As we established in the previous post, the five hindrances distort the mind. The Buddha describes their effects as being akin to disturbances on the reflective surface of water—they stir and warp our perception. Another traditional Buddhist analogy for the hindrances is that of a river being siphoned off by channels. The greater the channels in number or strength, the weaker the main river becomes. Similarly, our capacity for mindfulness and concentration can weaken and even “dry up” once the hindrances take hold.

One more analogy for the hindrances is offered by Buddhist teacher Gil Fronsdal: 

The hindrances can be like “black holes” in the mind. A black hole is a collapsed star where the gravitational force is so powerful that even light is sucked in and trapped. When the hindrances are strong, the light of awareness is pulled into their gravitational field and we lose our ability to see clearly. [i]

Given their powerful ability to derail awareness, the hindrances must be engaged and transformed in order to progress on the path of mental cultivation. How do we navigate them skillfully?

The goal is to to take the “charge” out of our hindrances—we want to make the experience less personal, so that we can view things clearly, without distortion—and the Buddha suggests that we do that by “starving” our hindrances. We deprive them of their sustenance. Yes, the mind feeds on the “junk food” of the hindrances. But from another perspective, the hindrances themselves are fed by our addiction to them. They derive their power from our subservience. Let’s explore some methods of weakening our mental obstacles.

***

Working with Sensual Desire

Creativity can serve as a potent tool in unwinding difficult patterns. In the case of sensual desire, Buddhist teacher Ajahn Amaro encourages students to use the mind to imagine completely getting what we desire, to such a degree that there is nothing else. Applying this tactic tends to deprive the desired object of its luster. He says:

Say you’re having a fantasy, a sexual fantasy, and you’re locked in a glorious embrace with someone. The delight of that depends on its transience, right? Because if you imagine yourself in a wonderful embrace that goes on for an hour, you might think, “Well, that’s all right.” But suppose it goes on for a day, without moving. It loses its glamour after ten or twelve hours. After a day, it starts to be work. What about for one year? That’s cruel and inhuman punishment! What about ten years? You’ll start to wonder, “When am I ever going to get out of this bed?” You’ll think you’ve had enough of this person; you’ve been face to face with each other for ten years. Consider the attractiveness of that, or of whatever else the mind might be drawn to, like a wonderful piece of music. If you play Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony” 150,000 times, it loses its attraction. 

Whatever is sensually appealing or attractive depends on the circumstances, but we don’t realize the dependent nature of it. So, when you want to follow things through in this reflective way, you say, “Yes, and then…and then… and then… and then… ” What often happens is that you hear a subtle voice that tells you to let go, because you’re realizing the nature of the desire mind. It’s as if we’ve called its bluff. And the desire is only able to capture the mind, like the card trick, because you can’t quite see what the hands are doing. So you uncover the illusion using the imagination to see the downside of a desired outcome. You calmly and steadily think it through. [ii]

The trick the mind is playing is that it’s promising you utter fulfillment upon receiving what you’re yearning for. If only you were to possess this person, this job, this chocolate…you would be complete. But Ajahn’s exercise shows us that our fulfillment won’t last.

Indeed, a skillful way of pulling the rug from underneath our desire is by asking “Then what? Once this experience occurs, will I remain complete? Or will it provide a temporary moment of satisfaction before some other tug arises?” Contemplating impermanence undermines the mistaken belief in the salvific nature of the cherished object. Recognizing that the quenching of our desire will not last strengthens our ability to resist chasing after things.

Another method of “cooling” the mind in instances of sensual desire is to pick apart the object of desire. For example, the Samyutta Nikaya Commentary recommends dealing with sexual lust by reflecting upon the “unattractive nature” of the body. [iii] Lust tends to dissipate upon reflection on all the snot and bile, the urine and feces that make up the human being. This dissection of the object of desire into its less desirable component parts can be done anytime one finds oneself trapped in the pull of attraction.

Lastly, we can practice diverting our attention away from the thing we want and toward the lived experience of desire. Gil Fronsdal says: 

[W]e can turn our attention away from the object of desire and instead become aware of the subjective experience of desiring. We can examine the physical sensations and quality of mind associated with having desire…By turning attention to the subjective experience of having a desire for sensual pleasure, we may discover what is connected to the desire. It may be tied to ideas of security, success, status, or to a need for reassurance. The desire may come with compelling arguments and feelings about why it needs to be pursued. We may have strong, unexamined beliefs about pleasure and discomfort. [iv]  

In making contact with the bodily sensations and mental “structures” beneath our desire, we are beginning to understand how desire works, to undermine its power over us, and to potentiate transformation.

  

Working with Ill Will 

For counter-balancing ill will, one approach is to consciously call forth open-heartedness. When ill will, or aversion, takes over, one’s world shrinks, concentrates, with anger. The body and mind constrict and all that exists is the polarity between the angry person and the object of aversion. The vast universe has collapsed into a desire for destruction of some enemy.

The counter-balancing gesture is one of expansion, of making contact with kindness, compassion, lightness, gratitude, connection. We can start by holding in mind someone (or even a pet) we value, and sending that being our love. Very gradually, we can move toward expanding this goodwill in all directions, including the direction of the object of our aversion. Instead of being collapsed in opposition, the mind opens, allows. The urge to contract weakens. Even if we proceed to confront the person we’re upset with, we will be doing so from a very different perspective.

As he did with sensual desire, Gil Fronsdal emphasizes getting familiar with the bodily experience of ill will:

Being mindful of ill will includes feeling the ill will physically. It can be very helpful to stop thinking about the ill will and instead bring mindfulness to the many sensations and feelings associated with this hindrance. Spreading one’s attention broadly throughout the body is one way to feel these sensations and feelings in an open, spacious, and, hopefully, relaxed manner. This, in turn, supports the investigation of other aspects of ill will. For example, it can be useful to consider what within us is the trigger for ill will. Might it be frustrated desire?  Or fear or embarrassment? Is ill will masking our discomfort by directing our attention outward toward what we dislike? [v]

We can bring our attention toward the physical reality of aversion manifesting in our body—maybe the neck and jaw are clenched, the chest is tight, the breath is constricted. Turning away from the content of the thoughts themselves, we instead envelop the body with awareness and we start to counteract ill will by softening the body tissues and opening the breathing spaces. As we relax the body, we starve the hindrance of its energetic charge.

Another way of defusing our anger at others is to be mindful of cause-and-effect. If the object of ill will is engaged in harmful actions, this will come back to them, whether in this lifetime or future ones. It’s not our responsibility to ensure they pay for their actions. The law of karma is always at work. When we adopt this worldview, we can actually gain compassion for those who are wronging us. We recognize that that they are only hurting themselves. This softens our heart.

 

Working with Dullness & Drowsiness

The hindrance of dullness and drowsiness can be very difficult to overcome, for it requires energy and mindfulness at a time when the meditator is enshrouded by inertia and forgetfulness. Ajahn Amaro offers some helpful, practical tips in working with dullness and drowsiness:

Sleepiness comes in waves, and the trick is to catch it at the first wave. One way to do this…is to hold an object, a matchstick for example, in your hands, between your thumbs. As soon as your mind starts to get dull, the fingers start to relax, and the matchstick will fall into your hands. The first wave has arrived. At that point, open your eyes and straighten the spine. Usually, another wave will come right after, and the eyes will start to blur and the body will start to droop. If you can resist and not give in to the sleepiness, after maybe one or two more little waves, it will disappear. Another technique involves using your visual perception. Open your eyes and focus on a candle flame or another object in front of you. As soon as the vision starts to blur or to separate, you know you’re falling sleep, and when this happens, refocus the eyes until the visual image is sharp-edged once again. There are many other tricks you can try, liking taking a match box or a book and putting it on your head. As you start to nod, it drops off. This works well if you’re sitting with a group of other people. You don’t want to look bad in front of others, so you use vanity and pride to counteract dullness. This might be offsetting one problem with another but, nevertheless, it is a very effective technique to use with dullness. [vi] 

The Samyutta Nikaya Commentary suggests that dullness and drowsiness are weakened by the perception of light. The practitioner can visualize the dazzling disc of the sun or the luminous full moon. We’re conjuring skillful mental images to introduce Yang into a Yin-dominant state.

Fronsdal suggests that another method of arousing energy is to reflect on death and dying. “Done the right way,” he says, “this can stimulate healthy energy and motivation.” [vii] By “wearing death on the tip of the nose,” we rouse ourselves out of lethargy. We might only have this brief opportunity to practice awakening, so why not take advantage of it?

One final strategy of counteracting dullness and drowsiness is to ask questions, spurring the mind to investigate. We can ask: “What’s happening now in the body? What are the sensations that are present? What is the current feeling tone—pleasant, unpleasant, neutral? What is the mental mood?” We’re using our curiosity to stimulate and focus the mind.

 

Working with Restlessness & Worry

We’ve established that restlessness and worry represent a dissatisfaction with the present. Ajahn Brahmavamso recommends using contentment to undermine this fault-finding state of mind:

Restlessness [uddhacca] is overcome by developing contentment, which is the opposite of fault-finding. One learns the simple joy of being satisfied with little, rather than always wanting more. One is grateful for this moment, rather than picking out its deficiencies. For instance, in meditation restlessness is often the impatience to move quickly on to the next stage. The fastest progress, though, is achieved by those who are content with the stage they are on now. It is the deepening of that contentment that ripens into the next stage. [viii]

Ajahn Amaro suggests using the body as the object of meditation in order to draw energy away from the restless mind:

The main antidote for restlessness is to bring the attention into the body, particularly using the kind of body sweeping…in which one relaxes each part of the body in turn. We can also use the breath, particularly the out-breath, to help relax the body and calm the stirred-up, agitated, turbulent quality. But this technique is not just used for physical restlessness. Continually coming back to the breath, calming and relaxing the body, is a good way of dealing with mental restlessness as well, with the agitated, restless quality of the mind. Ajahn Chah would also recommend going out and doing walking meditation, walking as quickly as one can, even to the point of exhausting oneself physically, to burn off a lot of the energy. [ix]

Anxiety is a way of life for many of us, and this state of mind often becomes amplified on the meditation cushion. I’ve found the practice of gratitude to be of great assistance here. Gratitude tends to arise in the mind when we consider the preciousness of human life. How improbable for us to be here! From this thought extends appreciation for each small thing we have: a body to move, speech to express, others to share with, sunlight to warm ourselves, food to eat, ground below us to walk on, and so on. I’ve found that simplifying the swirl of the mind into moments that I can express appreciation for really pulls the rug out from states of restlessness and worry. Further, maintaining contact with what’s most important is key. Why am I doing meditation? What do I most deeply want? When I connect with my deepest values, my restless obsessions with the trivial are revealed to be unimportant, and their emotional charge dissipates.

Another way to discharge restlessness and worry is to focus on the three marks of existence (impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and non-self), detailed here and here. That which I’m currently obsessing over is, ultimately, empty. It will not persist; it has no lasting substance. As such, clutching to it can only cause stress and suffering, since it will inevitably go away. And so, it is not really “mine” to worry about. Reflection on the three marks of existence really has a way of cutting away our extraneous concerns.

 

Working with Doubt

We can engage and transform the hindrance of doubt by becoming clearer about what is true. The Samyutta Nikaya Commentary says that doubt is overcome by the “defining of phenomena.” [x] That is, we can weaken the hindrance by acknowledging reality, clearly and simply. This can be as basic as committing to the recognition that the breath is what is happening right now, and our sensation of its in-flow and out-flow are what is true in the present moment. In this way, we seek to minimize speculation and skepticism, and to focus on simple, basic, underlying truths.

Ajahn Amaro offers the following advice:

The best way to deal with doubt, to get the mind to drop the endless speculating and uncertainty, is to step out of the doubt; in essence we simply recognize, “This is a state of doubt.” The voice of doubt tells us that there is something missing, that when we get the answer to the question, we will be complete. Just like the belief that when we get rid of this pain in the knee, we will certainly be happy; when we get hold of some Chinese noodles, we will be happy; when we remember the words to the song, we will be happy. But it’s not true. Rather than believing in the story of it, the falsehood of it, one simply recognizes, “This is just a doubt.” Our experience is complete in and of itself. Doubt is telling us that there’s a piece missing, but the actual reality is fully complete already. How could there truly be anything missing from the universe in this moment? [xi]

Doubt can be dealt with in much the same way as restlessness and worry: by simplifying. Doubt and restlessness and worry all gain their momentum from the mind’s propensity to fall down the rabbit hole of ever more intricacy and complexity. We can truly think forever, ceaselessly, and not be satisfied. Recognizing that No, I don’t need to complete this thought stream, this story, I don’t need to find an answer to this riddle—this can liberate us from the urgency and proliferation of the hyperactive mind.

I’ve found the most useful strategy for dealing with doubt to be reconnecting with the Buddha’s original teachings, which are so clear and grounded. They cut through the thicket of doubts about training the mind. Ultimately, the Buddha was asking the question, “What, when I do it, will lead to long-term happiness?” His teachings present what to do and how to do it, so that we can put down our frivolous mental activity.

***

We might say that there are two stages in the process of liberating ourselves from the hindrances. The first is seeing and understanding them, and the second is figuring out how to subdue them. The first stage involves the realization that our obsessive desires and aversions and doubts, our addictions to speeding up or checking out, are all activities. They’re not things; they’re activities that manifest and dissolve, and we can either perpetuate them or we can create an inner space that allows for them to simply pass through. And the second stage is applied to hindrances that do not simply pass through—they stick around. We need to dismantle these stubborn obstacles.

As to the first stage, Buddhist teacher Stephen Batchelor writes about the process of “creating space” for our hindrances, which he refers to as “compulsions”:

A compulsion is any mental or emotional state that, on breaking into our consciousness, disturbs and captivates us…Compulsions obstruct the path by monopolizing consciousness. The hypnotic fascination they exert prevents us from attending to anything else. We behave like a rabbit dazzled by the headlights of a car. Not only do compulsions make us lose sight of our goal, they inwardly paralyze us. To escape their grip does not entail suppressing them but creating a space in which we are freed to let them go and they are freed to disappear. “As soon as I know the mind is distorted,” says Shantideva, “I should remain steady as a log.” Without condoning or condemning what is breaking into consciousness, calmly note that an emotionally charged complex of phrases and images has erupted. You do not have to think of it as “me” or “mine.” Having arisen of its own accord, it is free to pass away of its own accord. Given the space to do so, a compulsion frees itself. [xii]

The hindrances, Batchelor argues, “are rooted in the innate conviction that reality is composed of discrete, fixed units designed to attract, repel, or bore us, while the self who is attracted, repelled, or bored is a separate entity standing aloof and independent.” [xiii] As we loosen our grip on such views, we gain the power to allow the hindrances to simply arise and depart, without our clutching onto them.

And yet sometimes, despite our clear seeing and our inner spaciousness, the hindrance remains; it’s not enough to just “let it be.” Thanissaro Bhikkhu gives the following instructions on how best to proceed in such a case:

Suppose that anger is interfering with your concentration. Instead of getting involved in the anger, you try simply to be aware of when it’s there and when it’s not. You look at the anger as an event in and of itself—as it comes, as it goes. But you don’t stop there. The next step—as you’re still working at focusing on the breath—is recognizing how anger can be made to go away. Sometimes simply watching it is enough to make it go away; sometimes it’s not, and you have to deal with it in other ways, such as arguing with the reasoning behind the anger or reminding yourself of the drawbacks of anger.

In the course of dealing with it, you have to get your hands dirty. You’ve got to try and figure out why the anger is coming, why it’s going, how you can get rid of it, because you realize that it’s an unskillful state. And this requires that you improvise. Experiment. You’ve got to chase your pride and impatience out of the way so that you can have the space to make mistakes and learn from them, so that you can develop a skill in dealing with the anger. It’s not just a question of hating the anger and trying to push it away, or of loving the anger and welcoming it. These approaches may give results in the short run, but in the long run they’re not especially skillful. What’s called for here is the ability to see what the anger is composed of; how can you take it apart.

One technique that gives results—when anger is present and you’re in a situation where you don’t immediately have to react to people—is simply to ask yourself in a good-natured way, “Okay, why are you angry?” Listen to what the mind has to say. Then pursue the matter: “But why are you angry at that?” “Of course, I’m angry. After all.…” “Well, why are you angry at that?” If you keep this up, the mind will eventually admit to something stupid, such as the assumption that people shouldn’t be such-and-such a way—even though they blatantly are that way—or that people should act in line with your standards, or whatever other assumption the mind finds so embarrassing that it has to keep it hidden from you. But finally, if you keep probing, it’ll fess up. You gain a lot of understanding into the anger this way, and can really weaken its power over you. [xiv]

So, we’re probing our hindrances, really getting underneath them, seeing what they’re made of and how they can be dismantled.

***

To me, the very framework of the five hindrances is a useful tool. Having this framework gives us the power to “name” the hindrances as they arise. Like an ancient shaman naming a disease so that the seeker can be released from its grasp, we are isolating a particularly obstinate mental impediment, and giving it a name, like “sensual desire.” The naming potentiates the process of letting that impediment dissolve. Recognizing the junk food as junk food can serve as a first, critical step in letting go of our addiction to it. We stop feeding it to the mind. Clearly seeing the hindrances as they arise elevates you to a higher vantage point, so that all these streams of mental turmoil that formerly seemed disparate and chaotic and overwhelming are now seen as manifestations of a single entity, a single river—a knot in the mind that you can recognize, acknowledge, and, over time, become increasingly adept at relinquishing.

***

To be clear, this process is not just about removing junk food from our mental diet. It’s also about providing the mind with real nourishment. That nourishment comes in the form of the Factors of Awakening: mindfulness, investigation, persistence, rapture, serenity, concentration, and equanimity. That’ll have to be the subject for a future article! 

***

In closing, I’ve posted below a few of the similes the Buddha used in describing the hindrances. (Translations come from Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s Wings to Awakening.) Enjoy!

From AN5:51: 

These are the five hindrances & obstructions that overcome awareness & weaken discernment. Which five? Sensual desire is a hindrance & obstruction that overcomes awareness & weakens discernment. Ill will... Sloth & drowsiness... Restlessness & anxiety... Uncertainty is a hindrance & obstruction that overcomes awareness & weakens discernment...

Suppose there were a river, flowing down from the mountains, going far, its current swift, carrying everything with it: If a man were to open watercourses leading off from both sides, the current in the middle of the river would be interrupted, diverted, & dispersed. The river would not go far, its current would not be swift, and it would not carry everything with it. In the same way, if a monk has not rid himself of these five hindrances... there is no possibility that he can know what is for his own benefit, or the benefit of others, or both; or that he should come to realize a superior human attainment, a truly noble knowledge & vision...

But suppose there were a river, flowing down from the mountains, going far, its current swift, carrying everything with it: If a man were to close off the watercourses leading off from both sides, the current in the middle of the river would not be interrupted, diverted, or dispersed. The river would go far, its current swift, carrying everything with it. In the same way, if a monk has rid himself of these five hindrances... there is the possibility that he can know what is for his own benefit, or the benefit of others, or both, and that he should come to realize a superior human attainment, a truly noble knowledge & vision.

 

***

From AN5:23:

When gold is debased by these five impurities, it is not pliant, malleable, or luminous. It is brittle and not ready to be worked. Which five? Iron, copper, tin, lead, & silver... But when gold is not debased by these five impurities, it is pliant, malleable, & luminous. It is not brittle and is ready to be worked. Then whatever sort of ornament one has in mind — whether a belt, an earring, a necklace, or a gold chain — it would serve one's purpose. 

In the same way, when the mind is debased by these five impurities, it is not pliant, malleable, or luminous. It is brittle and not rightly concentrated for the ending of the effluents. Which five? Sensual desire, ill will, sloth & drowsiness, restlessness & anxiety, and uncertainty... But when the mind is not debased by these five impurities, it is pliant, malleable, & luminous. It is not brittle and is rightly concentrated for the ending of the effluents. Then whichever of the six higher knowledges one turns one's mind to know & realize, one can witness them for oneself whenever there is an opening...

*** 

From SN46:55: 

Imagine a bowl of water mixed with lac, yellow orpiment, indigo, or crimson, such that a man with good eyesight examining the reflection of his face in it would not be able to know or see his face as it has come to be. In the same way, when one remains with awareness possessed by sensual passion, overcome with sensual passion, and neither knows nor sees the escape, as it has come to be, from sensual passion once it has arisen, then one neither knows nor sees what is for one's own benefit, or for the benefit of others, or for the benefit of both...

Now imagine a bowl of water heated on a fire, boiling & bubbling over, such that a man with good eyesight examining the reflection of his face in it would not be able to know or see his face as it has come to be. In the same way, when one remains with awareness possessed by ill will, overcome with ill will, and neither knows nor sees the escape, as it has come to be, from ill will once it has arisen, then one neither knows nor sees what is for one's own benefit, or for the benefit of others, or for the benefit of both...

Now imagine a bowl of water covered with algae & slime, such that a man with good eyesight examining the reflection of his face in it would not be able to know or see his face as it has come to be. In the same way, when one remains with awareness possessed by sloth & drowsiness, overcome with sloth & drowsiness, and neither knows nor sees the escape, as it has come to be, from sloth & drowsiness once it has arisen, then one neither knows nor sees what is for one's own benefit, or for the benefit of others, or for the benefit of both...

Now imagine a bowl of water ruffled by the wind, disturbed, & covered with waves, such that a man with good eyesight examining the reflection of his face in it would not be able to know or see his face as it has come to be. In the same way, when one remains with awareness possessed by restlessness & anxiety, overcome with restlessness & anxiety, and neither knows nor sees the escape, as it has come to be, from restlessness & anxiety once it has arisen, then one neither knows nor sees what is for one's own benefit, or for the benefit of others, or for the benefit of both...

Now imagine a bowl of water stirred up, turbid, muddied, & left in the dark, such that a man with good eyesight examining the reflection of his face in it would not be able to know or see his face as it has come to be. In the same way, when one remains with awareness possessed by uncertainty, overcome with uncertainty, and neither knows nor sees the escape, as it has come to be, from uncertainty once it has arisen, then one neither knows nor sees what is for one's own benefit, or for the benefit of others, or for the benefit of both...

 ***

From MN:39:

Suppose that a man, taking a loan, invests it in his business affairs. His business affairs succeed. He repays his old debts and has extra left over for maintaining his wife. The thought would occur to him, 'Before, taking a loan, I invested it in my business affairs. Now my business affairs have succeeded. I have repaid my old debts and have extra left over for maintaining my wife.' Because of that he would gain joy & experience happiness.

Now suppose that a man falls sick — in pain & seriously ill. He does not enjoy his meals and has no measure of strength in his body. At a later time he is released from that sickness. He enjoys his meals and has a measure of strength in his body. The thought would occur to him, 'Before, I was sick... Now I am released from that sickness. I enjoy my meals and have a measure of strength in my body.' Because of that he would gain joy & experience happiness.

Now suppose that a man is bound in prison. At a later time he is released from that bondage, safe & sound, with no loss of property. The thought would occur to him, 'Before, I was bound in prison. Now I am released from that bondage, safe & sound, with no loss of my property.' Because of that he would gain joy & experience happiness.

Now suppose that a man is a slave, subject to others, not subject to himself, unable to go where he likes. At a later time he is released from that slavery, subject to himself, not subject to others, freed, able to go where he likes. The thought would occur to him, 'Before, I was a slave... Now I am released from that slavery, subject to myself, not subject to others, freed, able to go where I like.' Because of that he would gain joy & experience happiness.

Now suppose that a man, carrying money & goods, is traveling by a road through desolate country. At a later time he emerges from that desolate country, safe & sound, with no loss of property. The thought would occur to him, 'Before, carrying money & goods, I was traveling by a road through desolate country. Now I have emerged from that desolate country, safe & sound, with no loss of my property.' Because of that he would gain joy & experience happiness.

In the same way, when these five hindrances are not abandoned within him, the monk regards it as a debt, a sickness, a prison, slavery, a road through desolate country. But when these five hindrances are abandoned within him, he regards it as unindebtedness, good health, release from prison, freedom, a place of security.

***

[i] Fronsdal, G. Unhindered: A Mindful Path Through the Five Hindrances. Redwood City, CA: Tranquil Books; 2013: 7.

[ii] Ibid, 127.

[iii] Bhikkhu Bodhi. (Ed.) In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon. Boston, MA: Wisdom Publications; 2005: 440.

[iv] Fronsdal, 28.

[v] Ibid, 42-43.

[vi] Ajahn Amaro. Finding the Missing Peace: A Primer of Buddhist Meditation. Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom: Amaravati Buddhist Monastery; 2011: 119.

[vii] Fronsdal, 60.

[viii] Five Hindrances, Wikipedia.  

[ix] Ajahn Amaro, 120.

[x] Bhikkhu Bodhi, 440.

[xi] Ajahn Amaro, 121.

[xii] Batchelor, S. Living with the Devil: A Meditation on Good and Evil. New York: Riverhead Books; 2005: 72-74.

[xiii] Ibid, 74.

[xiv] Thanissaro Bhikkhu. The Path of Concentration & Mindfulness. https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/concmind.html