Skillful Mental Action (Was: The burden of prayer)

The following sutta gives a comprehensive coverage of mental action,beyond which there is no prayer: Veneration to the Most Exalted, the Purified, the SupremelyEnlightened Buddha"And how is one made pure in three ways by mental action? There is the case where a certain person is not covetous. He does not covet the belongings of others, thinking, 'O, that what belongs to others would be mine!' He bears no ill will and is not corrupt in the resolves of his heart. [He thinks,] 'May these beings be free from animosity, free from oppression, free from trouble, and may they look after themselves with ease!' He has right view and is not warped in the way he sees things: 1) 'There is what is given, what is offered, what is sacrificed. 2) There are fruits & results of good & bad actions. 3) There is this world & the next world. 4) There is mother & father. 5) There are spontaneously reborn beings; 6) there are priests & contemplatives who, faring rightly & practicingrightly, proclaim this world & the next after having directly known &realized it for themselves.' *This is how one is made pure in three ways by mental action.http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an10/an10.176.than.htmlFrom: Cunda Kammaraputta SuttaTo Cunda the SilversmithTranslated from the Pali byThanissaro Bhikkhu*What this passage means is that:1) there is merit in generosity;2) the moral qualities of good and bad are inherent parts of thecosmos, and not simply social conventions;3) there is life after death;4) one has a true moral debt to one's parents;6) and there are people who have lived the renunciate's life properlyin such a way that they have gained true and direct knowledge of thesematters.Antony: I like the phrase "May these beings" rather than "May allbeings". As with the Four Noble Truths, this frames the issues of themind in terms of things that can be directly pointed to in immediateexperience as "This... This... This... This." (Thanissaro Bhikkhu"Untangling the Present")


"Empat Kesempatan untuk Ketekunan" Setetes Dhamma Sebongkah Berlia
Para bhikkhu, untuk empat hal ini, ketekunan harusditerapkan. Apakah yang empat itu?Engkau harus menghentikan perilaku buruk dalamtindakan dan mengembangkan perilaku bajik dalamtindakan. Janganlah lengah dalam hal itu.Engkau harus menghentikan perilaku buruk dalam ucapandan mengembangkan perilaku bajik dalam ucapan.Janganlah lengah dalam hal itu.Engkau harus menghentikan perilaku buruk dalam pikirandan mengembangkan perilaku bajik dalam pikiran.Janganlah lengah dalam hal itu.Engkau harus menghentikan pandangan salah danmengembangkan pandangan benar. Janganlah lengah dalamhal itu.Jika seorang bhikkhu telah menghentikan perilaku buruklewat tindakan, ucapan dan pikiran, dan telahmengembangkan perilaku bajik dalam tindakan, ucapandan pikiran; jika dia telah meninggalkan pandangansalah dan mengembangkan pandangan benar, dia tidakperlu takut akan kematian di kehidupan mendatang.Empat Kesempatan untuk Ketekunan(IV, 116)Angguttara Nikaya