Grammatical Analysis
Sammāvāyāma: [m.] Right Effort; Correct Exertion; Perfect Striving. Formed by sammā (correctly) + vāyāma (effort, struggle, labor). Doctrinally identical to the mental factor of energy (viriya-cetasika) directed toward spiritual development.
Orthodox Definition
Sammāvāyāma is the sixth limb of the Noble Eightfold Path and the first component of the concentration division (samādhi-sikkhā). It represents the heroic driving power that prevents the path from becoming an empty intellectual exercise.
The Buddha formalized Right Effort into four distinct structural strivings (sammappadhāna):
- Saṃvara-ppadhāna (Effort to Prevent): Rousing the will to prevent unarisen unwholesome states (such as hindrances) from flashing into existence.
- Pahāna-ppadhāna (Effort to Abandon): Rousing energy to actively discard and drive out unwholesome states that have already manifested.
- Bhāvanā-ppadhāna (Effort to Cultivate): Exerting the mind to initiate and awaken unarisen wholesome states (such as the factors of enlightenment).
- Anurakkhana-ppadhāna (Effort to Maintain): Striving to guard, preserve, and multiply wholesome factors that have already arisen, bringing them to fulfillment.
Textual References
- Sutta: Padhāna Sutta (AN 4.14) – Foundational mapping of the four distinct functional methods of correct spiritual striving.
- Abhidhamma: Vibhaṅga (Magga-vibhaṅga exposition).
- Commentary: Visuddhimagga (Chapter XXII) – Detailing how energy transforms from a fluctuating, unstable element into an unmoving supramundane path factor.