SuttaCentral
I read MN39 today as part of my daily sutta reading practice. I was wondering if any of you have recently read it and what you found helpful about it, in terms of applying it to our daily lay lives?
Here’s the link to the Clear Mountain Monastery 10 min discussion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ByWhNxj8Is
The sutta is rather long, and the first part of it seems to pertain primarily to mendicants. The second half, though, contains several lovely metaphors, including a description of the jhanas and the associated components/metaphors that appear in several other places as part of the standard jhana descriptions.
One particularly helpful set of metaphors relates to the five hindrances: “as long as these five hindrances are not given up inside themselves, a mendicant regards them as a debt, a disease, a prison, slavery, and a desert crossing. But when these five hindrances are given up inside themselves, a mendicant regards this as freedom from debt, good health, release from prison, emancipation, and a place of sanctuary at last.”
I often find it difficult to remember the metaphor that accompanies each of the hindrances, so I came up with this simplistic mnemonic that perhaps may be helpful for you also: Desire is like debt (“de” are the first two letters in both), ill will is an illness (“ill” in both), dullness is like a dungeon (“du” are the first two letters for both), restlessness/remorse is slavery (“s” follows “r” in the alphabet), doubt is crossing a desert (“d” is the first letter for both).
In terms of one’s practice, the sutta emphasizes that freedom from these hindrances is a source of joy/happiness: “Suppose a man who has gotten into debt were to apply himself to work, and his efforts proved successful. He would pay off the original loan and have enough left over to support his partner. Thinking about this, he’d be filled with joy and happiness.” One of the seven factors of enlightenment is the Joy/Happiness factor. Reflecting on our freedom from hindrances can be a way to cultivate and grow that sense of joy/happiness during meditation or in our daily life. Incorporating the visual imagery the Buddha provides also helps to enhance that experience.
Of note, another nice metaphor for the hindrances is that of the bowl of water. The bowl is like a mirror, and the hindrances prevent us from seeing the mirror reflection at the bottom (SN 46.55)
-Desire: colors in the water
-Sloth: overgrown weeds
-Restlessness/remorse: wind churning the water
-Ill-will: boiling water
-Doubt: mud
Technically, the reflection occurs at the surface and the various hindrance similes in SN46.55 disrupt that surface and hence prevent the reflection.
Note the what is reflected is oneself:
Even a person with clear eyes checking their own reflection wouldn’t truly know it or see it.
And in other suttas, such as MN61 we find reflection referring to examining the mind:
What do you think, Rāhula?
What is the purpose of a mirror?”
“It’s for checking your reflection, sir.”
“In the same way, deeds of body, speech, and mind should be done only after repeated checking.
So the hindrances prevent us from reflecting/checking our mind.
That’s a great point–thank you for sharing that.
I think it may be common (as this was my experience) to mix up the Buddha’s hindrances simile in SN46.55, which is about not being able to see a reflection, with other possible similes, such as being able to see into a pool or bowl when suspended particles sink to the bottom. There is also Ajahn Chah’s simile of a still forest pool attracting various animals to drink. These are all beautiful, but distinct, similes.