Easing Awake with Doug Kraft

Hindrances as Teachers

June 27, 2019 Doug Kraft Season 1 Episode 2
Easing Awake with Doug Kraft
Hindrances as Teachers
Show Notes

Day 2 Retreat: An aikido student on a Tokyo train encounters a belligerent drunk and an elderly gentleman. The story illustrates a few of the ways we relate to the distractions and distortions that arise naturally in the mind-heart. What we do with these “hindrances” has a profound effect on our meditation practice and life. If we view them as a problem to be defeated or fixed, life becomes difficult. If we view them with kindness, they cease to be a problem. This talk explores three ways of viewing them: (1) as mixed intentions, (2) as spiritual trainers with Asperger’s syndrome, and (3) as a split between self and other. It also explores the Upakkilesa Sutta where the Buddha spoke about 11 common hindrances. If we view the contents of the mind-heart clearly and impersonally, there are no hindrances.

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