Prahāṇa

prahāṇa. [alt. pradhāna] (P. padrāna; T. spang ba; C. duan/si zhengqin 斷/四正勤) is translated as “abandonment,” “relinquishment,” “exertions,” “right effort," etc. It is the effort that must applied to rid oneself of afflictions (kleshas) and wrong views (mithyādṛṣṭi).

The Princeton Dictionary states:

Because the term implies the abandonment of the causes that bring about suffering, prahāṇa can also mean something that heals, thus an “antidote.” Prahāṇa is commonly used to indicate the practice of meditation, through which afflictions and wrong views are abandoned; in the context of the Abhisamācārikā Dharmāḥ, for instance, the term is used when explaining how meditation is to be performed.

This term is sometimes used to refer to the four right exertions. In the Sanskrit tradition, the "four right exertions" (samyak-pradhāna) are also known as the "four supreme abandonings" (Skt. catvāri samyak-prahāṇa; T. yang dag par spong ba bzhi). One Teacher, Many Traditions states: "Through a conflation of terminology, in Sanskrit texts these [samyak-pradhāna] came to be called samyak prahāna, “supreme abandonings.”

Sources

• Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University 
• Dalai Lama; Thubten Chodron (2014), Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions, Wisdom Publications