Laziness and Dosa

revised on 2019-06-14

Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw; 1st April 1959

The second temptation of defilements (kilesa māra) is discontent (arati) or laziness and boredom, because of laziness and boredom stop from the Dhamma practice. Laziness and boredom are refined dosa. Lost interest, discontent with the practice and become displeasure. For a monk he can be disrobed. It's the enemy of effort. It overcomes the 4-supreme efforts (sammappadhāna). It hinders the worldly and transcendental developments (lokiya and lokuttara). It can also go into sloth and torpor. Disturb oneself is laziness (kosajja). Harmful to other is anger (dosa). It has the fault of saṁsāra (because of laziness never transcend dukkha). It doesn't commit crimes like dosa. Dosa is easy to know, and can be corrected. Laziness is not easy to correct. Sometimes dosa turns into sense of urgency (saṁvega) and can move towards knowledge. Refined dosa (here laziness) destroy the whole life (not to mention transcend dukkha even difficult to do goodness). Kosajja disturbs inside, and dosa disturbs outside. Laziness is harmful to oneself, and anger to others. With laziness no-one corrects you, and with anger someone will correct you (The differences between laziness and anger). With laziness nobody knows it, and with anger someone knows it. If laziness comes in contemplate the plane of misery (apāya dukkha), the misery of round of existence (samsaric dukkha), and the dukkha of old age, sickness and death to overcome laziness. Because of one's laziness and gives many reasons to shun away from practice. It has refined but a terrible one (The Buddha also taught about the 16-reasons for laziness.). There was also a warning from the Buddha; i.e., you could not realize the holiest, the extra ordinary Nibbāna element with ordinary effort. Therefore, lazy people can't realize Nibbāna.

revised on 2019-06-14; cited from (posted on 2018-12-15)

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