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Category Archives: General
Doubt
Sensory desire Ill-will Lethargy and drowsiness Restlessness and worry Doubt The last of the five hindrances is doubt, vicikicchā in Pali. To be clear, there are two distinct types of doubt: a hindering, pessimistic doubt, which can stop us in … Continue reading
Posted in Causes and results, Dukkha, General, Hindrances
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Agitation
The fourth in the usual list of five hindrances to meditation (and much else) is restlessness and worry, sometimes “restlessness and remorse”. This is approximately the opposite of lethargy/drowsiness, a mindstate which is like checking out of life. With restlessness/worry … Continue reading
Posted in Causes and results, Dukkha, General, Hindrances, Mindfulness
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Low energy
As a reminder of what we’re exploring, the five hindrances are: Sensory desire Ill-will Lethargy and drowsiness Restlessness and worry Doubt We come now to the third hindrance: lethargy and drowsiness. “Sloth and torpor” has been the standard translation from … Continue reading
Posted in Causes and results, Dukkha, General, Hindrances
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Practicing friendliness
The Buddha, and many teachers after his time, recommended practicing mettā (loving-kindness) regularly as a remedy for the hindrance of ill-will. In this practice, we meet ill-will with mindfulness when it’s present, and when it’s absent, we practice mettā. If we … Continue reading
Posted in Causes and results, Compassion, General, Hindrances, Mindfulness
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Patience
The hindrances are not our fault, but they are our responsibility. Greed and hatred in particular are not things we should blame ourselves for; they are part of the natural, imperfect world. At the same time, if we let them … Continue reading
Posted in Anger, Causes and results, Dukkha, General, Hindrances, Mindfulness, Patience
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Goodbye anger
Confronting our own ill-will is hard, but if we are to make any headway towards a peaceful heart (let alone liberation from all suffering) we must make the effort. Example: Let’s say someone we know makes a forceful, bossy, cutting-off … Continue reading
Posted in Anger, Causes and results, Dukkha, General, Mindfulness, Patience
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Working with desire
Once we’ve been alerted to the dangers of our compulsive or obsessive desire (the first of the five hindrances), how can we address it? The first step is to diagnose the problem: how does a specific desire drive us in … Continue reading
Posted in Causes and results, Dukkha, General, Hindrances, Intoxicants, Mindfulness
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