The Faculty and Strength of Persistence (Effort)

Week of May 15, 2005 – The Faculty and Strength of Persistence (Effort)

The faculty and strength of persistence (effort, devotion) is the second set of Faculties and Strengths. Once a practitioner has cultivated the faculty of faith and realized the strength of faith to some degree, the faculty and strength of persistence can easily be attained.

This faculty and strength of persistence is different from the Second Base of Miraculous Powers: the miraculous power of persistence. The miraculous power is a natural by-product of and a yardstick of our cultivation, whereas the faculty of persistence is a natural ability within us that can be cultivated into the strength of persistence.

Once again, this faculty and strength is the result of all our previous practices and the driving force for all future practices. It is related in particular to the following Aids of Enlightenment:
1) The Four Right Efforts (Exertions) of Guarding, Abandoning, Developing and Maintaining
2) The Miraculous Power of Persistence
3) Persistence as a Factor of Awakening
4) Right Effort of the Eightfold Path.

In the beginning stage, we cultivate the faculty of persistence by devoting time and effort to our practices. As we progress, the quality of devotion takes precedent over the quantity of activity. Persistence does not amount to “busyness.” How often or how long we practice is less important than “How” we practice – the motivation and the process of our practices. How intensely do we raise and hold onto our existential doubts? How passionate are we in searching for the Truth of Life? How serious are we in the pursuit of Enlightenment?

Generally speaking, the strength of persistence can be developed through:
(i) Physical attributes
(i.e. reciting of the mantras, prostrations, sittings)
(ii) Abstract and mental attributes
(i.e. the Four Right Efforts, the Six Paramitas, the Four Great Vows)
(iii) Internal attributes
(i.e. being mindful, raising awareness, realizing one’s natural ability, understanding all
phenomena, attaining concentration, compassion to all)

Persistence that is aroused from the physical attributes is the most vulnerable to quitting or giving up since it requires physical efforts, and is very susceptible to external factors (health, time, and environment). Persistence that is aroused from the abstract and spiritual is easier to hold on to as it is less rigid, yet it, too, is vulnerable as it requires one to behave or react in certain ways (to do good deeds, to keep the precepts). Persistence that is aroused from internal attributes (attributes of the Dharma Life) is permanent and eternal as it becomes part of your nature. Once you develop persistence internally, that persistence is a natural ability; you do not need any external attributes (this is the faculty of persistence transformed into strength of persistence through realization). The incredible thing about persistence is that it will provide you with an enormous and bottomless source of power or Life Energy. This driving force or Life Energy is essential for Enlightenment.

The strength of persistence is particularly important for the transformation of the Volition elements of the Five Aggregates. The Five Aggregates (or Five Skandhas) are the five components of an intelligent being, especially a human being. The Five Aggregates are: 1) Form (Rupa); 2) Sensation (Vedana); 3) Perception (Sanjna); 4) Volition, (Samskara); 5) Consciousness (Vijnana).

Volition is the functioning of the mind in its processes regarding impulses (i.e. likes and dislikes, good and evil). Volition is will, intention, or the mental function that accounts for craving; it is the power of formation potential. With persistence, one will not be so easily affected by impulses, habitual tendencies, and personal biases. With the strength of persistence (devotion), one will be able to transform volition into pure motivation. The strength of persistence provides a pure motivation that runs through all accomplishment. The strength of persistence is a vital driving force for individual liberation, for the deliverance of all sentient beings and for the attainment of Supreme and Perfect Enlightenment (Anuttara Samyak Sambodhi).

Cultivate your faculty of Persistence and keep on Practicing!