Middha


Middha is a Buddhist term that is translated as "torpor", "drowsiness", "sleep", etc. In the Theravada tradition, middha is defined as a morbid state that is characterized by unwieldiness, lack of energy, and opposition to wholesome activity. In the Mahayana tradition, middha is defined as a mental factor that causes the mind to draw inward, lose discrimination between wholesome and unwholesome activities, and drop out of activities altogether.
Middha is identified as:

Explanations

Theravada

Bhikkhu Bodhi explains:
The Atthasālinī states about sloth and torpor: “Absence of striving, difficulty through inability, is the meaning.” We then read the following definitions of sloth and torpor:
Nina van Gorkom explains:

Mahayana

The Abhidharma-samuccaya states:
Mipham Rinpoche states:
Alexander Berzin explains:

Alternate translations