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In theBuddhist tradition, thefive hindrances (Sinhala:පඤ්ච නීවරණ,romanized: pañca nīvaraṇa;Pali:pañca nīvaraṇāni) are identified asmental factors that hinder progress inmeditation and in daily life.[1] In theTheravada tradition, these factors are identified specifically as obstacles to thejhānas (stages of concentration) within meditation practice. ContemporaryInsight Meditation teachers identify the five hindrances as obstacles tomindfulness meditation.
Within theMahayana tradition, the five hindrances are obstacles tosamadhi. They are part of the two types of obstructions (Sanskrit: āvaraṇa), i.e. the obstacles to Buddhahood. The two types of obstructions are afflictive obstructions (Sanskrit: kleśāvaraṇa, which include the standard five hindrances) and cognitive obstructions (jñeyāvaraṇa, which can only be removed bybodhisattvas).[2]
The classic list of five hindrances is:[3][4][5][6]
According toGil Fronsdal, the Pali termnīvaraṇa means covering. Fronsdal states that these hindrances cover over: the clarity of our mind, and our ability to be mindful, wise, concentrated, and stay on purpose.[1]
According toRhys Davids, the Pali termnīvaraṇa (Sanskrit:nivāraṇa) refers to an obstacle or hindrance only in the ethical sense, and is usually enumerated in a set of five.[7]
In thePali Canon'sSamyutta Nikaya, several discourses juxtapose the five hindrances with theseven factors of enlightenment (bojjhanga).[a] For instance, according toSN 46.37,the Buddha stated:
Bhikkhus, there are these five obstructions, hindrances, corruptions of the mind, weakeners of wisdom. What five? Sensual desire... ill will... sloth and torpor ... restlessness and remorse... doubt...
There are, bhikkhus, these seven factors of enlightenment, which are nonobstructions, nonhindrances, noncorruptions of the mind; when developed and cultivated they lead to the realization of the fruit of true knowledge and liberation. What seven? The enlightenment factor of mindfulness... equanimity...[8][b]
Anālayo underlines:
To overcome the hindrances, to practisesatipatthana, and to establish the awakening factors are, indeed, according to several Pali discourses, the key aspects and the distinctive features common to the awakenings of all Buddhas, past, present, and future.[9]
Anālayo further supports this by identifying that, in all extant Sanskrit and Chinese versions of theSatipatthana Sutta, only the five hindrances and seven factors of enlightenment are consistently identified under thedhamma contemplation section; contemplations of thefive aggregates, sixsense bases and Four Noble Truths are not included in one or more of these non-Pali versions.[9]
In terms of gaininginsight into and overcoming the Five Hindrances, according to the Satipatthana Sutta, the Buddha proclaimed:
How, monks, does a monk live contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the five hindrances?
Herein, monks, when sense-desire is present, a monk knows, "There is sense-desire in me," or when sense-desire is not present, he knows, "There is no sense-desire in me." He knows how the arising of the non-arisen sense-desire comes to be; he knows how the abandoning of the arisen sense-desire comes to be; and he knows how the non-arising in the future of the abandoned sense-desire comes to be.[10]
Each of the remaining four hindrances are similarly treated in subsequent paragraphs.
The Buddha gives the following analogies in theSamaññaphala Sutta (DN 2, "The Fruits of the Contemplative Life"):
[W]hen these five hindrances are not abandoned in himself, the monk regards it as a debt, a sickness, a prison, slavery, a road through desolate country. But when these five hindrances are abandoned in himself, he regards it as unindebtedness, good health, release from prison, freedom, a place of security.[11]
Similarly, in theSaṅgārava Sutta (SN 46.55), the Buddha compares sensual desire with looking for a clear reflection in water mixed withlac, turmeric and dyes; ill will with boiling water; sloth-and-torpor with water covered with plants and algae; restlessness-and-worry with wind-churned water; and, doubt with water that is "turbid, unsettled, muddy, placed in the dark."[12][13]
| method of suppression | path of eradication | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| sensual desire | firstjhana based onbodily foulness | nonreturning or arahantship[c] | ||
| ill will | first jhana based onmetta | nonreturning | ||
| sloth and torpor | perception of light | arahantship | ||
| restlessness and worry | serenity (samatha) | arahantship and nonreturning | ||
| doubt | defining of phenomena (dhammavavatthāna) | stream-entry | ||
| The Pali commentary's methods and paths for escaping the hindrances. | ||||
According to the first-century CE exegeticVimuttimagga, the five hindrances include all tenfetters: sense desire includes any attachment to passion; ill will includes all unwholesome states of hatred; and, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry, and doubt include all unwholesome states of infatuation. The Vimuttimagga further distinguishes that "sloth" refers to mental states while "torpor" refers to physical states resultant from food or time or mental states; if torpor results from food or time, then one diminishes it through energy; otherwise, one removes it with meditation. In addition, the Vimuttimagga identifies four types of doubt:
According toBuddhaghosa's fifth-century CE commentary to theSamyutta Nikaya (Sāratthappakāsinī), one can momentarily escape the hindrances throughjhanic suppression or throughinsight while, as also stated in theVimuttimagga, one eradicates the hindrances through attainment of one of thefour stages of enlightenment (see Table 1).[d]
The five mental factors that counteract the five hindrances, according to the Theravada tradition:[5]
Mahāyāna Buddhist thought focuses on the concept of theāvaraṇas (Sanskrit, “obstruction” or “hindrance”; Tibetan:sgrib pa; Chinese:zhang) refers to impediments on the path toBuddhahood. Mahāyāna Buddhism recognizes two primary types ofāvaraṇa:[2]
Afflictive obstructions hinder liberation, while cognitive obstructions block omniscience. Buddhas alone transcend both, achieving complete insight into all objects of knowledge. InYogācāra sources, cognitive obstructions are linked to mistaken perceptions and conceptualizations. These are addressed through advanced practices on the Bodhisattva path, including mastery of the six perfections (pāramitās).
According to Xuanzang'sCheng Weishi Lun (Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi), there are ten specificāvaraṇas which correspond to the stages of the Bodhisattva path (daśabhūmi). These are:[2]
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