The Five Hindrances

The Five Hindrances - A Gentle Guide to Obstacles in Meditation - First sitting of Zen in Ten

At Amandari, we know that the path of meditation may not always be as smooth as we'd like.

When we study Zen or any other form of meditation, usually we come across what the wise ones call the “five hindrances” quite early on in our studies .

It's tempting to think "done that, covered that, ticked that box, moving along". But actually, we continue to work with these obstacles pretty much for ever - and not only during meditation. Whether you're a seasoned sitter or a newbie, they are always there in one form or another, on the mat as well as off that mat. Sometimes they arrive clearly; other times they creep in subtly. They come with us in everyday life in different shapes and forms, some subtle, some more obvious. So it is good to get to grips with them, to know them.

These hindrances are important to know because they pull us away from mindfulness, from wisdom, from acting in a balanced manner. They blur the mind, they cloud our responses and colour how we respond to the world around us. They keep us from seeing clearly - and often, in many ways, from feeling truly at ease or happy.

The wise ones said that wisdom isn’t about eradicating these hindrances. It’s about recognising them when they arise; knowing what they feel like; and learning how not to get caught up in them.

Why They Matter

The hindrances are not obstacles to meditation itself - they are obstacles to how clearly we see our own mind. We often assume our unhappiness or discomfort arises from circumstances around ourselves. And yes, conditions sometimes do matter - but the state of our mind and heart matters just as much. The quality of our inner climate is something we always have some control over. And if we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change.

These hindrances or patterns are entirely normal. Every meditator, from the most practiced to the newest beginner, meets them. Mindflness meditation practice or formal sitting practice or Zazen as we call it in Zen - is simply the art of learning to relate to them with patience, kindness and curiosity - rather than frustration or annoyance.

The Five Hindrances - What They Are

1. Desire / Wanting / Attachment - It's that inner “I want” energy - wanting comfort, wanting things to feel a certain way, wanting the quiet or the breath or the sit to be “just so.” On the cushion, maybe we chase a pleasant sensation or hope for a calmer, deeper sit. In life, we might crave some kind of food or experience, long for a different moment, person, or outcome. Subtle or gross (obvious) - this thirst or attachment pulls us away from what’s here. We want things to be different to what they are.

How it could show up in meditation:

• Wanting the meditation to feel “just right” and getting frustrated when it doesn’t.

• Chasing a pleasant sensation from a previous practice and trying to recreate it.

• Hoping the room will stay perfectly quiet and getting irritated when someone shuffles.

In daily life:

• Craving a very specific outcome (a certain reply, reaction, or result) and feeling unsettled until you get it.

• Wanting a moment to be different - wishing traffic would clear, wishing a meeting would end sooner.

• Longing for rest but still scrolling, shopping or planning instead.

• Wanting someone to behave a certain way and feeling put out when they don’t.

2. Aversion / Ill Will / Not-wanting. - This is the flip side of wanting - the “I don’t like this” energy. It arises when things feel uncomfortable or uncertain. On the cushion it might present as irritation at a noise, discomfort in the body, impatience, an urge to fidget. Or outside the studio it could feel like resentment, anger or frustration toward situations or people. On a subtle level, even mild discomfort can stir this energy; as an example of gross aversion, anger is only an intensification of the same "not wanting".

This can present on the cushion as:

• Feeling resistance to a meditation simply because it’s uncomfortable.

• Getting irritated by sounds, smells, temperature or other people.

Off the cushion

• Reacting with irritation when plans change unexpectedly.

• Feeling resentment toward a person who moves slowly, talks loudly, or inconveniences you.

• Avoiding difficult conversations or tasks because they feel uncomfortable.

• Mentally pushing away emotions that feel messy or inconvenient.

• Feeling anger or sharpness when you’re tired, hungry or overstimulated.

3. Restlessness / Worry / Agitation - A busy mind, a restless body. I'm sure we all know this feeling. Thoughts looping around tomorrow’s tasks, plans, anxieties. The world we live in often encourages this hum of unease - but we don’t have to just swim along. Restlessness keeps us from stillness, from allowing the breath or the present moment its space. Mindfulness meditation is a way of slowing this down and creating a sense of calm - perhaps this can be seen as part of the foundation of our practice.

In meditation it can look like:

• Constantly adjusting your clothes, mat or hair instead of being still.

• Planning dinner or tomorrow’s to-do list while sitting.

• Noticing the mind replaying conversations or future scenarios on loop.

During our day can show up as:

• Checking our phone repeatedly for no real reason.

• Jumping between tasks without finishing any of them.

• Feeling unable to sit down without jumping up when remembering someting that needs to be done.

• Worrying about outcomes we can’t control.

• Overthinking small decisions, like what to cook or which email to answer first.

4. Dullness / Drowsiness / Mental Fog - Often translated as 'sloth and torpor'. We might think drowsiness isn't really doing any harm. But dulness of mind usually isn’t simply “tiredness.” It’s a mind that’s not really present. It can feel like drifting, feeling hazy, not concentrating. We assume it’s our body being weary - but often it’s our mind that’s gone elsewhere. Mindfulness needs us to be present - it needs clarity and aliveness. Dullness takes us away from the mindfulness in the moment.

We can experience dulness while sitting when we feel our mind go dim or hazy even though you’re not physically tired

• Following a few breaths and then slipping into a fuzzy, half-present state without noticing when it happened.

• Suddenly noticing our posture has subtly collapsed (head dipping, back rounding) because inner alertness has faded.

• Realising a few minutes have passed where you weren’t thinking clearly or observing - just drifting in a vague mental fog.

And during our day it can present as:

• Scanning your inbox or social media on autopilot without absorbing anything.

• Zoning out in conversations and hearing only half of what someone says.

• Driving a familiar route and realising you don’t remember most of it

• Realise you've read the same page of the book 5 times but haven't taken any of it in.

5. Doubt / Second-guessing / Indecision - “Is this working? Am I doing this right? Is there a point?” This wobble of the mind - doubting the practice, doubting ourselves, doubting what’s helpful - is often dismissed as a way of looking at something. But doubt, uncertainty or confusion can arrive as a mood, a felt heaviness, a kind of mental wilderness. It can paralyse more effectively than any other hindrance. On the cushion it might sound like: “Should I change posture? Try something else? Did I do enough?” That endless questioning keeps us stuck - and doubt feeds on itself.

On that cushion we doubt when we

• Question whether you’re meditating “properly” or doing the technique the “right” way.

• Wondering if you should change posture, open your eyes, try harder, or stop altogether.

• Thinking your mind is “too busy” and deciding you’re not good at meditation.

• Feeling unsure whether to trust your internal signals - “Is this discomfort normal? Should I adjust?”

• Comparing your meditation experience to others and concluding yours isn’t as deep, calm or focused.

Doubt can be said to have crept into our day when we

• Second-guess decisions you’ve already made, even small ones.

• Replaying conversations and wondering if you did or said something wrong.

• Feeling unsure whether you’re on the right path, professionally or personally.

• Hesitating to take action because you fear making the “wrong” choice.

• Questioning your own instincts or wisdom, even in situations you’ve handled before

Working with the Five Hindrances is really about learning to turn toward your experience rather than away from it. It’s not about trying to push them away, fix them or make them disappear. Resisting only strengthens them. Some days they’ll show up loudly and clearly; other days you might only notice them in a subtle pull at your attention, a flash of irritation, or a foggy drift of mind. The practice is noticing them, accepting them as part of the moment and giving them a little space without getting swept away by them.

Everyone experiences these patterns differently. And that’s the beauty of Zen: it invites you to see directly how your own mind works, rather than taking someone else’s ideas as gospel. So I always encourage everyone to test these things and see for yourself. The more you turn toward what’s arising, with acceptance and gentle curiosity, the more you start to relate to your mind in a steady, grounded way - on the mat and in life off it.

See you next week!

Metta