Curing the Five Hindrances of mind/heart

(Venerable Gotami) Stuck in life? These Five Things (Hindrances) are hold you back

1. Sense craving (kāmacchanda): seeking pleasure through the five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and physical feeling.
2. Ill-will (vyāpāda): feelings of anger, hostility, vengefulness, resentment, hatred, and bitterness.
3. Sloth-and-torpor (thīna-middha): mental and physical lack of energy with little to no ability to make effort toward samadhi or concentration.
4. Restlessness-and-worry (uddhacca-kukkucca): the inability to calm the mind and bring it to stillness (samadhi) and focus one's energy.
5. Skeptical doubt (vicikiccha): lack of confidence, conviction, faith in the practice and one's ability to succeed in calm and insight toward enlightenment and liberation.

• The Five Hindrances (pancha-nívarana)

Etymology

According to Gil Fronsdal, the Pali term (nīvaraṇa) translated as "hindrance" actually means "covering." What these hindrances cover over are: the clarity of our mind, as well as our ability to be mindful, wise, concentrated, and stay on purpose [1].

According to earlier translations by Rhys Davids, the Pali term nīvaraṇa (Sanskrit nivāraṇa) refers to an obstacle or hindrance in the ethical sense, usually enumerated in a set of five [7].

In Pali language literature: Pali canon

In the Pali canon's Samyutta Nikaya, several sutras or discourses juxtapose the Five Hindrances with the Seven Factors of Enlightenment (satta-bojjhanga) [a].

For instance, according to SN 46.37, the Buddha states: "Meditators, there are these Five Hindrances, obstructions, corruptions of mind, weakeners of wisdom. What are the five?

1. Sensual craving...
2. ill-will...
3. sloth-and-torpor...
4. restlessness-and-remorse...
5. skeptical doubt...

"There are, meditators, these Seven Factors of Enlightenment, which are nonhindrances, nonobstructions, noncorruptions of mind/heart. When cultivated and developed, they lead to the realization of the fruit of true knowledge and liberation. 

"What are the seven? The enlightenment factor of mindfulness... equanimity... [8][b]."

Ven. Anālayo emphasizes: To overcome the hindrances, to practice satipatthana [the Four Foundations], and to establish the awakening factors [the Seven Factors of Enlightenment] are, indeed, according to several Pali discourses, the key aspects and the distinctive features common to the awakenings of all buddhas of the past, present, and future [9].

Ven. Anālayo supports this by identifying that, in all extant Sanskrit and Chinese versions of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse (Satipatthana Sutta), only the Five Hindrances and Seven Factors of Enlightenment are consistently identified under the dhamma contemplation section.

Contemplations of the Five Aggregates clung to as self, Six Sense Bases and Four Noble Truths are not included in one or more of these non-Pali language versions [9].

In terms of gaining insight into and overcoming the Five Hindrances, according to the discourse on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, the Buddha proclaimed:

 

"How, meditators, does a meditator live contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the Five Hindrances? Herein [within this Doctrine and Discipline], meditators, when sense-craving is present, one knows, "There is sense-craving in me."

When sense-craving is not present, one knows, "There is no sense-craving in me."

One knows how the arising of the non-arisen sense-craving comes to be; one knows how the abandoning of the arisen sense-craving comes to be; and one knows how the non-arising in the future of the abandoned sense-craving comes to be [10]. More: The Five Hindrances