Agony and Ecstasy
A comparative study of the five hindrances, together with the five states of concentration or mental absorption.
A comparative study of the five hindrances, together with the five states of concentration or mental absorption.
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26<br />
“Noddest thou, Moggallāna, dozest thou? If, while thou abidest<br />
thoughtful, drowsiness comes over thee, take no heed of it, make no<br />
ado of that. Or if it pass not, then shouldst thou ponder in thy heart<br />
on the Dhamma, as heard <strong>and</strong> mastered, then explore it <strong>and</strong> with<br />
thy mind review it. Or thou shouldst repeat the Dhamma in detail.<br />
Or thou shouldst pull both earlobes <strong>and</strong> knead the limbs with thy<br />
h<strong>and</strong>. Or thou shouldst arise from sitting, clean thine eyes with water,<br />
survey the horizon <strong>and</strong> gaze up at the starry constellations. Or<br />
thou shouldst apply thy mind to the thought of light, fix thy mind<br />
on the thought of day—as by day, so by night—as by night, so by<br />
day. Thus, with mind unhindered <strong>and</strong> unhampered. thou shouldst<br />
make thy thought become radiant. Or with sense withdrawn, the<br />
mind not outward gone, thou shouldst fix thy thought on walking,<br />
conscious of thy movements, to <strong>and</strong> fro. Or if all that fails to shake<br />
off torpor, thou shouldst lion-like lie down on thy right side, foot<br />
covering foot, mindful, self-possessed, thy mind set on arising; <strong>and</strong><br />
on awakening get up quickly, thinking: I will not live yoked to the<br />
pleasures of sleeping, reclining <strong>and</strong> drowsiness” (A. VII. 6. 58).<br />
The fact that torpor (middha) is counted as a mental factor<br />
(cetasikā), while otherwise it is explained as physical drowsiness, is<br />
not a contradiction; for, by the word ‘body’ (kāya) here are understood<br />
sensation (vedanā), perception (saññā) <strong>and</strong> mental formations<br />
(saṅkhāra) through which we have subjective experience of bodily<br />
states, objectively conceived. Hence, sloth (thīna) is confined to consciousness<br />
(viññāṇa) with its representative <strong>and</strong> reflexive knowledge,<br />
while torpor (middha) is found in the other three mental aggregates<br />
(kh<strong>and</strong>ha). They are always unskilful, because they are tendencies<br />
to vegetate, leading to unawareness, following the path of the least<br />
resistance.<br />
In combination, the twin set of sloth <strong>and</strong> torpor (thinamiddha)<br />
forms one of the five hindrances (pañca nīvaranāni), which constitutes<br />
an obstacle on the path of ethical <strong>and</strong> spiritual progress. This<br />
state of apathy <strong>and</strong> insensibility could have its origin in a disor-
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