Mindfulness of Dhammas: The Hindrances Summary

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness (pp.125-134)

Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening (pp. 121-129) 

The hindrances have an unwholesome effect on our minds.  It is necessary to abandon them before moving on to the next dhammas.  “He (the Buddha) said that when attended to carelessly, “these five hindrances are makers of blindness, causing lack of vision, causing lack of knowledge, detrimental to wisdom, tending to vexation, leading away from nibbāna.” But when we attend to these states carefully, we learn to see into their empty, transparent nature and no longer get so caught up in their seductive power. They then become the focus of our mindfulness and the very vehicle of our awakening.”  Goldstein, Joseph. Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening 

Below is a summary of the Five Hindrances.  For a printed copy, Mindfulness of Dhammas Hindrances Summary  Please refer to the preceding talks for more detail.   

 

Reflection

  • Review this summary and reflect on it.
  • Observe the arising of the hindrances in your life, when they are present or absent, the conditions that cause them to arise and the conditions that cause them to fall away. Practice mindful prevention. Can you experience the absence of the hindrances?

Meditation

  • Meditate using the mindfulness of the breath technique and focus your insight meditation on the hindrances,

Next: [next_page]
Previous: [previous_page]