Buddhism Now
In the Theravada tradition there is something called the five hindrances, the five obstacles — anger, attachment, dullness and sleepiness, restlessness, and doubt or hesitation. And as I am sure many people know, these five characters tend to visit us rather frequently.
Sometimes they take turns; sometimes they all call together; sometimes they go away after a while; sometimes they stay — it varies.
In some deep sense, these five are the five representatives of nonpeace. If we start meeting with them through the practice, especially when we begin the spiritual path, we may realize that there is radical agitation in us and superficial peace. We may also realise that we want the opposite — we want radical peace and superficial agitation. But this takes work. (more…)
Filed under: Buddhist meditation, Corrado Pensa, Metta, Theravada | Tagged: avijja, Corrado Pensa, Discourses of the Buddha, five hindrances, Marcelle Hanselaar, Nikayas, Theravada, Thich Nhat Hanh | 2 Comments »
