CHAPTER 37
NĪVARANA OR HINDRANCES
"There are these five corruptions of the
heart, tainted by which the heart is neither soft, nor pliable, nor
gleaming, nor easily broken up, nor perfectly composed for the
destruction of the corruptions."
-- SAMYUTTA NIKĀYA
Nīvarana
(Ni + var, to hinder, to obstruct) is that which hinders one's
progress or that which obstructs the path to Emancipation and heavenly
states. It is also explained as that which "muffles, enwraps, or trammels
thought."
There are five kinds of Nīvaranas or
Hindrances. They are: i. Sensual desires (Kāmacchanda), ii. Illwill
(Vyāpāda), iii. Sloth and Torpor (Thīna-Middha), iv.
Restlessness and Worry (Uddhacca-Kukkucca), and v. Doubts (Vicikicchā).
1. Kāmacchanda means
sensual desires or attachment to pleasurable sense-objects such as
form, sound, odour, taste, and contact. This is regarded as one of the
Fetters, too, that bind one to Samsāra.
An average person is bound to get tempted by
these alluring objects of sense. Lack of self-control results in the
inevitable arising of passions. This Hindrance is inhibited by
One-pointedness (Ekaggatā), which is one of the five
characteristics of Jhānas. It is attenuated on attaining Sakadāgāmi and is
completely eradicated on attaining Anāgāmi. Subtle forms of attachment
such as Rūpa Rāga and Arūpa Rāga (Attachment to Realms of Form and
Formless Realms) are eradicated only on attaining Arahantship.
The following six conditions tend to the
eradication of sense-desires:-- i. perceiving the loathsomeness of the
object, ii. constant meditation on loathsomeness, iii. sense-restraint,
iv. moderation in food, v. good friendship, and vi. profitable talk.
2. Vyāpāda is illwill or
aversion. A desirable object leads to attachment, while an undesirable
one leads to aversion. These are the two great fires that burn the whole
world. Aided by ignorance these two produce all sufferings in the world.
Illwill is inhibited by Pīti or joy
which is one of the Jhāna factors. It is attenuated on attaining
Sakadāgāmi and is eradicated on attaining Anāgāmi.
The following six conditions tend to the
eradication of illwill:-- i. perceiving the object with thoughts of
goodwill, ii. constant meditation on loving-kindness (Mettā), iii.
thinking that Kamma is one's own, iv. adherence to that view, v. good
friendship, and vi. profitable talk.
3. Thīna or Sloth is explained as
a morbid state of the mind, and Middha as a morbid state of the
mental states. A stolid mind is as "inert as a bat hanging to a tree,
or as molasses cleaving to a stick, or as a lump of butter too stiff for
spreading". Sloth and torpor should not be understood as bodily
drowsiness, because Arahants, who have destroyed these two states, also
experience bodily fatigue. These two promote mental inertness and are
opposed to strenuous effort (Viriya). They are inhibited by the
Jhāna factor (Vitakka, or Initial Application), and are eradicated
on attaining Arahantship.
The following six conditions tend to the
eradication of Sloth and Torpor:-- i. reflection on the object of
moderation in food, ii. changing of bodily postures, iii. contemplation on
the object of light; iv. living in the open, v. good friendship and vi.
profitable talk.
4. Uddhacca is mental restlessness
or excitement of the mind. It is a mental state associated with all
types of immoral consciousness. As a rule an evil is done with some
excitement or restlessness.
Kukkucca is worry. It is
either repentance over the committed evil or over the unfulfilled good.
Repentance over one's evil does not exempt one from its inevitable
consequences. The best repentance is the will not to repeat that evil.
Both these hindrances are inhibited by the
Jhāna factor Sukha or happiness.
Restlessness is eradicated on attaining
Arahantship, and worry is eradicated on attaining Anāgāmi.
The following six conditions tend to the
eradication of these two states:-- i. erudition or learning. ii.
questioning or discussion, iii. understanding the nature of the Vinaya
discipline, iv. association with senior monks, v. good friendship and
vi. profitable talk.
5. Vicikicchā is doubt or
indecision. That which is devoid of the remedy of wisdom is
vicikicchā (vi - devoid; cikicchā - wisdom). It
is also explained as vexation due to perplexed thinking (vici --
seeking; kicchā -- vexation).
Here it is not used in the sense of doubt
with regard to the Buddha etc., for even non-Buddhists inhibit
vicikicchā and gain Jhānas. As a fetter, vicikicchā is
that doubt about Buddha etc., but as a hindrance it denotes unsteadiness
in one particular thing that is being done. The commentarial explanation
of vicikicchā is the inability to decide anything definitely that
it is so. In other words, it is indecision.
This state is inhibited by the Jhāna
factor: Vicāra, Sustained Application. It is eradicated on
attaining Sotāpatti.
The following six conditions tend to its
eradication:--
i. knowledge of the Dhamma and
Vinaya,
ii. discussion or questioning,
iii. understanding of the nature of the Vinaya Discipline,
iv. excessive confidence,
v. good friendship, and
vi. profitable talk.
---o0o---
Top | Contents | 01
| 02
| 03
| 04 | 05
| 06
| 07
| 08
| 09
| 10
| 11
| 12
| 13
| 14
| 15
| 16
| 17
| 18
| 19
| 20
| 21
| 22
| 23 | 24 |
25
| 26
| 27
| 28
| 29
| 30
| 31
| 32
| 33
| 34
| 35
| 36
| 37
| 38
| 39
| 40
| 41
| 42
| 43
| 44
---o0o---
Source : BuddhaSasana website, http://www.budsas.org
---o0o---
Layout: My Hanh - Thien Hung
Update : 01-10-2002
