Stop Visiting Forces From Entering Into Life

At moments of feeling overwhelmed it's good to remind ourselves of this teaching of Buddha: 'The mind is by nature radiant. It's shining. It is because of visiting forces that we suffer.'


At a meditation workshop, the teacher spoke of 'hindrances' that obscure this, not only in our meditation, but also in our lives. These are the forces that can make it challenging to stay present and focused.


There are many hindrances, but in meditation these five are considered to be the most critical to be aware of: desire or attachment, ill will, laziness, anxiety, and doubt.


In fact, many of us were appalled that all five had visited us! A strong desire to do the session well, laziness when it felt we were sitting for way too long, anxiety about cramps in our legs or surreptitiously shifting positions, and admittedly uncharitable ill-will to the teacher who seemed oblivious of how long the session was going on, and to crown it all pure self-doubt as to whether we'd get any better at this.


Our wise teacher that evening laughingly told us that he too had gone through similar feelings and had advice that was helpful and encouraging. He emphasised they were mere visiting forces.


Some or even all would probably stick around for a long time, or be loud, demanding voices in our heads yet we should stay aware that they are not inherent to our being. Our natural state is actually 'radiant', one of purity and bliss, but things like habits, indiscipline, attitudes cloud this, and subsequently these hindrances take on a much larger role than they should.


An initial reaction had us asking, 'But how do we stop these visiting forces or hindrances from entering into life?'


Teacher of Buddhism, Sharon Salzberg has explained in workshops and in her writings that we cannot actually stop such thoughts, feelings, or emotions - these arise naturally, often out of our control. However, we do have some ways to deal with this, in that we can learn to find ways 'to create enough space' to hold these hindrances in a manner that helps reduce our suffering as opposed to creating more of it.


So, how do we create this type of space?


First, we need to acknowledge that everyone experiences these forces; this is part and parcel of the human condition itself. Such forces, troublesome as they might be, are actually an integral aspect of what makes us human.


Second, we must acknowledge there isn't anything 'wrong' with us and simply be aware of the feeling of the emotion or thought, rather than attributing negative judgements and associated feelings of disgrace to it.


And importantly, just as we find it easy to be compassionate and understanding to others in such situations, we need to learn to generate self-compassion for ourselves. And in this way, we can reduce the power of those hindrances.


While this sounds simple, it isn't that easy, so we need to keep at it, even if at times we again turn resentful and self-critical. We remind ourselves - again if necessary - that they are visitors, they will go away. Unless we ourselves mistakenly bring them in to take up permanent residence - not a good idea. It helps to gently laugh at ourselves and try again.


Authored by: Marguerite Theophil