From the discourse: five hindrances that cover the mind (AN 5.51)
Quoted verbatim from the Vietnamese translation by Ven. Thích Minh Châu in the Inti Dharma library (AN 5.51).
Dục tham, này các Tỷ-kheo, là chướng ngại triền cái bao phủ tâm, làm yếu ớt trí tuệ. Sân, này các Tỷ-kheo, là chướng ngại triền cái bao phủ tâm làm yếu ớt trí tuệ. Hôn trầm thụy miên, này các Tỷ-kheo, là chướng ngại, triền cái bao phủ tâm, làm yếu ớt trí tuệ. Trạo hối, này các Tỷ-kheo, là chướng ngại, triền cái bao phủ tâm, làm yếu ớt trí tuệ. Nghi, này các Tỷ-kheo, là chướng ngại, triền cái bao phủ tâm, làm yếu ớt trí tuệ.
Những pháp này, này các Tỷ-kheo, là năm chướng ngại triền cái bao phủ tâm, làm yếu ớt trí tuệ.
Read the whole discourse →How the five hindrances show up in daily life
Sensual desire (kāmacchanda) may be a dish that keeps coming to mind or a message you want to open right now. Ill will (byāpāda) is annoyance at a noise, at someone who just spoke harshly, even irritation with yourself. Sloth and torpor (thīna-middha) are the head dropping and the meditation object blurring. Restlessness and remorse (uddhacca-kukkucca) are the mind jumping from one thing to the next, with replays of words already said. Doubt (vicikicchā) differs from healthy inquiry: it is asking «is this method right?» again and again without testing it through. Outside the sitting, they also appear at work and in relationships. If tiredness, sadness or anxiety persists, practice does not replace professional support.
Five bowls of water: why the hindrances keep us from seeing clearly
In the discourse With Saṅgārava (SN 46.55), a brahmin asks why mantras memorised long ago sometimes cannot be recalled. The Buddha likens the mind to a bowl of water used as a mirror: overcome by sensual desire, the water is as if mixed with dye; by ill will, it is boiling over a fire; by sloth and torpor, its surface is covered with moss; by restlessness and remorse, it ripples in the wind; by doubt, it is stirred up, muddy and left in the dark. Then one cannot see one's face as it really is, nor see clearly what is good for oneself, for others and for both. By contrast, a bowl of clear, still water set in the light shows the face plainly.
What feeds each hindrance, and what weakens it
The discourse on Nourishing (SN 46.51) says each hindrance has its own «food», and what they share is unwise attention: attending in the wrong way. Sensual desire grows by dwelling on the attractive look of things; ill will, by fixing on what irritates; sloth and torpor, through laziness, overeating and a sluggish mind; restlessness and remorse, through a mind that has not settled; doubt, through things that give rise to doubt. With wise attention, each hindrance loses its food: for sensual desire, seeing the unattractive side of an object (the sign of the unattractive); for ill will, loving-kindness; for sloth, initiative, effort and persistence; for restlessness, a calm mind; for doubt, clearly telling wholesome from unwholesome.
How they relate to the seven factors of awakening and to mindfulness
At the end of the discourse With Saṅgārava, the Buddha says the seven factors of awakening are not hindrances, and when developed they lead to knowledge and liberation. The discourse on Fire (SN 46.53) shows how to choose factors by the state of mind: when the mind is sluggish, close to sloth, rouse investigation, energy and joy, like adding dry fuel to a small flame; when it is agitated, close to restlessness, cultivate tranquillity, concentration and equanimity, like using damp fuel to calm a large fire. Mindfulness helps in every case. The Satipaṭṭhāna discourse puts the five hindrances first in the contemplation of dhammas: working with them begins with clear recognition, not with forcing.
When drowsiness strikes: the advice to Venerable Mahāmoggallāna
The discourse on Nodding Off (AN 7.61) tells how the Buddha saw Venerable Mahāmoggallāna (Mục-kiền-liên in Vietnamese) nodding off while sitting and showed him one step at a time, each to be used if the previous one was not enough: stop attending to the perception you had when drowsiness came; reflect on or recite the teachings you have learned; pull your earlobes and rub your limbs; get up, wash your eyes with water, look into the distance and up at the stars; turn the mind towards light; do walking meditation. If that still fails, lie down mindfully and get up as soon as you wake. The discourse does not say to sit and endure at all costs.
When the hindrances settle: images from the Fruits of the Ascetic Life
The Fruits of the Ascetic Life (DN 2) describes a monk who sits in a secluded place, sets up mindfulness in front of him and gives up the five hindrances: leaving covetousness, replacing ill will with compassion for all beings, replacing sloth with a mind turned towards light, replacing restlessness with inner calm, and no longer wavering about what is wholesome. The discourse likens hindrances not yet given up to a debt, an illness, a prison, slavery and a desert road; once they are given up there is relief, like someone who has paid off a debt, left prison or reached a safe village. From this, gladness, joy, tranquillity, happiness and concentration arise in turn. This describes the path, not a yardstick for grading your own sitting.
