Five hindrances


In the Buddhist tradition, the five hindrances are identified as mental factors that hinder progress in meditation and in daily life. In the Theravada tradition, these factors are identified specifically as obstacles to the jhānas within meditation practice. Contemporary Insight Meditation teachers identify the five hindrances as obstacles to mindfulness meditation.
Within the Mahayana tradition, the five hindrances are obstacles to samadhi. They are part of the two types of obstructions, i.e. the obstacles to Buddhahood. The two types of obstructions are afflictive obstructions and cognitive obstructions.
The classic list of five hindrances is:
  1. Sensory desire : seeking for pleasure through the five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and physical feeling.
  2. Ill-will : feelings of hostility, resentment, hatred and bitterness.
  3. Sloth-and-torpor : half-hearted action with little or no effort or concentration.
  4. Restlessness-and-worry : the inability to calm the mind and focus one's energy.
  5. Doubt : lack of conviction or trust in one's abilities.

Etymology

According to Gil Fronsdal, the Pali term nīvaraṇa 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.
According to Rhys Davids, the Pali term nīvaraṇa refers to an obstacle or hindrance only in the ethical sense, and is usually enumerated in a set of five.

In Pali Literature

In the Pali Canon

In the Pali Canon's Samyutta Nikaya, several discourses juxtapose the five hindrances with the seven factors of enlightenment. For instance, according to SN 46.37, the Buddha stated:
Anālayo underlines:
Anālayo further supports this by identifying that, in all extant Sanskrit and Chinese versions of the Satipatthana Sutta, only the five hindrances and seven factors of enlightenment are consistently identified under the dhamma contemplation section; contemplations of the five aggregates, six sense bases and Four Noble Truths are not included in one or more of these non-Pali versions.
In terms of gaining insight into and overcoming the Five Hindrances, according to the Satipatthana Sutta, the Buddha proclaimed:
Each of the remaining four hindrances are similarly treated in subsequent paragraphs.
The Buddha gives the following analogies in the Samaññaphala Sutta :
Similarly, in the Sagārava Sutta, the Buddha compares sensual desire with looking for a clear reflection in water mixed with lac, 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."

From post-canonical Pali literature

According to the first-century CE exegetic Vimuttimagga, the five hindrances include all ten fetters: 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 to Buddhaghosa's fifth-century CE commentary to the Samyutta Nikaya, one can momentarily escape the hindrances through jhanic suppression or through insight while, as also stated in the Vimuttimagga, one eradicates the hindrances through attainment of one of the four stages of enlightenment.
The five mental factors that counteract the five hindrances, according to the Theravada tradition:
  1. vitakka counteracts sloth-torpor
  2. vicāra counteracts doubt
  3. pīti counteracts ill-will
  4. sukha counteracts restlessness-worry
  5. ekaggatā counteracts sensory desire

Mahāyāna

Buddhist thought focuses on the concept of the āvaraṇas refers to impediments on the path to Buddhahood. Mahāyāna Buddhism recognizes two primary types of āvaraṇa:Afflictive Obstructions : These arise from defilements such as anger, envy, and ignorance, which result in unwholesome actions. They can be overcome by Śrāvakas, Pratyekabuddhas, and beginner Bodhisattvas through antidotes and lead to freedom from rebirth.Cognitive Obstructions : These stem from misconceptions about reality, such as reifying imaginary phenomena, and result in pride, wrong views, and discrimination. Only advanced bodhisattvas can overcome these obstacles, attaining complete understanding of emptiness and compassion while accumulating merit.
Afflictive obstructions hinder liberation, while cognitive obstructions block omniscience. Buddhas alone transcend both, achieving complete insight into all objects of knowledge. In Yogācāra 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.
According to Xuanzang's Cheng Weishi Lun, there are ten specific āvaraṇas which correspond to the stages of the Bodhisattva path. These are:
  1. Obstruction of common delusions : Overcome through generosity.
  2. Obstruction of deluded conduct : Addressed by morality.
  3. Obstruction of dullness : Resolved with patience.
  4. Obstruction of subtle afflictions : Countered by effort.
  5. Obstruction of the lesser nirvāṇa ideal : Overcome through meditative absorption.
  6. Obstruction of coarse characteristics : Addressed by wisdom.
  7. Obstruction of subtle characteristics : Overcome by expedient means.
  8. Obstruction of continued activity in the immaterial realm : Resolved through vows.
  9. Obstruction of reluctance to save others : Countered by spiritual power.
  10. Obstruction of incomplete mastery over all phenomena : Addressed by omniscience.

Works cited

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