THE FIVE HINDRANCES

This category gathers excerpts on the Five Hindrances (nīvaraṇa) — sensual desire, ill-will, sloth & torpor, restlessness & worry, and doubt — including how they arise and how to understand them as conditions rather than personal failures.

THE EXCERPTS

001 ‣ Recognizing Absence and Presence of Wisdom (18) 002 ‣ Difference Between Reality & Concept (52) 003 ‣ Facing Suffering Directly to Learn (65) 004 ‣ Why There is Difficulty in Observing Habitual Objects (96) 005 ‣ Any Object Can Be Used to Cultivate Quality of Mind (126) 006 ‣ Trying Not to Complain is Trying Too Hard (131) 007 ‣ The Two Ways Defilements Disappear (151) 008 ‣ Cultivating the Wholesome Mind Reduces the Power of Defilements (153) 009 ‣ Meditation is Awareness, Not Pain (177) 010 ‣ How to Observe when Experiencing Doubt (203) 011 ‣ When the Mind is Too Tired to Maintain Mindfulness During Meditation (232) 012 ‣ Using Feelings as an Anchor to Recognize the Hindrance (253) 013 ‣ Defilements Increase when We Pay Attention without Right View (261) 014 ‣ We’re Interested in the Thinking Mind, Not the Thinking (268) 015 ‣ If You Don’t Know Your Mind, There is No Way it Can Rest (270) 016 ‣ Our Responsibility is Right Thinking: Awareness and Interest (306) 017 ‣ When the Mind Pays Attention without Right View, Defilement Increases (314) 018 ‣ When Lobha is Present, Awareness-wisdom Cannot Be Present (335) 019 ‣ Is Defilement Good or Bad? (346) 020 ‣ Sayadaw’s Approach to Metta Practice (350) 021 ‣ When the Mind Really Understands, Realization Occurs (362) 022 ‣ Awareness Has to Be Consistent for Wisdom to Arise (374) 023 ‣ Why Meditation is a Life-long Practice (394) 024 ‣ Yogis Regard Dosa an Enemy and Craving a Best Friend (404) 025 ‣ When the Mind Tries to Control the Experience, Wisdom Cannot Arise (405)

026 ‣ Thinking is Not a Problem; It’s a Function of the Mind (416) 027 ‣ Learning How to Watch an Experience with Equanimity (419) 028 ‣ Meditation Cannot Improve without Right Understanding and Right Attitude (421) 029 ‣ Different Defilements Express Their Nature Through Different Thoughts (450) 030 ‣ Be Aware Too when the Mind is Enjoying, Not Only when the Mind Suffers (501) 031 ‣ Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw’s Advice: Ground Our Conceptual World on Reality (539) 032 ‣ Advice on How Not to Let Tension Escalate (581) 033 ‣ The Mind Naturally Sees More when Awareness is Continuous (587) 034 ‣ The Principle that Applies to Meditation Also Applies to Life (593) 035 ‣ Dhammanupassana – Watching Different Minds Doing Different Jobs (597) 036 ‣ Just Keep Knowing without Having to Analyse – Very Simple (601) 037 ‣ Simply Be Aware Until Wisdom Arises (604) 038 ‣ It’s How the Mind Views that Gives Rise to Emotion (606) 039 ‣ Sayadaw’s Tip on How to Deal with Any Defilement (608) 040 ‣ Notice the Operating Quality that is Driving Thoughts and Feelings (610) 041 ‣ Right Thoughts and Wrong Thoughts During the Practice (643) 042 ‣ Recognize that the Process of Meditation Has Benefits (645) 043 ‣ To Know Whether Defilement Disappears Through Wisdom or Concentration (701) 044 ‣ Awareness Frees the Mind from Papanca (712) 045 ‣ Why We Need to Practice All the Time (713) 046 ‣ Motivation Determines If the Practice is Right or Wrong (723) 047 ‣ The Awareness Matters, Not the Experience (734) 048 ‣ Checking the Relationship Between the Mind and Object is Investigation (750) 049 ‣ Awareness Itself is Wholesome (755) 050 ‣ We Can Know the Thinking Mind (756)

051 ‣ During Samadhi Keep Vigilant on the Quality of Awareness (759) 052 ‣ All Automatic Actions Are Unwholesome (765) 053 ‣ Change Happens Because of the Practice (779) 054 ‣ Don’t Be Fixated in Ideas of Practice; Discover for Ourselves What Works (782) 055 ‣ How to Investigate when Mindfulness is Stable (803) 056 ‣ How to Discern Between Disenchantment and Depression (821) 057 ‣ Question What is Physical and What is Mental (823) 058 ‣ Rather than Try to Be Mindful, it is Better to Just Check (836) 059 ‣ Only Awareness Has to Be Stable for Wisdom to Arise (842) 060 ‣ How to Proceed when Defilements Strive for Practice (909) 061 ‣ Never Mind the Result; Just Be Interested in the Process of Practising (915) 062 ‣ Notice the Unwholesome Motivations Pushing Us (926) 063 ‣ Notice Cause-effect Nature in the Practice (941) 064 ‣ When the Mind Changes, the Experience Will Be Different (969) 065 ‣ Just Be Aware of What is There (992) 066 ‣ When Everything Feels Like the Same Old Thing (1011) 067 ‣ When There’s Wisdom, the Object Feels Less Substantial (1015) 068 ‣ Mind-body Interaction (1023) 069 ‣ Repeated Awareness Brings in Wisdom (1047) 070 ‣ Do What it Takes to Support the Awareness (1063) 071 ‣ Different Minds Have Different Functions (1104) 072 ‣ Aversion Arises Because of Greed or Delusion (1108) 073 ‣ Greed Does Not Arise Because of Aversion (1116) 074 ‣ When Wisdom is Lacking, Just Be Aware – Don’t Think (1120) 075 ‣ Letting the Practice Happen by Itself (1125)

076 ‣ Try Not to Identify with the Unwholesome Qualities (1136) 077 ‣ Learning from the Worrying Mind (1164) 078 ‣ Dealing with Tiredness (1190) 079 ‣ The Power of Right View (1194) 080 ‣ Getting Restless from Over Exerting (1241) 081 ‣ Wanting to See the Object Clearer (1242) 082 ‣ Watch the Feeling and Not Think of What Agitates the Mind (1264) 083 ‣ Piti Joy is the Result of Wholesome Minds Not Akusala Minds (1267) 084 ‣ Learn to Be Aware of Bad Situations (1277) 085 ‣ Past Lives Disturb the Mind During Meditation (1280) 086 ‣ Recognizing Greed is Also Something Yogis Need to Appreciate (1287) 087 ‣ Use All Experiences to Grow the Awareness-wisdom (1288) 088 ‣ Asking Advice on Understanding Own Practice (1312) 089 ‣ Attitude is Also Conditioned (1327) 090 ‣ Activate the Mind to Overcome Sleepiness (1336) 091 ‣ Balancing Lay Life with Meditation (1338) 092 ‣ Feeling is Different from Lobha, Dosa and Moha (1344) 093 ‣ Clarifying a Wrong Idea (1356) 094 ‣ Restlessness Arising from Discontent (1357) 095 ‣ Make Use of Defilements to Cultivate Sati, Samadhi and Panna (1367) 096 ‣ The Right Approach to Home Practice (1372) 097 ‣ Learn How to Watch So that Understanding Can Arise (1399) 098 ‣ Anger Arises Because of Lobha (1414) 099 ‣ The Practice of Watching with Wisdom (1423) 100 ‣ When the Mind Says it is Very Important (1445)

101 ‣ If We Watch the Mind Processes, We’ll See More of Anatta (1456) 102 ‣ How to Really Relax? (1473) 103 ‣ The Mind is Equanimous Although the Object is Suffering (1479) 104 ‣ Learning the Extremes to Understand the Middle Way (1484) 105 ‣ Anger Arises Because of Craving or Ignorance (1505) 106 ‣ Awareness Recognizes All that is Happening (1506) 107 ‣ Noticing the Nature of Dosa (1535) 108 ‣ When We Discern Between Awareness and the Object, Stay with Awareness (1550) 109 ‣ The Middle Way when We Meditate (1588) 110 ‣ Our Mind is Never Stable (1599) 111 ‣ What to Do with Worry and Anxiety (1624) 112 ‣ Wisdom Pays Attention to Reality (1625) 113 ‣ Meditation is Good when Awareness Improves, Not when the Mind is Calm (1683) 114 ‣ When Calm Leads to Drowsiness (1690) 115 ‣ The Process of Checking Our Attitude (1707) 116 ‣ Changing from Concept to Reality Frees the Mind (1732) 117 ‣ Identification is Wrong View (1765)

THE DISCUSSIONS

001 ‣ Five Sense Objects and Five Strands of Sensual Pleasure (1) 002 ‣ Make Sure the Attitude is Right (2) 003 ‣ Why Meditation Feels Different Each Day (11) 004 ‣ Can Meditation Cure Diseases? (13) 005 ‣ Those Who Rely on Objects and Those Who Don’t (15) 006 ‣ Wishing to Understand or Just Wanting to Fix (17) 007 ‣ Right Effort Vs Wrong Effort (26) 008 ‣ Less Wanting, Less Dissatisfaction, Less Thinking (34) 009 ‣ Why Meditation Feels Tiring (and How to Practise Wisely) (43) 010 ‣ Keep Practising — or Defilements Will Regain Strength (47) 011 ‣ How to Make the Best Use of Arising Defilements (Unwholesome Thoughts) (50) 012 ‣ Is it Wrong If We Drink Alone without Disturbing Others? (56) 013 ‣ To Find the Root of Defilement, Don’t Think but Look (60)