Ask a Ninja: How to Meditate: 1. Start

Ven. Nyanaponika; Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells, Seth Auberon, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly The Five Hindrances and Their Conquest: Selected Texts from Pali Canon and Commentaries

Meditation Ninja, how do I meditate to become enlightened? - Beat the Five  Hindrances.

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This year, rise above it (AB).

This is a seven-part series, beginning with this introduction, on overcoming of the Five Hindrances. It culminates with what to do as an enlightened Meditation Ninja. Reaching enlightenment could take from seven days to seven years of striving depending on dedication and consistency. Overdoing effort is inferior to consistent effort. There is much more to be gained by practicing 10 minutes a day instead of 70 minutes on Sunday: Consistency was the turtle's secret when the hare thought there would always be time to catch up.

What are the Five Hindrances that hold us back in meditation and life and keep us from realizing enlightenment?

1. Sensual craving (lust, yearning, obsession, greed)
2. Ill will (anger, annoyance, resentment, hate)
3. Sleepiness and lassitude (sloth and torpor)
4. Restlessness (remorse, boredom, worry and flurry)
5. Skeptical doubt (persistent misgivings, delusion).

Why would anyone want to overcome them? Unshakable deliverance of mind/heart (purification, enlightenment, nirvana) is the highest goal in the Buddha's teaching (Dharma, doctrine). Deliverance means the freeing of the heart/mind from all limitations, fetters, defilements, and bonds that tie it to the Wheel of Suffering and the perpetual Cycle of Rebirth. 

Self purification begins the path to freedom.

Deliverance means the cleansing of the mind of all defilements that mar its natural purity, its innate nature. It is the removing of all hindrances or obstacles that bar its progress from mundane (lokiya) to supramundane consciousness (lokuttara-citta), that is, to full enlightenment (arhatship) in this very life.

 

Many are the obstacles that block the road of spiritual progress. But there are five in particular which, under the name of the Five Hindrances (pancha nivarana), are often mentioned in the Buddhist texts:

1. Sensual desire (kamacchanda),
2. Ill-will (byapada),
3. Sloth and torpor (thina-middha),
4. Restlessness and remorse (uddhacca-kukkucca),
5. Skeptical doubt (vicikiccha).

They are called "hindrances" because they hinder, obstruct, retard, and envelop the mind/heart in many ways, obstructing its development (bhavana, cultivation). According to Buddhist teachings, spiritual development is twofold -- by way of tranquillity (samatha) and by way of insight (vipassana, wisdom). These are not mutually exclusive but rather mutually interdependent pursuits. Little progress in insight is possible without it being established in calm.

Tranquillity is gained by concentration of the mind/heart through sustained attention resulting in the temporarily purifying meditative absorptions (jhanas). For achieving these absorptions, the temporary overcoming of the Five Hindrances is a preliminary condition. (Later insight eradicates them completely and permanently). It is especially in the context of achieving the absorptions that the Buddha often mentions the Five Hindrances in the sutras.

 

Meditative Absorptions (Jhanas)

Are we there yet? Slow down, you maniac!

There are five mental constituents that are chiefly representative of the first meditative absorption, and are therefore called the "factors of absorption" (jhananga).

For each factor there is, according to Buddhist commentarial tradition, one of the Five Hindrances that is specifically harmful to it and excludes its higher development and refinement to the degree required for absorption (jhana).

On the other hand, the cultivation of the Five Factors of Absorption beyond their average level is an antidote for the Five Hindrances, preparing the road to absorption. The relationship between these two groups of five each is indicated in this anthology under the heading of each respective hindrance.

 

The Five Hindrances not only impede the mind/heart from reaching the eight meditative absorptions but also lesser degrees of mental concentration such as "neighborhood" or "access" concentration (upacara-samadhi). This is a preliminary stage of concentration prior to full absorption concentration (appana). Likewise excluded by the presence of the hindrances is the momentary concentration (khanika-samadhi), which has the strength of neighborhood concentration and is required for mature insight (vipassana).

But apart from these higher stages of mental development, any earnest attempt at clear thinking and/or pure living will be seriously affected by the presence of the Five Hindrances.

 

This widespread harmful influence of the Five Hindrances shows the urgent need of breaking down their power by constant effort. It is not sufficient to turn one's attention to the Five Hindrances only when one sits down for meditation. Such last-minute effort at suppressing them will rarely be successful unless helped by previous endeavor during one's ordinary life.

 

One who earnestly aspires to the unshakable deliverance of the mind/heart is therefore wise to select a definite "working-ground" of a direct and practical import: a kammatthana (a subject of meditation, lit. "working-ground") in its widest sense, on which the structure of our entire life can be based. 

Holding fast to our "working-ground," not losing sight of it for long, even this by itself will be considerable and encouraging progress in the control and development of the mind/heart, because in that way directed and purposeful energies of mind/heart will be strengthened considerably.

One who has chosen the overcoming or conquest of the Five Hindrances for a "working-ground" should examine which of the five are strongest in one's personal case. Then one should carefully observe how and on which occasions they usually appear.

One should further be aware of the positive forces within one's own mind/heart by which each of these hindrances can best be countered, given an antidote, and finally abandoned. 

It is often useful to examine one's life for any opportunity of developing these qualities which are indicated here under the heading of the spiritual faculties, the factors of absorption, and the factors of enlightenment (bojjhanga). In some cases, subjects of meditation have been added which are helpful in overcoming each hindrance.

 

An ordinary "worldling" (puthujjana, monastic or layperson, one who has not yet attained the first stage of enlightenment, the path of stream-entry sotapatti-magga) can only reach a temporary suspension and partial weakening of the hindrances. Their final and complete eradication takes place on the four stages of enlightenment, the noble paths, ariya magga:

• Doubt is eliminated on the first stage, the path of stream-entry.
• Sensual desire, ill will, and remorse are eliminated on the third stage, the path of non-returning (anagami).
• Sloth and torpor (sleepiness and mental lassitude) and restlessness are eradicated on the path of arhatship (arahatta).

The reward for making the effort to relinquish and abandon the Five Hindrances is not only the limited one of making possible a shorter or longer spell of meditation, but every step in weakening the hindrances takes us nearer to the stages of enlightenment where final deliverance from all impediments is unshakable.

 

O, hearers, listen and I will teach the Dharma.

Though most of the following texts, translated from the discourses (sutras) of the Buddha and the ancient commentaries, are addressed to monastics, they are valid for all meditators living the worldly life. As the old meditation masters say: "The monastic (bhikkhus and bhikkhunis) is mentioned here as an example of those dedicated to the practice of the Dharma. Whosoever undertakes the practice is here included under the term 'monastic.'"

[This is why Wisdom Quarterly translates, here and elsewhere, by the more inclusive term "meditator" given that a little known fact about Buddhism in the Buddha's time led to the enlightenment of a greater number of laypeople than monastics, as there were so many more laypeople among the "hearers," the savakas, the people listening to the Buddha's guidance].

Just as, meditators, this body lives on nourishment, lives dependent on nourishment, does not live without nourishment -- in the same way, the Five Hindrances live on nourishment, depend on nourishment, do not live without nourishment (SN 46:2). More

• Clean body leads to a clean mind (ChakraFood.com)
• Ten Perfections Study Guide (Access to Insight)

Antidotes to Meditation's "Five Hindrances"

Dharmachari Seven (for WQ)

Buddhist tradition specifies particular obstructions that prevent enlightenment. These "Five Hindrances" (pancha nivarana) retard progress in meditation, often making it impossible. So it is an excellent thing to be able to recognize them from afar and employ antidotes or at least engage evasive maneuvers. What five?

1. sensual desire
2. anger
3. restlessness
4. drowsiness
5. doubt

LUST: Sense desire (craving, gluttony, five strand sensuali-ty) is a great distraction from serenity, mindfulness, and en-lightenment. Concentration is the antidote. When the mind is strong enough to (seemingly) effortlessly stay on a single object, there is no danger of falling into the trap of discomfitting lust, greed, and yearning.

ANGER: Ill-will is a miserable tendency that destroys calm, cool, collected states of mind in a blinding instant -- like an explosive hot flash reducing everything to cinders. Not all but most people recognize anger as anathema and unpleasant.

Most people do not realize how much annoyance, irritation, and ill directed resentment they're carrying around -- that is, until they try to sit peacefully and silently for a few minutes. The antidote is cultivating kindness (metta), compassionate recognition (karuna), and joy-in-others-happiness (mudita). These give rise to a sublime state of looking on (upekkha) with acceptance and understanding. One becomes unflappable but perfectly able to respond. "Warm detachment" -- not to be confused with cold indifference. Try it, taste it, and you'll agree. Think about it, prejudge, and you'll argue.

RESTLESSNESS and worry, or being scattered, results from inattention to the object and too much effort. More effort makes one more awkward. inartful, and inarticulate. The more one wants something, the LESS one is able to get it. Think dating. Less apparent concern with the outcome, more confidence, paradoxically, MORE success. And with more success, more confidence.

Every Hollywood teen romance tells us so. The relaxed sports star, not the uptight scholar, gets all the dates. And more thinking won't make it otherwise. The same is true in meditation and teasing out the light of a concentrated mind coupled with a pacified heart (appeasement). Too much effort quickly leads to dissatisfaction and prematurely giving up.

DROWSINESS (sloth and torpor) occurs for two reasons. The truth will out on the cushion. Making too little effort -- whether from a lack of rest, lack of confidence, indiffer-ence, or stressed adrenals from an exhausting ("modern") lifestyle -- is one reason.

The other is a habit of delusion (moha) or foolishness (bala): If in the past (as now) one was not keen to hear the Truth, not interested in things as they are, but negligent, heedless, inattentive, then mindfulness, diligence, and one-pointedness leading to insight will take more time. Rest well before sitting, and persevere. Persistence and regularity are antidotes to pernicious drowsiness. Sporadic drowsiness is easier to deal with:

Get up. Walk around. Go somewhere cooler. Look up into the sky or at bright lights. Exercise. Splash water. Get rested up. Cup your eyes. Breathe fully. Tug on your earlobes. One yoga move, and there are many, was recently co-opted by a famous teacher and dubbed Superbrain Yoga. It's called thoppu karanam: pull your left ear with your right hand, and your right ear with your left while staring straight ahead and repeatedly squatting. It's good for autism and mental wandering (Hinduism Today, Summer 2009). For more simple solutions to boost vitality and energy instantly, see the work of Donna Eden.

DOUBT or nagging, distracting uncertainty (a lack of confi-dence in the Teaching, the Teacher, or the Taught) is overcome in two ways. Simply set it aside for now and meditate. Or get up and get your questions answered. There are many books, many teachers, many ways of explaining.

Entangled, caught in an All-Embracing Net of Views, one will not find a way out. Discursive thinking is a crutch. The way to meditation (kammatthana), to enlightenment (bodhi), or to skill in concentration (samadhi) is NOT thinking. It is not.

Thinking does many amazing things, but it does not lead to the goal (nirvana) nor even mundane accomplishments. Take the first route: suspend disbelief, lay down the doubting mind, abandon reasoning from a position of faulty assumptions. The Truth is true; your thinking won't make it otherwise. The Truth is here to see and inviting. There's a time to argue, a time to study, a time to investigate and question. That time is certainly not when you sit on a mat and cushion.

MEDITATION
Sitting is the time to practice -- like an idyllic childhood spent spinning a wheel with a stick -- mindful, seemingly effortless, accepting what comes along and overcoming simply with peace and persistence. To discouraged Hindus and Christians, this epoch is the dreaded Kali Yuga and the End Times, a dark age but in no way the end in the cycling of time and history. Ultimately and with each decision, we create our world. "Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right!"

Things are what they are. More importantly, a world is what I make of it. Meditation, like life, is a canvass. And any painting is possible. Since things are not directly under our control, we influence and guide our lives. Our decisions and deeds lead to results and fruits, some immediate and some eventual. No one looks back and regrets meditating. But those who regret never starting or not starting sooner are twenty cents for two dozen.

Five Jhana Factors: Crossroads

Absorptions
Five "factors of absorption" (jhana-anga) or liberation are crucial to developing the states of meditation that result in profitable types of consciousness belonging to higher form and formless worlds, like this human plane. They are:

• initial-application (vitakka)
• sustained-application (vicchara)
• keen interest, enthusiasm, or rapture (piti)
• happiness or bliss (sukha)
• single-pointedness (ekaggata)

These five factors are evident in most types of consciousness, including sense-sphere consciousness, even that of some humans.

Hindrances
The Five Hindrances (nivarana) are typical of very low, unprofitable states of consciousness and development -- such as the consciousness of animals (and other less favorably born beings), which is saturated with these factors:

• craving
• ill-will
• drowsiness
• restlessness-worry
• doubt

The presence of these hindrances means that mind is conditioned and manipulated by the variegated stimuli around it.

In opposition to these Five Hindrances are the Five Factors of Absorption. The absorption factors counter and eventually eliminate the hindrances. We can reduce the controlling power of the hindrances to the extent we cultivate the absorption factors.

Crossroads

In a sense we are standing at a crossroads. All these factors, hindering us or leading us to immediate liberation, are present in our minds. The question is, "Do we allow the mental hindrances to dominate, or do we develop the absorption factors?"

The Five Factors of Absorption, or of intensification, can liberate the mind. The contest is important. As long as the hindrances predominate, we are likely to see the results in this life and the next. There's immediate woe and rebirth in unfavorable states.

However, if mind is raised, tuned, and cultivated -- developing the absorption factors -- it effortlessly reaches higher levels of consciousness both here-and-now and in the future, wherever we may go.

The lesson is to regard to the Five Hindrances as an inner or outer undisciplined animal versus a well-trained companion dissuaded from bringing us harm. Regarded in this way, the Five Factors of Absorption are immediately seen as friends, aides, and wondrous powers.

• Reference: Peter Della Santina The Abhidharma

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