VI. The Exposition of Right EffortOf the four kinds of Right Effort, the first two actions: i.e. the two unwholesome volitional actions — one arisen (uppanna) and the other unarisen (anuppanna) — constantly cause anxiety, moral corruption, and debasement to beings. The next two, namely, the wholesome volitional actions that have arisen and that are unarisen always give peace, purity, nobility, and progress to beings.
Of the ten kinds of evil conduct, evil conduct that has arisen or is arising is called uppanna-akusala. Evil conduct that has not arisen, but may arise in the future is called anuppanna-akusala. Of the seven kinds of Purity — 1) Purity of Morality, 2) Purity of Mind, 3)
Purity of View, 4) Purity by overcoming Doubt, 5) Purity by Knowledge and Vision of the Path and non-Path, 6) Purity by Knowledge and Vision of the Course of Practice, 7) Purity by Knowledge and Vision — such purification as has arisen or is arising is called uppanna-kusala. The purification that has never before arisen or has not yet been attained in this life is called anuppanna-kusala. Thus both wholesome and unwholesome actions are of two kinds: arisen, and unarisen.
The Power of the Path Factors If the Noble Eightfold Path is practised and developed in this life, by virtue of its power, the unwholesome actions that have arisen in this life will not arise again till one attains final nibbāna. By virtue of the Noble Eightfold Path, the
unwholesome actions that have never arisen before in this life, but which could have arisen in the future, will never again arise until one attains final nibbāna. By virtue of the Noble Eightfold Path, the two kinds of arisen and unarisen unwholesome actions are eradicated and brought to an end. Established as Nautral Condition (Niyāma) Similarly, if the Noble Eightfold Path is practised and developed in this life, by virtue of its power, any one of the seven kinds of purification that arises in this life, becomes indestructible and constant until one attains final nibbāna. Also by virtue of the Noble Eightfold Path, the purifications that have never arisen before, arise in this very life. One’s Own Real Benefit For these reasons, those devout laymen and Bhikkhus who are fortunate enough to encounter the Buddha Sāsana should be convinced of the fact that only the practice of Right Effort in the practice and development of the Eightfold Path is for their true welfare and prosperity. Mundane affairs
should be transacted only when they are absolutely necessary and unavoidable. This is the elucidation of Right Effort, which is a fundamental factor in Buddhism. In explaining what is arisen and unarisen, one can easily understand the unwholesome as the ten kinds of evil conduct, and in the case of the wholesome as the seven kinds of purification. 1. Effort to Prevent the Arising of Unarisen Unwholesome StatesPractice of the Eightfold Path with the intention of preventing unwholesome actions from arising at all in this very life and the following existences, is the first kind of Right Effort. 2. Effort to Eradicate Arisen Unwholesome StatesPractice of the Eightfold Path with the intention of preventing unwholesome actions that have not yet arisen, but which are liable to arise in the future, is the second kind of Right Effort. 3. Effort to Develop Unarisen Wholesome StatesPutting forth effort to practise the Noble Eightfold path to attain or realise in this very life the higher purifications that have not yet been attained, is the third kind of Right Effort. 4. Effort to Increase Arisen Wholesome StatesPutting forth effort to keep the Purity of Morality such as the Five Precepts or Eight Precepts with right livelihood as the eighth, which one is observing in this very life, and to make it stable until one attains final nibbāna, is the fourth kind of Right Effort. These are the four kinds of Right Effort which have been expounded in such a way as to help one to understand them easily. They are enumerated as four only with reference to function. In fact, there is only one relevant dhamma, namely effort, because when one tries to achieve any one purification, the effort put forth covers the four functions automatically. | 
