| Key Term |
vīrya |
| Hover Popup Choices |
diligence; perseverance; enthusiastic effort; exertion; energy; vigour |
| In Tibetan Script |
བརྩོན་འགྲུས་ |
| Wylie Tibetan Transliteration |
brtson 'grus |
| Devanagari Sanskrit Script |
वीर्य |
| Romanized Sanskrit |
vīrya |
| Romanized Pali |
viriya |
| Tibetan Phonetic Rendering |
tsöndrü |
| Chinese Script |
精進 |
| Chinese Pinyin |
jīngjìn |
| Japanese Transliteration |
shōjin |
| Korean Script |
jeongjin |
| English Standard |
diligence |
| Alternate Spellings |
brtson 'grus; བརྩོན་འགྲུས་; viriya; perseverance; enthusiastic effort |
| Term Type |
Noun |
| Source Language |
Sanskrit |
NEW: Context Descriptions
(Glossary-DefinitionTsadra) |
- Abhidharma (Indo-Tibetan): In Abhidharma literature, vīrya (T. brtson 'grus) is defined as a wholesome mental factor (kuśalacaitasika) characterized by a mind that is enthused about and joyfully engages in virtuous activities. Its primary function is to bring all virtuous qualities to completion. It is categorized as the direct antidote to laziness (kausīdya), which is classified into three distinct types:
- The laziness of indolence (T. le lo): A preference for idleness, sleep, and ease.
- The laziness of attraction to unwholesome activities (T. bya ba ngan zhen gyi le lo): Being busy with non-virtuous or worldly distractions.
- The laziness of self-defeat or discouragement (T. sgyid lug pa'i le lo): Thinking one is incapable of attaining enlightenment.
- Furthermore, in the context of the thirty-seven factors conducive to enlightenment, it appears as the faculty of diligence (vīryendriya), the power of diligence (vīryabala), and the limb of enlightenment of diligence (vīryasaṃbodhyaṅga).
- Mahāyāna (Indo-Tibetan): In the Mahāyāna, diligence is cultivated as the fourth perfection (vīryapāramitā). It is described as the indispensable force that supports all other perfections; without it, generosity, discipline, and patience cannot be perfected, and meditation and wisdom cannot be attained. Mahāyāna texts typically classify it into three types:
- Armor-like diligence (T. go cha'i brtson 'grus): The courageous mental preparation to endure any hardship for eons to benefit beings.
- Diligence of applying oneself to virtue (T. dge ba chos sdud kyi brtson 'grus): The active engagement in accumulating merit and practicing the path.
- Diligence of working for the benefit of others (T. sems can don byed kyi brtson 'grus): The unflagging effort to perform the eleven types of activities that aid sentient beings.
- Vajrayāna (Indo-Tibetan): In the context of Secret Mantra, diligence is essential for the swift attainment of siddhi. It involves the continuous maintenance of the deity visualization and the stable application of the generation and completion stages. It is often described as "unflagging vigour" required to transform ordinary perception into the sacred outlook of the maṇḍala.
- Dzogchen/Mahāmudrā (Indo-Tibetan): Within these traditions, diligence is refined into a state of "effortless perseverance" (T. rtsol med). Once the nature of mind (rigpa) is recognized, diligence consists of the continuous, undistracted familiarization with that natural state, where the practitioner remains in non-meditation without slipping into ordinary confusion.
- Theravāda/Pāli Tradition Context: In the Pāli tradition, viriya is one of the ten perfections (pāramī) and a central component of the Four Right Exertions (sammappadhāna). It involves the effort to prevent unarisen unwholesome states, abandon arisen unwholesome states, arouse unarisen wholesome states, and maintain arisen wholesome states.
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| NEW: Glossary-PopUpBeginnerDefinition |
Diligence is the joyful and consistent effort applied to virtuous actions and spiritual practice. It acts as the engine that drives progress and prevents laziness or discouragement on the path. |
| NEW: Glossary-PopUpScholarDefinition |
A fundamental virtuous mental factor (Skt. vīrya; P. viriya; T. brtson 'grus) defined as delight in virtue. It is the fourth of the six perfections (pāramitā) and one of the five faculties (indriya) and powers (bala). Diligence serves as the essential catalyst for all spiritual attainments, acting as the direct antidote to the three types of laziness. |
| NEW: Glossary-DefinitionBodhicittaWiki |
Vīrya (T. brtson 'grus), as the perfection of diligence, is the vital energy that drives a bodhisattva toward full enlightenment. It is defined specifically as "joy in virtue," distinguishing it from mere worldly ambition. On the path, it provides the "armor-like" courage needed to face the vast span of time and the immense suffering of sentient beings without becoming discouraged. Without the catalyst of diligence, one's accumulation of merit and wisdom remains stagnant. For a bodhisattva, this effort is never a burden but a source of joy, as it is fueled by the aspiration of bodhicitta and the realization that virtuous activity is the most meaningful expression of one's nature. |
| NEW: Glossary-DefinitionLotsawas |
diligence; perseverance; enthusiastic effort; exertion; energy; vigour |
| Definitions |
