Audio (TCP7, Day 07): Hindrances, Laziness and Antidotes

A talk reviewing the first four stages of śamatha (calm abiding) and the antidote sequence to laziness — faith, aspiration, effort, and the pliancy that follows — followed by a full guided meditation. Touches on faith and dogma across Buddhist and Christian contemplative traditions.

Sakya tradition · IBA Kathmandu · The Complete Path (TCP) 2026 · English · Talk + guided sit

For the full Sanskrit/Pali/Tibetan glossary and nine-stages reference table, see the Glossary and Summary for Morning Meditations.

Transcript

Good morning, dear friends. Welcome back to our morning session exploring śamatha-vipaśyanā, stopping, looking deeply, calm and inside, part of the Complete Path 2026 program here at IBA in Kathmandu. We have been exploring the cultivation of calm abiding on the basis of awareness of breathing, especially. Our exploration is leading us through the nine stages of śamatha.

We have met some basic principles for the cultivation of our continuity of attention with the object of our choosing. The initial stage, placing the mind with the object, sthāpayati, we make use of the power of hearing. Our attention is forceful, pushing against the object. Slowly we are able to place the mind for longer and longer periods on the object, sensations of the breath, just as they are.

Unlike in a cultivation of prāṇāyāma or qigong, where we modify the flow of the breath, here we allow it to be just as it is. Longer placing, saṃsthāpayati, putting into practice what we have heard, what we have learned, we make use of the power of reflection. Cintā-bala, sīlì [思力 sīlì, “power of reflection” — Chinese gloss], reflection.

Eventually we are able to place the mind in such a way that it is more often than not staying with the object. From time to time, distraction arises, pulling the mind away from the object. We are able to patch up and replace our attention on the object.

Avasthāpayati, we have also been meeting some of the obstacles that lie in the path of the practitioner as we embark on this journey, this exploration. The first of these is simply laziness, as it is called, kausīdya. It has a coarse form, simply the need for sleep, fatigue, tiredness, and sometimes in our practice it is important for us to recognize that the body and mind needs to rest.

But there is also another kind of laziness which is a sort of distraction, a prioritizing of other things in our lives above the cultivation of this clarity and understanding.

And while it is perhaps true that in the Buddhist traditions, conversations about faith can be a little complicated in the West because it overlaps with teachings from the Christian traditions, for example, in which faith has slowly shifted from its early meanings around trust, confidence into an acceptance of dogma, an acceptance of certain tenets without question.

And it is perhaps understandable then that there seems to be a disconnection between this kind of faith and the invitation from the Buddha himself to examine all of his teachings and test for ourselves whether it makes sense, rather than a blind acceptance.

But it is perhaps interesting to note that the very word dogma in the Greek initially referred to the kind of truth that is only revealed through one’s own practice and experience, not a truth that can be transmitted in words.

And indeed it is perhaps in the Eastern Orthodox Church that the Christian contemplative tradition is best preserved, recognizing that the true nature of things is not something that we can understand through hearing alone, that we must actually see for ourselves.

And the transformation that takes place when we have that seeing is the kind of shift in our way of seeing and being that we perhaps have had the good fortune to meet in a teacher, someone who inspired us not just with their words, but by their very actions and way of being.

And this is the kind of faith that allows us, inspires us and shifts our aspiration so that the cultivation of something of that same clarity, awareness, kindness, understanding, the intention to cultivate this kind of quality of being, begins to manifest in our heart and mind. So from faith, from that trust and confidence comes that aspiration, intention.

So no longer do we feel confused about what is a wholesome activity, what activity we should be putting our energy into, it starts to become clear. Our intention begins to clarify. So from faith, śraddhā arises, this intention, in a broad sense and also in the very concrete sense of the intention to make a time to find a cushion, to sit down and to direct our attention towards the breath.

Having given rise to that faith and that clear intention, that aspiration, the next of the antidotes to this laziness, lassitude, slackness is simply conscious effort, that this work does not go by itself. We actually need to apply effort, vyāyāma.

And as we have been experiencing perhaps in our own practice and as is indicated by the forceful or effortful nature of the attention that we bring to the object in this phase, this balavāhana-manasikāra.

We may also have even experienced that effortfulness at times in our practice when we reach the end of a sit, almost sweating from the effort involved, simply to stay in one sitting position to maintain attention on one object. But we can be reassured that this effort has a reward that eventually, in two distinct ways, we can experience some pliancy, some clarity and relaxation.

Praśrabdhi, qīng’ān [輕安 qīng’ān, “light and at ease” — Chinese gloss], in Spanish, we can develop flexibility and flexibility in vocabulary, but we do not have clarity, no? Clarity, relaxation. Because there is an aspect here that is bodily, through yoga practice we can develop flexibility, pliancy in the body, but there is also a feedback that allows relaxation in mind to also be expressed in body.

That subtle holding and tension in the body that can create obstacles to our sitting can also be softened simply through relaxation of the mind. And there is also a purely mental aspect in the sense of wieldiness, a softness of mind, softness of mind.

So rather than being kind of resistant to change, stuck in habits of thinking, the mind begins to bend depending on our intention, depending on our volition. So this kind of pliancy allows us to choose the object rather than the object choosing us.

And when this kind of pliancy, this clarity and relaxation starts to appear in our practice, at this moment this kind of dullness, laziness begins to subside. It’s no longer such an obstacle to our practice. We have faith, confidence, trust, that this is an effective method demonstrated by our teachers who inspire us. There is some fruit available through this cultivation.

Seeing that in another, I begin to concretely aspire, intend to cultivate even just a glimpse of that same fruit, chanda, recognizing that this requires some effort on my part, a physical and a mental effort to make the time to set my alarm, to bring my attention back to the object when the mind has wandered, even forcefully at first.

And eventually the mind begins to learn, ah yes, 7.45 is time for meditation. It no longer is such a struggle to set the alarm and wake a little early. The body no longer resists so strongly, sitting still for even 15, 20, 30, perhaps even 40 minutes, maintaining a stillness in body so that distractions for the mind become more clear and can be worked with constructively.

So as our faith, our aspiration, our effort and our clarity and relaxation comes into balance, we are able to place the mind more and more continuously on the object, eventually spending more time with the object than without.

We shift from a forceful to an interrupted attention, from the power of listening and thinking to the power of mindfulness itself, to see when the mind has wandered, to remember to come back to the object.

Perhaps in our own practice we have had an experience, even just a taste of this already, perhaps a period of minutes at a time when the mind is contented simply to pay attention to this very subtle inflow and outflow of the breath in the body. Perhaps we have noticed that the breath itself is beginning to change, become more smooth, more gentle and perhaps the sensation more vivid and clear.

This closeness is related to the next stage, Upasthāpayati, which we have already met in the last session. Mindfulness remains the power that we need to bring here, reminding us to return to the object when the mind wanders and the attention is still occasionally interrupted.

But as we have been contemplating, there is no substitute for the doing, no matter how much we hear and reflect, transformation lies in direct experience.

So let us find a comfortable sitting position, establish ourselves in a stable and upright posture, chrysanthemum posture in which we feel some confidence we can be comfortable for most of our sitting, knowing that this posture is also subject to change, that we can gently, mindfully shift our posture if painful sensation comes to the foreground of our experience.

We can take a few deep in-breaths and out-breaths, even placing a hand on the belly and a hand on the upper chest as we did in our first session, to really rediscover the breath in the body.

We can give rise to a clear motivation for our sitting, inspired by our teachers who manifest such patience, kindness, selflessly teaching these basic practices from the Buddha down to our Guru, inspiring faith that there is a fruit to be tasted here, only is this a fruit, but that heart-mind of concern for others is the path itself, recognizing that this motivation can only help us when it transforms into an intention to practice, to cultivate.

We can give rise to that clear intention also for our sitting, in this case mindfulness of breathing, emphasizing a close placing attention with the breath.

We can begin that process of recollecting awareness from outside, all those many sense impressions that can hook the mind, distract us from the object of our choosing, sounds distant and close by, sensation of touch, of cooled warmth, clothing, weight, mindfully bringing attention to the sensations of the breath in the body, knowing this is in-breath, this is out-breath, relaxing the whole body,

letting go of tensions, distractions, mindful of in-breath, tracking closely sensations of the breath, just as they appear, no need to change this experience, breathing out, mindful of out-breath, tracking closely feelings of the breath, just as they are, no need to change the breath in any way, encouraging the body to relax, tensions to release and the mind to be contented with this simple

experience of the breath in the body, inviting distractions to fade into the background, breathing in, mindful of in-breath, staying with sensation of breath for the whole length of in-breath arising its continuity and its ceasing, mindful of out-breath, continuity of attention for the whole duration of the out-breath also, its arising, continuing and ceasing, nothing else to do, calming the

body, allowing distractions to arise and fade into the background, inviting the breath to become vivid, clear, to fulfill the mind, breathing in, mindful of in-breath, continuity of attention with the feelings of the breath in the body, beginning, middle and as from stillness, the gross movement of abdomen, diaphragm, lungs, ribcage arises, reaches its peak and again subsides into a moment of

stillness again, maintaining that awareness into this stillness in the natural pause between in-breath and the following out-breath, long or short, deep or shallow, allowing the breath to flow naturally, not changing it in any way, mindful of out-breath as sensation again arises in gross movement of the breath in the body, reaches its peak and then subsides again into stillness in the natural

pause between out-breath and in-breath, even just a moment, staying with sensation as it becomes soft, subtle, closely placing the mind with this object, feelings of breath in body, encouraging the body to relax, inviting the mind to let go of distractions in the form of other sensations outside or inside the body, even thoughts of past or future, images, words, allowing them to fade into the

background and for the mind to be fulfilled, nourished by this simple flow of in-breath and out-breath just as it is mindful of in-breath, established in this close tracking familiarity with the movement of in-breath for its whole length, beginning, middle and end breath subsides into stillness in the natural pause between in-breath and out-breath, perhaps aware of a possibility for that gross

sensation, the movement of breath in the body, in lungs, in diaphragm to give way to an awareness of the subtle breath in the whole body perhaps, a vibration or a tingling in every tissue, every organ, every cell of the body, breathing with the whole body, breathing out mindful of out-breath, of this gross movement of the breath in the body but also this subtle breath in the whole body perhaps,

even as out-breath subsides into stillness in the natural pause between out-breath and the following in-breath, maintaining that awareness, inviting that subtle sensation to fulfill the mind breathing with the whole body, inviting relaxation, pliancing, a softness, a flexibility in body and in mind, allowing distractions to fade into the background arising and passing, arising and passing,

arising and passing. So, as we conclude, we can adjust our sitting position if it’s become uncomfortable, reviewing our meditation, recognizing hindrances that have been present — perhaps dullness or distraction — recognizing aspects that have been clear, easeful. And we can take a few moments if there are any questions or reflections, any experiences. Please come up if you do, and use the microphone, so

others can hear, and it will be on the recording also. Thank you for your teachings. The question is actually very technical, and almost ridiculous: when you refer to “reflection” in some of your explanations — “to activate and to reflect” — is that the same as what other teachers call “vigilance and introspection,” or is it different? When I say reflection now, at the end —

— no, in the beginning, when you speak about explaining the process of śamatha, and you talk about “activating and reflecting,” using this term sometimes, I’m wondering if this is the same as “activating introspection and vigilance,” which is “activating intelligence.” And I was confused if it’s the same form of intelligence that you refer to when you say “reflection,” as you explain

So, the context in which I’m using “reflection,” probably in the beginning, kind of introductory context, I think is a more general way. And I suspect that the word that you are referring to, sometimes perhaps translated as “reflection,” is samprajanya. And samprajanya, as you rightly point out, has a very precise technical definition in the context of śamatha-vipaśyanā. It’s a very important factor, so

important, in fact, that it’s often seen to be kind of paired with sati, smṛti, with mindfulness itself, that the two are often together, almost hyphenated: sati-samprajanya, or smṛti-samprajanya. Different ways to translate that, as well as this kind of reflection, or kind of intellectual understanding. There is also an implication, in the understanding of the Buddha’s early teachings, instructions

for Ānāpānasati and Satipaṭṭhāna especially, in which it can be kind of taken to mean an awareness of context, like a broad scope of awareness, so that, in the first set of exercises relating to the establishment of mindfulness in the body, samprajanya is the quality of relationship to experience that is invited in the daily-life context, when a single-pointed focus on one object is not practical, when

we are walking, speaking, eating, standing, engaged in gestures in daily life. So there is this kind of implication of contextual awareness, and that has, very importantly, kind of an ethical component — it’s aware of what is appropriate in this moment, what is appropriate behaviour. So it has an intellectual aspect; there is certainly a clear understanding. It’s not just like a bare awareness, which is

one way that mindfulness is sometimes translated. But there is also a context in which that samprajanya can be turned inwards as well, and there is a word that is becoming kind of more current now, in a sort of more neuroscientific or Western psychological approach, that this is a synonym for metacognitive awareness, or metacognition. It’s that aspect of our awareness that is aware of what we are

thinking and feeling in this moment, that’s not just carried away by the thought or the feeling, but is aware that this is a feeling or a thought that’s happening in the context of a body and a mind — the outside world, let alone, but also this kind of inner landscape. And it’s actually this type of awareness that starts to move into the foreground now in the nine stages, so we move from śruta-bala,

cintā-bala, smṛti-bala, to samprajanya-bala, this power of a kind of contextual, metacognitive awareness. This is the kind of awareness that is able to calibrate finely enough to bring the mind to rest with the object in continuity; it’s aware when there is dullness and agitation, even of a subtle nature. So, while it has an intellectual aspect, there’s like a clear knowing, and actually samprajanya,

if we break it down — sam, bringing into completeness, pra, the implication of thorough, and jña, from the same root as we see in prajñā, cognate with “gnosis,” knowing, in European languages — there is an intellectual knowing and understanding here, but it is also more than that; it also has this contextual and introspective kind of subtlety. So, I think, when I’m saying “reflection” in a more broad context,

I’m not pointing to that very precise term. But, later on, there are very clear instructions in Ānāpānasati, in awareness-of-breathing meditation, in how to apply samprajanya, how to apply that clear knowing. And maybe we can conclude there, but just to leave us again with that satipaṭṭhāna refrain, the kind of motto, or the attitude, that you can almost put on your t-shirt, for satipaṭṭhāna

practice: ātāpī, with energy — this is like the chanda or vyāyāma aspect of the eight antidotes — bringing some effort, some energy, some diligence; mindful, remembering what it is that we are doing; completely understanding, this is in-breath, this is out-breath; and not grasping or pushing away at any aspect of our experience. If we can bring this into our sitting meditation, let alone in daily life,

because it can be applied also in daily life, it has that capacity to be context-aware, not just in single-pointedness — then we are already bringing some awakening into our practice. Balance, not grasping. Good luck. Thank you, everyone. Thank you to our friends for waiting so patiently, and please do come on in. Thank you to our translators for your — lack of laziness! — in coming to give your energy, and wish you all a wonderful day.