Meditation: A Way of Awakening - Chapter Nine

Ajahn Sucitto

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Ajahn Sucitto, an elder western disciple of Ajahn Chah and abbot of Cittaviveka Buddhist Monastery in England, has written a new book entitled Meditation: A Way of Awakening. This book is still in its production phase, and is yet to be printed. However, Abhayagiri Monastery is glad to be able to make this new text available via our website. We will be posting one chapter at a time, each Monday and Friday for six weeks.

The other chapters of this book that have already been published, are available at http://www.abhayagiri.org/index.php/main/teacher_other/C24

Process: Hindrances

When one knows that these five hindrances are cleared, gladness arises...from gladness comes delight, from delight in the mind, the body is calm, with a calm body one feels joy, and with joy, the mind is concentrated. [D 2, 75]

The ‘hindrances’ (nivarana) are mental states that act as obstacles to concentration, clarity and deepening. These are generally listed under five headings: sense-desire (kamacchanda) to which may be appended covetousness (abhijja); ill-will (vyapada); sloth-torpor (thina-middha); restlessness and worry (uddhacca-kukkuccha); and wavering and doubt (vicikiccha).

The hindrances arise as topics – the mind picks up a thought or an image of something to long for or find fault with – and also as energies. That is, there may be agitation (too much energy, not enough centredness); or a stale energy, as in the case of ‘sloth-torpor.’ At times the energy may feel fixated, as when there is obsession and the mind is wrongly centred in ill-will or craving. Sometimes hindrances arise in mixed forms such as boredom, a state which can be a mix of low levels of ill-will, craving for sense contact, and the lack of initiative that characterises the dull mind-state known as ‘sloth-torpor.’

In their mixed and diluted forms hindrances may not be apparent, and may hide behind either attitudes or views. An attitude such as ‘I’m not in the mood for this today’ may be a cover for ill-will or sloth. A view such as ‘I’m not the kind of person who needs to develop awareness’ may again be Page 2 of 13

a mix of hindrances. The world in general bristles with views and attitudes that justify killing as well as other kinds of conduct that lead to conflict and suffering. And these views persist through human history. Therefore one of the founding principles of the Buddha-Dhamma is to investigate the mind; that is, to investigate both the causes and consequences of actions, and the present moment mind-state. This is the process of reflection and ‘deep attention.’ Furthermore, in meditation we are encouraged to investigate the ‘feel’ of any mind-state: is it agreeable, does it feel settled; is it the kind of state that you’d like to continue? Or is it rough, or blurred?

This is a good way to pick out the hindrances: they have a constrictive feel to them. They hinder the brightness, agility and ease of the mind. They create pressure or weigh down on awareness making it fixated or dull. When you investigate beneath the plausible rationale or the glittering attractiveness of a mind-state, you can touch into the feel of the energy of that state. Skilful states, such as compassion or patience, may not be promising you anything; they don’t have a lot of dazzle to them. But beneath the surface they feel strong, clear and bright. Righteousness, on the other hand, can be very convincing, but it feels fixated and harsh and closes the mind down. Sexual desire can have a compelling lustre to it, but beneath the surface of its promises and fantasies it feels hungry and driven. To investigate such phenomena in terms of causes and consequences and in terms of present-moment ‘feel’ leads to great insight. Looking into the underpinnings of what drives, repels and shuts us down shows us how much of this is just assumption and habit. And when we free ourselves from these, there’s a whole new world of potential.

The hindrances are never dispelled by acting on them. So one of the aims of meditation is to clear them, even when they’re just latent tendencies that will flare up sooner or later. To clear them, you have Page 3 of 13

to encounter them – so when you notice a hindrance, that isn’t a disaster, but on par for the course. Nevertheless, until you know how to encounter and clear these hindrances, the mind will always be subject to their contractions, stress and biases. Understanding that makes the meditation keen and important, a sense of ardour (atapi) gets aroused. This quality is a necessary concomitant to Buddhist meditation. It means being keen, alert and ‘on the ball.’ Moreover the experience of how the mind’s awareness feels when it is unhindered (the Buddha likened it to coming out of jail, or recovering from a terrible sickness) ripens that ardour into a mature source of purpose and wisdom.

Even when these hindrances come up, just through tackling them they teach us detachment: they, like our more fortunate states, are events rather than personal possessions.

Below are offered some fronts from which to encounter and clear the hindrances.

Address attention and attitude:

A first step on encountering a hindrance is to check the attention: am I attending to a theme that is useful? To be addressing sources of conflict in one’s life is useful, but only in so far as it doesn’t bed the mind down in ill-will towards others or oneself. Similarly, there’s a time when planning is advisable, but if it serves to overwhelm the mind in restlessness, then stronger mindfulness is necessary. So when there are ‘hot’ topics, topics that carry a lot of charge for us, we need to establish a basis in wise reflection. That is, one considers, in the case of conflict: ‘Conflict is a common part of human experience, not just a personal failing in myself or others. When it occurs, I need to consider what is most important to our well-being – to accept that people see things differently, and to aim to explore our views without creating hurt and harm.’ Or: ‘Uncertainty about the future is a natural state, because the future is the unknown. Rather than try to predict it, or worry about it, the wisest course may be to Page 4 of 13

steady and uplift the mind in the present. Then whatever happens, I’ll be in the optimal state to handle it.’ Reflection like this is called ‘deep attention’ (yoniso manasikara) because while not ignoring the topic, it looks more deeply into causes and consequences around the dynamic within which the topic is held. There may be issues of who has power, of winning and losing self-esteem. We may be berating ourselves because we aren’t living up to the ideal that we’d like to be. We may be lacking in confidence in our capacities. These issues need to be acknowledged so that they don’t add another layer of concern to the topic at hand. But in all of this, deal with one issue at a time, finding out which is the most important one first. Maybe it’s just that we don’t want to deal with conflict! Similarly with craving and ambition: find the time to ask what is really important to you. Could that be found in the present moment by developing a friendlier attitude towards yourself? Skilful inquiry, supported by of mindfulness, and the overriding attitudes of good-will, empathy and letting go can bring around resolution both with others and within ourselves. ( See ‘Deep Attention’ in Chapter 9 for further guidance on this topic).

Sometimes, the wandering mind is just restless and needs simply checking. So as you recognize that it’s drifting, pause, ask ‘Where is my breathing/body/meditation topic right now?’ and let the mind realign its awareness to the theme of meditation. With this, be careful not to add any judgements, impatience or agitation – these will only provide food for further hindrances.

In general, the basic attitude that works best in meditation is to let go of how things should be, and address how things appear to be. Addressing what arises through an attention based on good-will, empathy and letting go helps to lead the mind from a good position, and that in itself can ease the mind out of a hindrance. When we really find value in good-will and letting go, then there’s much less room Page 5 of 13

for hindrances to breed. Regard the mind is a treasure to be guarded, valued and polished: with this attitude one gets to live with the most reliable source of well-being.

Address topics

Sometimes the mind isn’t really interested in the meditation theme, and so it wanders off in all directions. The Buddha recommended that in the same way that a king’s cook watches what food his/her master likes best and then serves them that food, so different themes, or techniques within a theme, work better for different people. The skill is to find what works for you in terms of bringing around an available base for mindfulness.

For example, you may find it better to focus on your spine when sitting, or on the rhythm of breathing, or on the overall sense of the body; or you may find that directing good-will towards your body helps; or a detailed visualisation of the parts…and so on.

Another alternative is one of not having any topic! That is to sustain the overall attitude of good-will, non-forcefulness and letting go, and let the mind wander. Then, wherever the mind’s awareness goes, allow that; wherever it rests or lingers, be light with that and let it pass. Just keep loosening and releasing the mind’s tendency to hold on to a thought or a sensation and make more of it.

When a hindrance has a very strong grip however, it’s not always easy to stay light and let go. Then one may directly address the topic in a way that counters it. This is called ‘patikula’ – ‘countering the affiliation.’

Sensual Desire

In this respect, when the mind is obsessed with sexual desire, or fascination over one’s own or another person’s body, the recommended medicine is to bring to mind and consider the unattractive aspects of the body. Firstly, that the body’s nature is to age and degenerate, and it only looks really attractive through preparation, dressing up, grooming and styling. So one considers the wrinkling and various blemishes that affect the skin, the sagging of Page 6 of 13

the shape of the body, or even what it looks like when one is ill.

Further, one can bring to mind what the body is like under the skin: fluids and membranes and organs that don’t arouse sexual interest, and may even arouse disgust. Playing with the perception of the body in this way helps us to see that desire and fascination isn’t really about the body; it’s more the case that there’s an energy and a view in the mind that projects itself onto the body and dresses it up as something that it really can’t be.

In terms of inanimate objects, ‘covetousness’ – that is hankering after clothes, cars, furnishings, gadgets and so on – the standard countering reflection is to consider how attractive such things will appear in five or ten years’ time. Or to consider them as they deteriorate, break down, or become old-fashioned.

Ill-will

Ill-will takes various forms, but the overall sense is one of contraction. There may be a sense of recoiling with disgust or aversion; or the opposite, a bristling with aggression; or there may be a state of mind that is unresponsive, lacking in empathy or good-will. Admittedly, it’s not sensible to dwell in dangerous situations or be with untrustworthy people, but the withdrawal from those can be through the positive senses of clarity and discernment rather than with a negative attitude. Whenever one feels the absence of willingness to be here or to be with an experience, based on blind reflex, this is ill-will.

It’s surprising, but statistically true, that the greatest percentage of ill-will that we experience is towards ourselves – or, more accurately towards certain perceptions/impressions that we have about ourselves and our behaviour. This is why there is a continual emphasis on establishing good-will and empathy towards oneself as well as towards others, as an overriding attitude. Meditators in general include the practice of loving-kindness/non-aversion (metta) as a meditation theme to return to as a practice in its own right. In brief, this entails checking the blaming, cynical, mean-hearted, or demanding Page 7 of 13

attitude by stopping the flow of the accompanying patterns of thought. After temporarily arresting the line of negative thought, you can then look both at the relief that respite offers, and look for a source of good-will. This may mean acknowledging a good deed, or at least a sincere endeavour of some kind. It may mean recalling an incident in which you felt loved, appreciated or valued. Connecting to that impression and the mood that accompanies it, you then mindfully bear that in mind to allow the mind to fully take in the feeling of non-aversion, non-contraction, or good-will. It’s not a matter of painting everything in rainbow colours, but of acknowledging the damaging effects of ill-will, arresting the flow of thoughts of ill-will, and turning the mind to an impression that encourages it to soften and widen into the health of good-will.

Compassion (karuna) for other people when they are trapped in deluded or abusive behaviour is another way of turning the mind away from blaming and holding grudges. Behaviour is not a person! The way we act is according to inherited programs that we learn or get conditioned into. And although we can cause harm to others, unskilful behaviour is a disease that infects and afflicts our own hearts.

Furthermore, the practice of glad appreciation (mudita) of others’ good fortune, success, or talent combats jealousy and indifference. And finally there is equanimity (upekkha). This is the ability to be present and spacious with any emotional state or personal characteristic – up, down, stuck rigid, or wobbling. Equanimity becomes more readily available as we get to fully understand that mental behaviour is changeable, not an identity, and prone to flaws. Then one doesn’t feel frustrated, impatient or disappointed by the actions of others. Please see the sections on ‘Kindness’ (Chapter 12) and ‘The Sublime States’ (Chapter 11) for detailed instructions on these themes.

Aversion can also be towards inanimate things rather than humans and other creatures – such as towards the flavour of unfamiliar food, or the stain on a carpet. The recommendation here is to Page 8 of 13

regard such things as just what they are, not going in accordance with one’s own preferences. Also things, like excrement, that may fill us with disgust should be regarded as made up of elemental matter. It’s salutary to consider that a morsel of tastefully prepared and garnished food changes from being source of delight to one of disgust within seconds of it being eaten! Which is the true state? Actually, these are just elements and changing impressions.

Sloth-torpor

This manifests as the inability to have a clear focus, or an available source of energy, or a firm attention. The mind is dreamy, resistant to applying any effort, which feels uncomfortable. However, the state of sloth-torpor isn’t comfortable either, and there is an urge to go unconscious, or fall asleep. Here the problem is that the mind doesn’t sustain any topic; the remedy then is to provide simple ones that don’t require a refined focus. Open your eyes to lessen the effect of the dull drifting state. Focus around the eyes and the temples, asking ‘What is felt here?’ Keep the attention active. Check the posture and sweep up the spine, giving energy to supporting a downward push through the tail and the inward curve of the lower back. Straighten out any hunching over in the upper back and neck. Keep attending to the body, slowly and clearly connecting to each part and bringing it to mind. Beware of just reciting the name of the body part that you’re attending to, without bringing to mind an aspect of the sensation or energy that is felt there. If it seems that you’re not feeling anything, note that – how is that? How do you know you have a body? How do you know you’re here?

Restlessness

Restlessness is a prime contender for any available slot in the thinking mind, where it manifests as worry. Worry has an anxious feel to, and is characterised by its inability to arrive at resolution coupled with the compulsion to keep the topic of concern in the spotlight of attention. As far Page 9 of 13

as topics go, it’s good to shift the mind from worrying over details by considering mortality, and also that value and enjoyment are to be found in the present moment. A restless mind is not far from inquiry. The hindrance can be transformed by investigation, so investigate the state to discern the bodily and emotional tones that accompany it. This will turn attention out of the obsession with an unresolvable topic to a place where there is rest: in the simple groundedness of the bones as we sit, stand, walk or recline with mindfulness.

Doubt, wavering

This hindrance flourishes when we expect certainty from the thinking mind. So the overall strategy is to change the mode through which we operate and find definition. For this the inclination has to be towards direct awareness rather than abstract thought.

For example, the topics that arouse doubt may be about one’s worth – but this has to be experienced not as a matter of opinion but through directly acknowledging specific qualities, skilful and unskilful, in the present moment. And what we can know directly is that love or irritation, sadness or joy, form a changing mixture of qualities, and are not a fixed personal possession. All that really rests with us is the awareness of that changeable flux. Of this there is no doubt.

Also, when you have a balanced look into the qualities of mind, that very looking in inclines towards the skilful and feels disturbed by the unskilful. So you also get the sense of your moral intuition, something that your personality may not recognize it has. As long as we don’t recognize our basic goodness, then the mind is uncertain and seeks affirmation through opinions.

Other topical basis for uncertainty is uncertainty about the future, one’s own or that of others. But the future is always unknowable – because it isn’t here yet. And one can’t be what one should or could be and what one is right now at the same time. All that we can directly be aware of is Page 10 of 13

how it is. This may mean that either aspiration or despond is present, but the path is to directly feel out the qualities of those. As we do this, these states tend to transmute into joy, in the case of aspiration, or equanimity in the case of anxiety or despond.

Doubt, or uncertainty, is in many ways a crucial hindrance. It can be the end result of all the others, forming a gulf in our self-confidence or our ability to have access to the Dhamma. It can mount into depression. However, on the other hand, when it is handled skilfully, it can show us the ephemeral nature of what we reach out to, at the same time as revealing an awareness that doesn’t reach forward or back. In this instance it is transmuted from a hindrance that stirs up agitation and gloom, into one of the three signs of release – inconstancy. One of the primary ‘signs’ of Dhamma – inconstancy or change (anicca) – is also that of the uncertainty of the sensory and conceptual world systems that we feel bound to. Then it is a ‘sign’ of insight-wisdom. With this there is release from chasing after certainty in that which is transitory and ephemeral. And also we shift our reliance from thoughts and moods to that of direct mindful awareness. Direct awareness can acknowledge change and uncertainty and stand on its own ground. It is something that is always there, you can depend on it. Uncertainty can then support faith: we can be here with the changeable.

Address Energies

Addressing the energy of a hindrance takes some skill and practice, because the energy I’m referring to is not an area that we are normally familiar with. ‘Energy’ in this instance is not an applied effort, but the involuntary somatic ‘charge,’ like an electric current, that accompanies mental-states. It can be sensed (quite easily with powerful emotions like rage or fear) around the eyes and mouth, in the solar plexus, across the top of the chest, or in the palms of the hands. This somatic energy Page 11 of 13

is the bodily aspect of the energy of the heart, the emotional energy. So when one gets affected, the other does too, and these energies can either bind mental awareness into hindering states, or support the deepening ease of right concentration. Therefore the skill here is to deal with the bodily aspect in a simple mindful way, by spreading a calm and unconstricted awareness over the whole body, bearing the hindrance-energy in mind – rather like smoothing the creases out of a sheet. This ‘smoothing’ of awareness will smooth out and level the energy, and the mind will come out of the hindrance.

Because hindrances may not always be apparent at first, it’s good to check in with the overall state of somatic energy. First of all, get in touch with the sense and sensations of the body and spread awareness over the entirety with the overall attitude of good-will, empathy and letting go. Establish and monitor the upright axis. Then the practice is simply to keep bringing attention to a discernable restrictions or agitation in the energy in parts of the body, steadying attention to receive its changing quality. Explore it, wonder over it: what is it like? This is what resonating is about. It brings a kind of evaluation that has no judgement.

You can then sweep the entire body, a little at a time, and then as a whole, checking for tension or numbness. Massage the body with mental awareness. Mindfulness of breathing is particularly useful because that flow of energy tends to snag or be uneven around unbalanced body energy. It is also the prime means for spreading healthy energy through the body. Breathe through the tightness or the fluttering – with no attempt to change, release or understand anything. Put the attitudes aside, and attend with good-will, empathy and letting go.

With sloth-torpor and restlessness, the need to address the energy in the body and mind is quite obvious.
So when there is restlessness – a tense state in which one feels endlessly busy – how does that express itself in Page 12 of 13

terms of body sensation and energy? What is happening in the chest, back of the head, legs and hands? In this way, restlessness turns into investigative energy needed for insight-wisdom. And the dull low-energy state of sloth-torpor? What helps is not fighting it or trying to generate more energy, but adapting the focus and the pace of the meditation to something that is more compatible. Fighting and struggling just uses more of the limited supply of energy and one gets frustrated and irritable. Drawing attention to the sensations around the eyes, in the neck, the temples, without trying to feel brighter brings around a balance. And in this way, we draw the energy of the hindrances back into the domain of mindfulness of body. Here it adapts, or transmutes, into an equanimous stillness.

With thoughts that depend on and stimulate sense-desire – there is a minor gratification, but the insatiable and restless nature of fantasy is frustrating. And the energy of reaching out is disorienting: we lose where we are. What can help is to acknowledge what the energy is reaching out from: maybe loss, boredom, loneliness....Try keeping the awareness steadily reaching in to the hungry place. Work with suffusing the entire body with the energy that accompanies breathing. Sense-desire is a frustrated wish for comfort. It can turn into warmth and ease if tackled rightly.

Ill-will prevents one’s attention from noticing the place, and the moment where its process begins. Its apparently aggressive energy wants to defend awareness from feeling pain. So don’t fight ill-will! It needs to be understood. Explore the tone of the energy and, breathing into it, relax its agitation. Let the awareness be spacious, and in any pause that occurs, listen in. Be content to do just that; find the right distance, one that doesn’t create pressure. Notice the particular and specific epicentre of the ill-will, rather than the diffusive generalisations. Gather a steady and empathic awareness at a trustable distance around that epicentre. When it isn’t going out into topics, the energy of ill-will adapts to be a source of precise discriminative discernment. Page 13 of 13



Sometimes doubt and wavering are a chronic habit of not firming up into the present moment. Giving specific attention to the body circumvents the flux of opinions. So get familiar with that, and ask the mind to wait in unknowing…to replace conceptual certainty with a receptivity that uses the steadiness of embodiment for support.

Applying attention to the energies that carry the hindrances is a very thorough process that brings around their transmutation. When you address these energies, really attend to the energy you directly experience, and not the notion of what is causing it. Thus: ‘fast moving, agitated, flushing’ rather than ‘angry,’ or: ‘stiff constriction’ rather than ‘fear’ or ‘control.’ This way of practice is aimed at unfolding the tangled energy of the hindrance (rather than the idea of cutting the hindrance out of the mind); therefore, what counts is that the energy of the awareness with which you approach the hindrance is itself open, easeful and empathic. Any judgemental attitudes, however justified they are in rational terms, will add their energies to the current mind-state; and they are less helpful and healing than the direct non-judgemental energy of open steady awareness. Truly, with this mode of relating to our own blocks, shadows and lost places, we can learn about the power of awareness. It’s a whole domain of the mind that can get sidelined. But in meditation, it’s the main focus for development. And right here in the experience of the hindrances, we can realise the power of awareness to heal and make whole. Then the energies that were hindered become a balanced resource.