Eightfold Path
Mental Development
Right Effort
The Effort to Avoid
The effort to avoid is to avoid the ‘arising of evil’. If unwholesome thoughts should start to enter the mind - thoughts of ill-will, for example - we can turn our attention away from them and not let them intrude. Like someone bent on trouble who knocks at your door, you keep the door shut. The Buddha advises us to keep a close guard on our senses so that thoughts of attraction or aversion do not take hold.
The Effort to Overcome
If unwholesome thoughts have taken hold of the mind, however, we can attempt to overcome them by dispelling them. A useful analogy is ejecting someone from your house bent on doing you harm.