The Buddha describes the five hindrances—sensual desire, ill will, dullness and drowsiness, restlessness and worry, and doubt—that overwhelm the mind and weaken wisdom until they are abandoned.
“Akusalarāsīti, bhikkhave, vadamāno pañca nīvaraṇe sammā vadamāno vadeyya. Kevalo hāyaṁ, bhikkhave, akusalarāsi yadidaṁ pañca nīvaraṇā. Katame pañca? Kāmacchandanīvaraṇaṁ, byāpādanīvaraṇaṁ, thinamiddhanīvaraṇaṁ, uddhaccakukkuccanīvaraṇaṁ, vicikicchānīvaraṇaṁ. Akusalarāsīti, bhikkhave, vadamāno ime pañca nīvaraṇe sammā vadamāno vadeyya. Kevalo hāyaṁ, bhikkhave, akusalarāsi yadidaṁ pañca nīvaraṇā”ti.
Dutiyaṁ.
Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).
“Akusalarāsīti, bhikkhave, vadamāno pañca nīvaraṇe sammā vadamāno vadeyya.
“Mendicants, rightly speaking, you’d call the five hindrances a ‘heap of the unskillful’.
Kevalo hāyaṁ, bhikkhave, akusalarāsi yadidaṁ pañca nīvaraṇā.
For these five hindrances are entirely a heap of the unskillful.
Katame pañca?
What five?
Kāmacchandanīvaraṇaṁ, byāpādanīvaraṇaṁ, thinamiddhanīvaraṇaṁ, uddhaccakukkuccanīvaraṇaṁ, vicikicchānīvaraṇaṁ.
The hindrances of sensual desire, ill will, dullness and drowsiness, restlessness and remorse, and doubt.
Akusalarāsīti, bhikkhave, vadamāno ime pañca nīvaraṇe sammā vadamāno vadeyya.
Rightly speaking, you’d call these five hindrances a ‘heap of the unskillful’.
Kevalo hāyaṁ, bhikkhave, akusalarāsi yadidaṁ pañca nīvaraṇā”ti.
For these five hindrances are entirely a heap of the unskillful.”
Dutiyaṁ.
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Last updated on July 27, 2026