In the Buddhist tradition, the five hindrances (; Pali: ') are identified as mental factors that hinder progress in meditation and in daily life. In the Theravada tradition, these factors are identified specifically as obstacles to the jhÃÂnas (stages of concentration) within meditation practice. Contemporary Insight Meditation teachers identify the five hindrances as obstacles to mindfulness meditation.
Within the Mahayana tradition, the five hindrances are obstacles to samadhi. They are part of the two types of obstructions (Sanskrit: ÃÂvaraá¹Âa), i.e. the obstacles to Buddhahood. The two types of obstructions are afflictive obstructions (Sanskrit: kleà ÂÃÂvaraá¹Âa, which include the standard five hindrances) and cognitive obstructions (jñeyÃÂvaraá¹Âa, which can only be removed by bodhisattvas).
The classic list of five hindrances is:
According to Gil Fronsdal, the Pali term nëvaraá¹Âa means covering. Fronsdal states that these hindrances cover over: the clarity of our mind, and our ability to be mindful, wise, concentrated, and stay on purpose.
According to Rhys Davids, the Pali term nëvaraá¹Âa (Sanskrit: nivÃÂraá¹Âa) refers to an obstacle or hindrance only in the ethical sense, and is usually enumerated in a set of five.
In the Pali Canon's Samyutta Nikaya, several discourses juxtapose the five hindrances with the seven factors of enlightenment (bojjhanga). For instance, according to SN 46.37, the Buddha stated:
AnÃÂlayo underlines:
AnÃÂlayo further supports this by identifying that, in all extant Sanskrit and Chinese versions of the Satipatthana Sutta, only the five hindrances and seven factors of enlightenment are consistently identified under the dhamma contemplation section; contemplations of the five aggregates, six sense bases and Four Noble Truths are not included in one or more of these non-Pali versions.
In terms of gaining insight into and overcoming the Five Hindrances, according to the Satipatthana Sutta, the Buddha proclaimed:
Each of the remaining four hindrances are similarly treated in subsequent paragraphs.
The Buddha gives the following analogies in the Samaññaphala Sutta (DN 2, "The Fruits of the Contemplative Life"):
Similarly, in the SagÃÂrava Sutta (SN 46.55), the Buddha compares sensual desire with looking for a clear reflection in water mixed with lac, turmeric and dyes; ill will with boiling water; sloth-and-torpor with water covered with plants and algae; restlessness-and-worry with wind-churned water; and, doubt with water that is "turbid, unsettled, muddy, placed in the dark."
According to the first-century CE exegetic Vimuttimagga, the five hindrances include all ten fetters: sense desire includes any attachment to passion; ill will includes all unwholesome states of hatred; and, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry, and doubt include all unwholesome states of infatuation. The Vimuttimagga further distinguishes that "sloth" refers to mental states while "torpor" refers to physical states resultant from food or time or mental states; if torpor results from food or time, then one diminishes it through energy; otherwise, one removes it with meditation. In addition, the Vimuttimagga identifies four types of doubt:
According to Buddhaghosa's fifth-century CE commentary to the Samyutta Nikaya ('), one can momentarily escape the hindrances through jhanic suppression or through insight while, as also stated in the Vimuttimagga, one eradicates the hindrances through attainment of one of the four stages of enlightenment (see Table 1).
The five mental factors that counteract the five hindrances, according to the Theravada tradition:
MahÃÂyÃÂna Buddhist thought focuses on the concept of the ÃÂvaraá¹Âas (Sanskrit, âÂÂobstructionâ or âÂÂhindranceâÂÂ; Tibetan: sgrib pa; Chinese: zhang) refers to impediments on the path to Buddhahood. MahÃÂyÃÂna Buddhism recognizes two primary types of ÃÂvaraá¹Âa:
Afflictive obstructions hinder liberation, while cognitive obstructions block omniscience. Buddhas alone transcend both, achieving complete insight into all objects of knowledge. In YogÃÂcÃÂra sources, cognitive obstructions are linked to mistaken perceptions and conceptualizations. These are addressed through advanced practices on the Bodhisattva path, including mastery of the six perfections (pÃÂramitÃÂs).
According to Xuanzang's Cheng Weishi Lun (VijñaptimÃÂtratÃÂsiddhi), there are ten specific ÃÂvaraá¹Âas which correspond to the stages of the Bodhisattva path (daà Âabhà «mi). These are: