Hindrances in Meditation
January 12th, 2008 · 5 Comments
Meditation is the cornerstone of Buddhist practice. It can not be overstated. The pure act of meditation is the vehicle by which self knowledge is achieved. We as practitioners of meditation, if we are to be successful, need to be aware of the factors that impede our personal achievements in meditation. Theravada Buddhism stresses the need for meditation using the technique known as Vipassana or Insight Meditation.
There are found in Buddhism chiefly two types of meditation techniques. The Buddha developed two interrelated systems of meditation which enabled him to achieve enlightenment. The first meditational system is called the development of serenity or tranquility (samathabhavana).
The practice of samatha, also called Samadhi meditation, produces a calm, serene, and concentrated mind. In this format you are learning to concentrate and distill your mind into a single subject or thought direction. The benefits of this style are characterized by inner peace, and sense of a unified self. Having a firm calm interior is essential in developing a base by which self introspection and self knowledge are possible. It is fundamental to other levels of meditation, that you practice centering the self and improving your ability to concentrate on a single subject. You will develop the skill of not allowing distractions to remain as an impediment to your meditation and your commitment to understanding the self improves through practice.
The reasoning behind concentration and centering is to quell the agitations of the body and psyche. Practicing calmness helps to naturally suppress the mental irritations that impede good spiritual development. These mental impediments are called the Five Hindrances (pancanivarana):
1. Sensual Desire (kamachanda) is the desiring of pleasant sights and sounds, smells, tastes, and feeling of the body. Here you find yourself spending long periods of time thinking about body needs or sensory triggers. Imaginings and attachment to feelings as well as sexual preoccupation are found here.
2. Ill-Will (byapada) is having or harboring bad thoughts or having a disdain or hatred for things, events and, most often, people.
3. Sloth and torpor (thinamiddha) is a heaviness or sleepiness that beginners often find it necessary to overcome.
4. Restlessness and worry (uddhaccakukkuca) is mental activity which is uncontrolled. Remorse, preoccupations with work, time watching and inability to relax are manifestations of this hindrance.
5. Skeptical doubt (vicikiccha) is having an uncertainty about the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha — the Triple Gem — and a lack of confidence that the result of using the training will be to make a difference. Will it be worth the the effort?
The goal of meditation is akin to that of Buddhism in general. It is a way to reduce suffering. As these hindrances arise and affect our meditations, our ability to maintain a calm and serene countenance is drastically reduced. When this occurs, our ability to lessen our own suffering is as well similarly reduced.
I would offer these four basic steps in your quest to develop Samadhi meditation.
1. At the outset develop a suitable meditation place. The choosing of a place to meditate is crucial. Stay away from areas like your favorite easy chair, your bed or favorite place at the family table. Your body is already “function conditioned” to these locations.
2. Practice to first learn the basic step of keeping focused on a certain idea, thought or object.
3. Try to recognize the hindrances as they arise and begin to suppress them. Do not be dismayed by your temporary inability to partially suppress mental irritations.
4. Begin to realize your efforts. At this stage you will to be able to fully concentrate on the idea, thought or subject of your meditation. With practice your meditations grow in length and productivity. Your abilities to concentrate strengthen and the mind is able to remain focused for longer and longer periods of time.
When you start the meditation practice, in this method you must select an object, thought or idea as your point of genesis. There are a number of suitable subjects to choose from. You might try watching your breath (anapanasati) or trying the loving-kindness meditation often referred to as (metta) meditation. Other meditations you want to try later are meditation on feelings (vedanānupassanā) and meditations on the body (kāyānupassana).
Vipassana meditation rests on the foundations that have been formed by understanding the theory and practice of Samadhi meditation. It is important to note that the word Vipassana is a compound word of two parts vi-passana.
Vi meaning to “divide or separate”, and passana meaning “seeing”.
The mind exists in elemental parts. Vipassana attemps to separate the mind parts from the body. This is a special skill that is developed through the practice of Vipassana mediation. Why would we want to do this? The purpose of this meditation is to provide for us a view of what the mind and body connection actually is.
At the outset we need to have a list of the characteristics of life.
They are:
1. Impermanence (annica)
2. Suffering (dukkha)
3. Non-self (anatta)
The center of vipassana or insight meditation is aimed at penetrating these three characteristics. Insight meditation is a journey. Essentially it is a journey of the self into the body and mind and the influences of the senses. We are a product of conditioning. Conditioning is like a training of the mind and body. If we can see the correlations and connections between senses, perception, mind and body, we can learn to understand suffering and its causation.
To understand suffering we must first be able to clearly see it. Suffering is caused by clinging or attachment. Attachment is not easy to identify without knowing the objects of attachment. Buddhism identifies these items as the Five Aggregates of clinging (pancuppadanakhanda):
1. Material form (rupa)
2. Sensations or clinging (vedana)
3. Perception (sanna)
4. Volitional formations (sankhara)
5. Consciousness (vinnana)
The Buddha emphasized the importance of meditation in the daily life of everyone. It is notable that in his time he felt it crucial for people to stay grounded in everyday life.
Remarkably he said this over 2600 years ago.
Insight meditation helps us develop the ability to see through the hindrances of the mind, dissolve the power of the ego and become very well acquainted with who we are.
We need to remember when we go out into the world our mind and body go with us. The mind is the instrument by which we stay in contact with the world. It is also the instrument we use to remain in contact with ourselves. If there is a lack of self then we suffer. If we suffer then others around us suffer.
We must develop empathy for feelings of others. Developing empathy for the feelings of others emerges out of a deeper love for others and an understanding of ourselves which is achieved through meditation. True empathy changes behavior. By understanding ourselves and what causes us to suffer, we can relate to others and their suffering even if we can not relate to the cause of the suffering.
Buddhism is a thinking person’s faith. We urge meditators to use discernment and practice openly and freely. Buddhism is a down to earth wisdom. It teaches us to shake off the sensual and sexual obsessions, recognize the elements of frustration and suffering and awaken to our individual possibilities.
When things trouble us we need to look at the source. Four things matter. Life is suffering. Realize the causes of suffering. Liberation exists for the suffering, and there is a way to achieve it.
Continue to practice the meditation experience. It is a path. By being true to ourselves we can follow the path that much easier. Our lives and the relationships we have benefit from the practice of meditation. The experiences of enlightenment come in small moments for most of us. Our lives are filled with so much that it is important to recognize the moments of peace and calm.
It is the goal we give to ourselves. Peace and calm.
I Wish You Peace,
Bhante Kassapa
Bhante n. Kassapa Bhikkhu
bhante_kassapa@yahoo.com
Buu Mon Temple
Port Arthur, Texas, 77640
409.982.9319
Gregor on January 17th, 2008
Bhante Kassapa,
Thank you so much for this. I found it to be perhaps the best brief introduction to Vipassana I’ve encountered. It’s very auspicious that I found this tonight. I’ve been trying to build my meditation practice and this article has really helped me. I am going to print it out and use it as a reference for my practice.
take care,
Gregory
Bhante n. Kassapa Bhikkhu on January 17th, 2008
Gregory,
Thank you for the kindness of your thoughts. Meditation practice is easy to teach but hard to practice. But the key word is ‘practice’. If ever I can be of help, please let me know. Many Blessings to you and your efforts as you follow the path.
Bhante K.
Gregor on January 19th, 2008
Bhante Kassapa,
Thank you for you generous offer of support. I will try my best to head your advice and keep to the ‘practice’. I will not hesitate to seek your guidance when I need it.
Best wishes,
Greg
CHEAH GUAT HONG on March 13th, 2008
I have been meditating daily for more than 15 years,40 minutes daily and find no sign of nibbana closeby.There are only dhamma realisations that push me not to give up my practice. Iam almost 53 years old and worries whether I will have enough time to enter the stream. I note rising and falling as trying anapanasati makes my head hangs. Bhante, Iappreciate your advice.
Bhante n. Kassapa Bhikkhu on March 14th, 2008
Hello CHEAH GUAT HONG,
The realizations you have come to understand mean you are in the stream. Has your meditation practice changed you? When you look at a glass of water sitting on a table observe the parts, as well as the sum total. In other words it makes no difference whether the glass is half full or have empty. It is a glass. It holds a quantity of water. It sits upon a table. Waiting for something to happen in your meditation is like waiting for a pot to begin boiling. It seems as though the water will never boil.
We enter our meditation for a myriad of reasons. We need to be like a scientist peering through a microscope. We are there to observe. It is when we place a judgment on the experience that experience is changed. Waiting for something to happen is not being mindful to the present. It is very possible to become attached to an idea, or a desired outcome. Attachment of course is the core of suffering.
Please try to accept the quietness and dhamma realizations that come to you. They are your teachings. Your mindfulness is the key. I acknowledge that it may be very natural for us to categorize and label or define all of our experiences as they happen. However our goal is to allow the experience the freedom to exist and then allow it to pass without an attachment, or comment. It can be as natural as the rising and falling of the breath. It is a skill than can be learned.
Yesterday is the parent of today. In the same way that today is the parent of tomorrow. The goal is to be present to today. In that way you are aware of the stream around you. I wish you success and offer my blessing to you. Thank-you for your question. I hope the answer helps. If I can be of help please feel free to call upon me.
I wish you Peace.
Bhante K.