Obstacles or Hindrances

“When we’re not mindful of them, the hindrances envelop the mind and obstruct it from developing wise discernment regarding skillful and unskillful actions. They hinder the mind’s developing concentration and other awakening factors, and they prevent the realization of the four noble truths. In order to proceed on the path, we first need to know how to work skillfully with what impedes our journey.”

The Five Hindrances:

Desire

Aversion

Sloth & Torpor

Restlessness & Worry

Doubt

Skillful vs Unskillful:

Skillful actions lead to happiness and liberation; unskillful actions lead to suffering.

Four Noble Truths:

1. There is suffering (stress, unsatisfactoriness, etc)

2. The cause of discretionary (unavoidable) suffering is craving (fever of unsatisfied longing)

3. There is an end to discretionary suffering

4. The path to ending discretionary suffering is the eight-fold path: right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.

Joseph Goldstein. "Mindfulness. A Practical Guide to Awakening." Sounds True, 2013.