AN 4.226 Path (2nd)

Wholesome result of good conduct, generosity, and right intention. Merit brightens the mind and supports happiness and favorable conditions for practice.

Active presence of mind and lucid retention; the faculty that remembers the Dhamma, anchors attention to the chosen object or present experience, and guards the mind against unwholesome states.

Energy and resolve directed toward preventing unwholesome states from arising, abandoning arisen unwholesome states, cultivating wholesome states, and maintaining arisen wholesome states; persistent application of the mind aligned with the path.

Means of living that does not cause harm to others or oneself; earning a living ethically without deceit, exploitation, or violence.

Energetic effort and resilience in practice. It is the refusal to shrink back, the 'uphill' force that initiates and sustains wholesome actions against the gravity of habit.

Misapplied energy directed toward goals rooted in craving, aversion, or delusion. It manifests as striving for sensual pleasure, gain, fame, or domination, overwhelming the mind by feeding defilements.