Right Diligence, or Right Effort (chánh tinh tấn), is the fifth element of the Noble Eightfold Path. The practice of the path elements leads to the ultimate dimension: Right View ultimately removes all views; right thinking lifts us above all thinking; Right Speech transcends linguistic obstacles; and Right Action culminates in non-action, which is the quality of pure being and presence.

To practice Right Diligence, one must understand how consciousness operates. Consciousness consists of store consciousness, containing fifty-one categories of mental formations in the form of seeds (bīja), and mind consciousness, where these seeds manifest. The practice of Right Diligence consists of the four right efforts:

1. Preventing negative seeds in the store consciousness from being watered and manifesting in the mind consciousness.
2. Helping negative seeds that have already manifested to return to the store consciousness as soon as possible, using methods like changing the peg or embracing them with mindfulness.
3. Touching and watering the positive, wholesome seeds every day so they have a chance to manifest.
4. Maintaining and entertaining wholesome mental formations once they have manifested, keeping them in the mind consciousness as long as possible so the seeds can grow.

Mental formations are organic and can be transformed. Just as an organic gardener uses compost made of garbage to nourish flowers, a practitioner does not fight or repress negative emotions like anger, violence, or despair. Through the insight of non-duality, one generates the energy of mindfulness to recognize, embrace, and transform the negative into the positive, understanding that the lotus flower can only grow on mud.