar. They rise early in the morning, tidy their shops, dress smartly and open their shops punctually. In contrast, most Myanmar traders are still in bed at that time. They lazily get out of bed with sullen faces. It is no wonder that they often fail in business. How can lazy people really prosper.

The Viriya of Myanmar Women

It is found that Myanmar women take leading roles in the business field. Shopkeepers are mostly females; in bazaars and shops Myanmar women play the active part. They can even support their children and unemployed male members of the family with their earnings. But for them Myanmar would be even more retarded in economy. It is due to the viriya of women that Myanmar could hold such a position in the world. We can surely say that if both men and women put in their efforts in equal scale, Myanmar would be more prosperous than ever.

Viriya in Education

Sadly enough, Myanmar males are as indolent in education as they are in business. In the examination results we find that less males come out with flying colors than females. In higher education, data reveals a relatively low percentage of success among males. Such poor performance in the academic field is mostly due to sloth and laziness among males students. Although parents and brothers and sisters support them to the best of their capability, they live extravagantly and do not study with vigilance and effort to repay their kindness; lack of viriya is the main cause.

Although they enter colleges and universities about the age of twenty, they are found to have achieved little. In history, we may recall that King Tabin-shwe-thi, King Bayintnaung and Prince Minyekyawswa, were already at the zenith of their careers at much younger age; hence they are now enshrined in the hearts of the people. If so why is that today’s young men are not the diligent and brave youths that they should have been? They should nurture courage and viriya and become heroes like their forefathers.

The academic level among the Sangha is an unsatisfactory among the lay people. In the past, monastic education produced scholar-monks, learned writers and competent Dhamma teachers, from amongst the Sangha. These learned and wise Bhikkhus had always taken the role of teachers of the people. Some of them became advisers to the royalty. As of today, only if educational reforms are made in keeping with the times, the Sangha will be able t o resume the prestigious role as teachers of the laity. At present no  such attempts are made and so the high status of the Sangha has plunged drastically; monasteries cannot even recruit new students or helpers. Consequently, the sasana itself is bound to decline year by year. The causes of such decline needs no elaboration here.

To sum up, the short-coming we are facing in economic, social, health and educational fields are mainly due to lack of viriya.

It is needless to say that the Buddha attained Omniscience Sabbannuta Nana and became the Enlightened One due to his unique viriya. Even after attaining Buddhahood, Gotama Buddha diligently taught his Dhamma for forty five years in a row. He always taught all sentient beings that to know the truth comes first and to practice along the true path comes second; both need viriya. He said, “Vayametheva puriso - true men are always industrious; Na nibbindeyya pandito - the wise are never indolent.”

Let Us Reform Ourselves

Today, many so-called Buddhist in Myanmar are inclined to ignore the noble teaching of Buddha on the benefits of viriya (perseverance). On the other hand believers of the other faiths are doing their work with great effort and reaping rich harvests to enjoy high standard of living. In fact they are following the advice and admonition of the Buddha as regards as viriya. Therefore they become men of great wealth and influence in conformity with the teaching of the Buddha. We Buddhist just look back to our glories and fail to achieve anything substantial; we take pride in our past achievements in history. We must also work diligently to become a developed nation. It is now high time to change out attitudes towards life and become industrious and diligent. Remember the words of Buddha: “viriyavato kim nama kammamno sijjhati - to a person with viriya, nothing is impossible.”

Although we have stressed the significance of viriya, we should remind our readers that we mean only “effort with intelligence' and not 'vain, useless effort”.

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