ABSTRACT
Recall the instructions of the senior monk: “Imagine if your hair were on fire, how energetic and focused you would be to put that fire out. That is how you must strive for enlightenment” (Chapter 8). The Buddha noted that we are hindered in this task by five obstacles: sloth or torpor, agitation, ill will, doubt or discouragement, and lusting for pleasures. We must make every effort to dispel these, to continue our way toward the goal. This aspect of effort is quantitative;
the sense is that we should marshal our energy in the service of becoming enlightened.
