Buddhism and the quest for entlightenment - Le Bouddhisme et la recherche de la connaissance

The mental defilements that obstruct the path are known as the “five hindrances” (nīravana). Those obstacles are: sensual desire, ill-will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry, and doubt.

The sensual desire is the first enemy. It is difficult to recognize and eradicate because it is widely accepted in our society: we can find it in adverts, shops, magazines, and everything concerning the interaction between us and the society. It is the defilement that creates the desire and it creates some pleasure when it is satisfied, the one that makes us think “I want a new car”, “I would like to buy a new house”, but also “I am hungry, I want to eat”, “I am tired, I will go to sleep” or “I would like to have a walk”. Those thoughts develop a sense of morbid attachment to the object of our desire, and make us want to keep and own that pleasure again and again: we are not fully satisfied inside ourselves, so we try to fill the vacuum with objects. The happiness and tranquility that come from meditation provide much greater pleasure that satisfying those desires, and reaching a good state of concentration helps to shut up those voices. But this is only a temporary effect, since they restart talking once meditation is interrupted.

The ill will (anger) is the defilement that creates havoc within us and thereby around us; it arises when one feels hurt in some manner and it is an instinctive human reaction. Not everybody starts with inflicting pain on others; some begin by hurting themselves. It is necessary to understand that the only peace that we can experience is the one in our own heart, since that is where everything begins. If we are not able to find peace in ourselves, we will not find it anywhere else. Once the peace has been found, this will have enormous consequences on the world around us, or at least on our family.

Sloth and torpor (greed and hate) are the major components of the human being. We should learn to cultivate the positive and to drop the negative, but it is hard work: it is not something you can fix by sitting and meditating, it is a full time job. In terms of meditation, it is when the mind is not sleeping, but it is not totally awake either: it is a sort of limbo, where no fruitful work is done. There is no energy and no specific direction: the mind has no clear understanding of what it is trying to accomplish.

The Buddha compared sloth and torpor to a prison. When one is in prison in a little cell, there’s nothing one can do until somebody opens the door.

The mind and the body are kept in drowsiness and lethargy. The only way to escape from this is to find a clear direction; one knows one’s path and destination.

Restlessness and worry (depression and excitement) are common enemies. Everybody has met them: they all wait for the right opportunity to appear. Restlessness in mind shows itself in restlessness in the body. It is mostly due to past experiences, all the things that one would have liked to do or not to do. This makes it very difficult to concentrate because it arises very often. Worry is usually about the future and many people are very good at doing this, even if it is absurd and useless because of the amount of various circumstances that may take place.
This does not mean not planning, because planning and worrying are two different things: worry makes our mind tumultuous, and it is nothing more than a constant struggle. restlessness and worry together are called distraction; we forget what we are doing because we are distracted, and we are distracted from what we really want to do, that is to meditate.

Doubt is the last mental enemy. Doubt in one’s own abilities is really damaging for one’s personal growth. Self-confidence arises when we are able to do the things that we set out to do: in terms of meditation this means that one is able to reach a deep state of concentration, the absorption. Self-confidence comes when we realize that we can actually do what we want with our mind, and that we can completely rely on ourselves and our abilities, because our emotions are under control. On the other hand, doubt arises when we are not able to fully commit to our spiritual activity and we are not able to wholly give ourselves, because we cannot love the object of our commitment (e.g. in a wedding). Spiritual commitment is the closest of the unions: it takes the whole person and does not need anything more. In order to successfully complete this path, we must fully give ourselves to it.