Nivarana
The five Nivarana ( Pali : pañca nīvaraṇāni ; Eng .: five inhibitions , five obstacles or five obstacles ) are an important concept of the Buddhist training of the mind, which is dealt with several times in the basic writings of the Pali Canon ( AN I 2 , AN IX 64) , as well as the methods to temporarily push back or completely overcome these obstacles to the exercises of mindfulness and meditation (cf. Satipatthana Sutta , DN 22 , MN 10 and AN IX 40).
Mental states
The Nivarana represent negative mental states which, according to Buddhist teaching, lead to successful meditation and ultimately to enlightenment . "Inhibition" refers to the harmony of the mind. Each of the five disturbs a special factor of the mind, hampers "insight" ( vipassana ) and thus prevents the knowledge of reality. This untrue reflection of reality in the mind is pictorially portrayed in the Brāhmana-Vagga (AN V 193) as the failure to recognize one's own reflection in water.
The obstacles are in detail:
- Sensual pleasure, sensual desire (also: sensual desire) ( p. Kāma-chanda ), metaphorical comparison in the Brāhmana vagga: color that clouds water.
- Ill-will, rejection (also: hatred) (p. Vyāpāda), metaphorical comparison in the Brāhmana-vagga: boiling water.
- Dullness and dullness (also: rigidity, indolence) (p. Thīna-middha ), metaphorical comparison in the Brāhmana-Vagga: water streaked with algae.
- Restlessness and agitation (also: agitation, worry, unrest in conscience) (p. Uddhacca-kukkucca ), metaphorical comparison in the Brāhmana-Vagga: water churned by wind.
- skeptical doubt (p. vicikicchā ), metaphorical comparison in the Brāhmana-Vagga: water in the dark.
Explanations
The sensual desire is opposed to renunciation. Sensual desire is the satisfaction of getting lost in, or the sure joy of something pleasant that attracts and fascinates the mind and obscures its radiance. It's like red paint that is poured into clear water, robs the water of its clarity, so that you can no longer see things at the bottom.
Ill-will contrasts with benevolence. An ill-willed mind is ailing with anger, and this manifests itself in the form of rejection, refusal, dissatisfaction, reluctance, irritability, and the like such undesirable conditions. In the state of ill will, the mind 'boils' and is therefore not clear, just as water, when it boils, is no longer clear and one can no longer see the underlying things.
Dullness contrasts with the perception of light. Here it is synonymous with apathy, drowsiness and boredom. The mind that is overwhelmed by this obstacle loses its radiance just as pure water loses its clarity when it is so permeated and overgrown by algae that one can no longer see things at the bottom.
The restlessness contrasts with the imperturbability and balance. Uddhacca means break out, spread, scatter. It is about the thoughts spreading as a result of excessive interest in something or someone. Kukkucca are worries or feelings of discomfort. The mind that is overwhelmed, agitated or shaken by these two components is just as robbed of its clarity as in wind-whipped water the many waves prevent one from seeing the things at the bottom.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 376 ( Memento of the original from June 29, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Entry for “ Nīvaraṇa ”.
- ↑ a b c d e f Explanations of the Theravada monk Buddhadasa in: Buddhadasa Bikkhu (2002): Anapanasati: The gentle healing of spiritual illness, Buddhist Society Munich eV, Munich, pp. 147 ( Memento of the original from March 26, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d e f Book of five in Anguttara Nikaya ANV 193 The Five Inhibitions - 3rd Saṅgārava Sutta
