The five hindrances: what they are and how to overcome each one

The five hindrances are five states that keep the mind from calm and wisdom: their meaning in the Navakovada, examples, the similes in the suttas and a remedy for each

The five hindrances are five states of mind that keep it from settling and from wisdom: sensual desire (kāmacchanda), ill will (byāpāda), dullness and drowsiness (thinamiddha), restlessness and remorse (uddhaccakukkucca), and doubt (vicikicchā). The word hindrance translates the Pali nīvaraṇa, a barrier or a covering. Everyone who meditates meets the hindrances. Meeting them does not mean you are doing it wrong; it is a chance to get to know your own mind. This page explains what the five hindrances are according to the Navakovada, what each one means, the similes in the suttas, a remedy for each one, and examples from everyday life.

What are the five hindrances? The Navakovada's wording

The Navakovada, the standard first-level Dhamma textbook, defines the five hindrances in the section of fives of its list of teachings. Below is the Navakovada's wording, quoted as written, in our English translation:

• States that block the mind from reaching the good are called hindrances. There are five:
• Delight and fondness for pleasing objects such as sights is called sensual desire.
• Wishing harm to others is called ill will.
• The mind shrinking and growing drowsy is called dullness and drowsiness.
• Being scattered and fretful is called restlessness and remorse.
• Wavering and being unable to decide is called doubt.

The Navakovada's definition of the five hindrances is short but broad: states that block the mind from reaching the good. It is not limited to sitting meditation; when studying, working or trying to do anything good, the hindrances can get in the way. The word it uses for sensual desire is a variant spelling of the same term, and the word translated 'fretful' (Thai รำคาญ) here means inner unease and worry, not annoyance at a loud noise, as it does in everyday Thai.

What each of the five hindrances means

1. Sensual desire (kāmacchanda) is liking, wanting and fondness for pleasant things seen, heard, smelled, tasted and touched. It does not mean only sexual desire. In meditation it may come as thoughts of the next meal, plans for shopping or thoughts of someone you like. Its mark is the mind reaching out for something that is not here.
2. Ill will (byāpāda) runs from irritation and displeasure to wishing harm. It ranges from annoyance at a noise, through replaying a quarrel again and again, to resentment of the pain in your own body. Its mark is the mind pushing away what is here.
3. Dullness and drowsiness (thinamiddha) are two things together: thina is a shrinking, sluggish mind with no energy, and middha is drowsiness and torpor. When your head nods as you sit, you lose your meditation word, or you feel foggy and heavy all over, that is dullness and drowsiness.
4. Restlessness and remorse (uddhaccakukkucca) are also two: uddhacca is a scattered mind that will not stay put, and kukkucca is remorse, regret or worry over what has been done or left undone, such as recalling harsh words you said to someone yesterday, or worrying that you left the stove on.
5. Doubt (vicikicchā) is wavering that cannot decide: wondering whether your method is right, whether the teaching is true, whether you can do it, until you never really commit to anything. Doubt is not reasonable questioning. Asking in order to find an answer and then testing it is good; doubt that circles without ever acting is the hindrance.

Why the hindrances are obstacles

In the Āvaraṇa Sutta the Buddha describes the five hindrances like this:

Pañcime, bhikkhave, āvaraṇā nīvaraṇā cetaso ajjhāruhā paññāya dubbalīkaraṇā.

Mendicants, there are these five obstacles, these hindrances that overgrow the mind and weaken wisdom.

AN 5.51

In the same sutta he compares this to a mountain river that flows swiftly and carries everything far along with it. If someone opens channels on both banks, the current in the middle is split and scattered; it loses its force and does not go far. A mind still subject to the five hindrances is the same. Its strength leaks away through wanting, anger, drowsiness, restlessness and wavering, until it lacks the power to know what is good for itself, for others or for both. When those channels are closed, the current gathers and grows strong.

Similes for the five hindrances in the suttas

The easiest simile to remember comes from the Saṅgārava Sutta (SN 46.55). The Buddha compares the mind to a bowl of water in which a person looks at the reflection of their face. Water mixed with dye is like sensual desire; water heated over a fire until it boils is like ill will; water covered with moss and water plants is like dullness and drowsiness; water stirred by the wind into ripples is like restlessness and remorse; and muddy, churned water set down in the dark is like doubt. In such water even someone with good eyes cannot see their face as it is, and a mind with hindrances cannot see what is truly good for itself and others.

In the Mahāassapura Sutta (MN 39) the Buddha uses another set of similes, comparing the five hindrances to a debt, an illness, prison, slavery and a journey across a desert, and comparing giving them up to the relief of someone who has paid off the debt, recovered, been released, been set free and crossed the desert to safety.

Evameva kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu yathā iṇaṁ yathā rogaṁ yathā bandhanāgāraṁ yathā dāsabyaṁ yathā kantāraddhānamaggaṁ,
ime pañca nīvaraṇe appahīne attani samanupassati.
Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, āṇaṇyaṁ yathā ārogyaṁ yathā bandhanāmokkhaṁ yathā bhujissaṁ yathā khemantabhūmiṁ;
evameva bhikkhu ime pañca nīvaraṇe pahīne attani samanupassati.

In the same way, mendicants, a mendicant sees these five hindrances that are not yet given up in themselves as a debt, a disease, a prison, slavery and a road through a desert. And they see the five hindrances given up in themselves as freedom from debt, good health, release from prison, freedom and a land of safety.

MN 39

The five similes follow the order of the hindrances, and the traditional explanation gives the reasons: one with sensual desire is like a debtor who must go along with whatever they are bound to; one with ill will is like a sick person to whom no food tastes good; one with dullness is like a prisoner who misses the festival outside; one with restlessness is like a slave who cannot go where they wish; and one with doubt is like a traveller in the desert who hesitates at every step, unsure whether it is safe.

The general method: know it first

Before any specific remedy, the Satipatthana Sutta (MN 10) sets out five steps that work for every hindrance. Here is the example of sensual desire:

Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu santaṁ vā ajjhattaṁ kāmacchandaṁ ‘atthi me ajjhattaṁ kāmacchando’ti pajānāti,
asantaṁ vā ajjhattaṁ kāmacchandaṁ ‘natthi me ajjhattaṁ kāmacchando’ti pajānāti;
yathā ca anuppannassa kāmacchandassa uppādo hoti tañca pajānāti,
yathā ca uppannassa kāmacchandassa pahānaṁ hoti tañca pajānāti,
yathā ca pahīnassa kāmacchandassa āyatiṁ anuppādo hoti tañca pajānāti.

Here, mendicants, when sensual desire is present in them, a mendicant knows: there is sensual desire in me. When it is absent, they know: there is no sensual desire in me. They know how unarisen sensual desire arises, how arisen sensual desire is given up, and how, once given up, it does not arise again in the future.

MN 10

This means the first task is not to chase the hindrance away but to know clearly that it is here: to know, for example, 'there is drowsiness now', and then notice what it came from, what makes it go, and what keeps it from coming back. Knowing like this is already mindfulness practice, because the five hindrances are the first object in the contemplation of phenomena in the four foundations of mindfulness.

How to overcome each of the five hindrances

The remedies for the five hindrances below come from the suttas and the traditional explanations. You do not need to use them all at once. First know which hindrance is present, then choose the remedy that fits it. Try one at a time; if the first does not work, move on to the next.

1. For sensual desire: know that wanting is arising, then watch how it changes without acting on it. Reflect that what you want is impermanent and has its unpleasant side. The traditional method is contemplating the unattractive aspects of the body (asubha); in daily life, guarding the eyes and ears and eating in moderation keep the wanting from being fed.
2. For ill will: develop loving-kindness as explained on the brahmaviharas page. Remember that the person who angered you also wants to be happy, just as you do, and that everyone owns their own actions. If the anger is at pain in the body, watch the pain as just a feeling that keeps changing.
3. For dullness and drowsiness: the Mahāassapura Sutta speaks of the perception of light (ālokasaññā). In practice, open your eyes, straighten your back, take a few deep breaths, or get up and do walking meditation. In a sutta (AN 7.61) the Buddha advises Moggallāna, who was nodding off in meditation, to try one method after another: go over the teachings he had heard, recite them aloud, pull his earlobes and rub his limbs, get up, wash his eyes and look at the stars, and do walking meditation; and if the drowsiness still does not lift, to lie down mindfully. Sometimes drowsiness is simply a body that really needs rest.
4. For restlessness and remorse: make the object simpler, for example by returning to the breath and counting from one to ten, or sit for shorter periods more often. For remorse over something done wrong, the most direct remedy is to put it right in real life, to apologise or make amends, and to keep the precepts well from now on. A mind with nothing to regret settles easily, which is why ethics comes before concentration in the three trainings. If worry is heavy enough to affect your sleep or daily life, talk to a doctor; meditation is not a treatment for illness.
5. For doubt: study the basics well enough to understand them, ask a teacher or someone with experience, then commit to one method for a set time, say two weeks, before you judge it. The Buddha himself told the Kālāmas to test teachings by their actual results in their own minds, rather than believing or rejecting them in advance (see the Kalama Sutta).

Examples of the five hindrances in everyday life

The hindrances do not appear only on the meditation cushion. Take the example of a student sitting down to revise before an exam.

• Sensual desire: wanting to pick up the phone, wanting a snack, or thinking about the weekend outing.
• Ill will: irritation at the neighbours' noise, or anger at the teacher who sets hard exams.
• Dullness and drowsiness: sleepy after lunch, reading the same line three times without taking it in.
• Restlessness and remorse: the mind jumping between subjects, worrying about failing, or regretting not starting earlier.
• Doubt: unable to decide which chapter to start with, changing plans until the time is gone.

Work is the same. Whenever a task stalls because the mind is not on it, ask yourself which hindrance is at work right now. Naming it correctly helps you choose the right remedy: drowsiness does not lift with loving-kindness, and anger does not go away by washing your face.

The hindrances, concentration and insight

The hindrances are the direct enemies of concentration. In the Mahāassapura Sutta the monk first gives up the five hindrances and only then enters the first absorption. The Visuddhimagga explains that each factor of absorption holds down one hindrance: one-pointedness holds down sensual desire, rapture holds down ill will, applied thought holds down dullness and drowsiness, happiness holds down restlessness and remorse, and sustained thought holds down doubt. Holding them down with concentration is only temporary; when the concentration fades, the hindrances can return. They are given up for good through wisdom that sees things as they are. The factors of absorption are explained on the jhana page.

In insight meditation the hindrances are not only obstacles but also objects to watch. Seeing drowsiness arise, stay and pass away, you see that even a hindrance is impermanent and not yourself. So beginners should not blame themselves when the five hindrances visit. Getting angry at a hindrance is just ill will once more. Know it, then return to your sitting meditation as usual.

Based on: Navakovada (public domain) · Āvaraṇa Sutta (AN 5.51) · Mahāassapura Sutta (MN 39) · Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (MN 10) · Saṅgārava Sutta (SN 46.55) · Pacalāyamāna Sutta (AN 7.61) · Kesamutti Sutta (to the Kālāmas) (AN 3.65) · Visuddhimagga, by Buddhaghosa