Though one live a hundred years lazy and of little energy, better is a single day of life for one who initiates firm effort.

Kusīto hīnavīriyo — lazy and of little energy: kusīta is lazy, lethargic. Hīna-vīriyo is of inferior spiritual energy (vīriya). Direct opposite of appamāda (diligence) which the Buddha emphasized even in his last words.

Vīriyamārabhato daḷhaṃ — for one who initiates firm effort: ārabhati is to begin, initiate, commit. Daḷha is firm, solid. Viriya is not agitation nor haste but sustained energy that does not surrender to obstacles.

One day of practice with genuine viriya equals and surpasses a century of life in spiritual inertia. This is the logic of qualitative intensity over quantitative extension.

Viriya is one of the five spiritual powers (pañcabala) and one of the seven factors of awakening. Its development is not optional but central to the Buddhist path.