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Dharma Talks
2012-10-04 Oh,The Places You'll Go 32:46
Bob Stahl
Working with hindrances and obstacles in meditation practice, as a gateway towards freedom.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center The Dharma of Aging

2012-09-28 Foundations of Mindfulness Series - Q&A  Contemplating Mind & Hindrances 19:17
Amma Thanasanti
Shakti Vihara Foundations of Mindfulness Series

2012-09-28 Foundations of Mindfulness Series - Contemplating Mind & Hindrances 42:59
Amma Thanasanti
Shakti Vihara Foundations of Mindfulness Series

2012-09-24 Deepening concentration, developing happiness 56:14
Sally Armstrong
Any time we practice mindfulness and wise attention, we are weakening the impact of the hindrances, and strengthening what are known as the five jhanic factors: meditative qualities that support the continuity and deepening of our meditation. Each of the jhanic factors actually balances and acts as an antidote to one of the hindrances. This talk looks at how to strengthen the jhanic factors, and use them skillfully as antidotes to the hindrances.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 1

2012-09-17 “Am I OK?” 58:10
Sally Armstrong
Though we receive lots of instructions for our meditation practice on retreats, let’s face it – we spend a lot of time thinking. What do we think about? At the heart of these movements of the mind is answering the questions, “Am I OK?”, “Was I OK?”, and “Will I be OK?” Our obsession with these questions is the cause of a huge amount of restlessness. Restlessness is one of the major hindrances to calming the mind and deepening our meditation, and can be seen as both the cause and the effect of all the other hindrances. The Buddha also talked about this kind of thinking, and called it unwise attention that leads to all kinds of suffering. We need to look at the core issues that lead us to dwell on these questions if we are to create a more skilful relationship to our thoughts.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 1

2012-08-26 Mara and the Hindrances 48:25
Jake Dartington
Gaia House Meditation and Mindfulness

2012-08-17 Letting Go of Disturbance, Finding Stillness 55:37
Sally Armstrong
To deepen in concentration, we need to be willing to recognize whatever disturbances or hindrances might be present, however subtle, and to work with them skillfully, ultimately to release them. This allows the mind to settle to the next level of stillness. This talk is based on practice as described in Majjhima Nikaya (2), the Cula-Sunnata Sutta, The Lesser Discourse on Emptiness.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Concentration Retreat

2012-07-17 The Hindrances and their Psychology. 58:05
Akincano Marc Weber
Investigation of how the hindrances (nivarana) manifest and how to recognize them.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Mindfulness, Insight, Liberation: Insight Meditation Retreat

2012-07-17 Clarifying the Mind 47:51
Kim Allen
The Buddha likened the Five Hindrances to impurities and disturbances in a pool of water. In this talk, we examine the grosser and finer manifestations of each hindrance, down to subtle levels.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley Tuesday Talks—2012

2012-07-17 The Hindrances 58:59
Stephen Batchelor
Reflections on the five hindrances as understood through their personification in the figure of Mara (the demonic).
Gaia House Study Retreat: A Buddhist Secular Retreat

2012-07-04 10. Training of Mind 37:52
Thanissara
practice as preparation for when the hindrances hit - vitakkasantana sutta - skilful training of thought
Cloud Mountain Retreat Center Embodied Dharma

2012-07-04 7. Hindrances & Stopping 39:49
Thanissara
stopping the momentum of the mind.. a serial killer stops and awakens
Cloud Mountain Retreat Center Embodied Dharma

2012-06-22 Dhammanupassana - Part I 57:15
Sayadaw Vivekananda
Etymology, description, contemplation of hindrances
Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge June 2012 at IMS - Forest Refuge

2012-06-16 Morning Meditation Instructions 56:57
Joseph Goldstein
Recognition, mindfulness and wisdom. Working with the hindrances
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center People of Color Retreat

2012-06-15 Turning Obstacles Into Opportunities 61:08
Bhante Buddharakkhita
By establishing strong mindfulness and wisdom, we can turn the five hindrances into opportunities for awakening
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center People of Color Retreat

2012-06-14 Turning Obstacles Into Opportunities 60:56
Bhante Buddharakkhita
By establishing strong mindfulness and wisdom, we can turn the five hindrances into opportunities for awakening
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center People of Color Retreat

2012-05-25 The Five Hindrances or Obstacles to Meditation Practice 49:44
Grove Burnett
Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center

2012-04-23 Buddhist Studies Course - The Five Hindrances - Week 7 1:22:14
Mark Nunberg
Common Ground Meditation Center Buddhist Studies Course - The Five Hindrances

2012-04-20 Talking Monkeys 45:21
Noah Levine
Working with internal talk, the hindrances, and Brahmaviharas.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Spring Insight Meditation Retreat

2012-04-16 Buddhist Studies Course - The Five Hindrances - Week 6 62:18
Mark Nunberg
Common Ground Meditation Center Buddhist Studies Course - The Five Hindrances

2012-04-11 Death, Hindrances, 32 Body Parts 63:45
Bob Stahl
Cultivating the mindfulness of death assists in the path of awakening. Working with the challenges/hindrances that come up after the first day of full practice. An introduction to the 32 Parts of the Body meditation.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Finding Freedom in the Body: Mindfulness of the Body as a Gateway to Liberation

2012-04-09 Buddhist Studies Course - The Five Hindrances - Week 5 48:37
Mark Nunberg
Common Ground Meditation Center Buddhist Studies Course - The Five Hindrances

2012-04-07 The Five Nivaranas 38:00
Ayya Anandabodhi
Explanation of the five Nivasanas (five hindrances)
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Wisdom and Compassion Are the Gifts of Mindfulness: Monastic Retreat

2012-04-05 Hindrances as Opportunities in Yoga & Meditation 53:22
Anne Cushman
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Meditation and Yoga Retreat

2012-04-02 Buddhist Studies Course - The Five Hindrances - Week 4 - Talk 42:27
Mark Nunberg
Common Ground Meditation Center Buddhist Studies Course - The Five Hindrances

2012-03-31 Mindfulness and the Five Hindrances 63:53
Mark Coleman
An exploration of the practice of mindfulness and hot it helps navigate the hindrances of desire, aversion, doubt, sloth and restlessness in meditation and the path.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Vipassana for the Curious

2012-03-26 Buddhist Studies Course - The Five Hindrances - Week 3 1:11:03
Mark Nunberg
Common Ground Meditation Center Buddhist Studies Course - The Five Hindrances

2012-03-19 Buddhist Studies Course - The Five Hindrances - Week 2 1:12:48
Mark Nunberg
Common Ground Meditation Center Buddhist Studies Course - The Five Hindrances

2012-03-18 Purificare la mente dagli impedimenti - Purifying the Mind of Hindrances 56:24
Steve Armstrong
Monastero di Camaldoli :  Insight and Wisdom

2012-03-12 Buddhist Studies Course - The Five Hindrances - Week 1 1:31:12
Mark Nunberg
Common Ground Meditation Center Buddhist Studies Course - The Five Hindrances

2012-03-10 Get a Grip: Concentration as the Antidote to the Flurried Mind 58:31
Sylvia Boorstein
A review of the hindrances and the way in which the factor of concentration, when applied, steadies the mind and allows for clear seeing to prevail.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Insight Meditation Retreat, March Month Long

2012-02-21 No Desire, No Path 50:11
Thanissara
One who knows the hindrances isn't hindered
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center An Integrated Awakening: Insight Meditation Retreat

2012-02-18 Hindrances to Seeing Clearly and Acting Wisely 42:47
Jake Dartington
Gaia House Young Person's Retreat

2012-02-13 The Hindrances 56:34
Andrea Fella
Mountain Hermitage Fella and Scharf

2012-02-03 Living The Dash 63:43
Lila Kate Wheeler
Fully living - working with five hindrances with presence and acceptance.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Living an Awakened Life: Insight Meditation Weekend

2012-01-14 The Path Of Awareness 60:38
Mark Coleman
What is mindfulness - how can we develop it in our meditation and lives and how does awareness reveal freedom and its obstacles - i.e. the hindrances to meditate and how to to overcome them.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Living a Mindful and Compassionate Life: Insight and Metta Weekend

2012-01-14 Differences Between Samatha and Vipassana 27:38
Stephen Snyder
This talk given by Tina Rasmussen and Stephen Snyder includes: differences between the practices, useful ways to work with hindrances.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center

2012-01-14 Differences Between Samatha and Vipassana 28:36
Tina Rasmussen
This talk given by Tina Rasmussen and Stephen Snyder includes: differences between the practices, useful ways to work with hindrances.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center

2012-01-02 The Five Hindrances to Enlightenment 42:50
Ayya Anandabodhi
Aloka Vihara Forest Monastery (Angela Center) New Year's Retreat

2011-12-06 Working with the Hindrances 42:44
Howard Cohn
Mission Dharma

2011-11-22 Satipatthana Sutta, Fourth Foundation: Discernment and the Hindrances 47:25
Rodney Smith
Struggling with the hindrances draws us back into form. Each hindrance has to be thoroughly understood so that when it arises we no longer invest reality into its appearance. Discernment is the only tool that can reveal the truth of its emptiness. In seeing the true nature of the hindrance, we see our own and the struggle ends. All other applications of practice reinvest thought into the form and make it more than what it is.
Seattle Insight Meditation Society
In collection: The Satipatthana Sutta

2011-11-11 Antidotes to the Five Hindrances 47:57
Kevin Griffin
A talk given at a Dharma and Recovery class
Spirit Rock Meditation Center

2011-11-03 Working with the Hindrances 32:53
Yanai Postelnik
Gaia House November Solitary

2011-10-26 The Door in the Wall 58:53
Winnie Nazarko
In order to come to clarity and equanimity, the mind must learn to open to all states. Learning how to work with the 5 Hindrances is key to this process, and opens the door to the peace that we seek.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 2

2011-09-17 Unveiling Our Inner Loveliness: Working Skilfully with the Hindrances 54:35
John Teasdale
Working with the hindrances is a central, vital and continuing aspect of the path to freedom. But it is not easy - some reasons why are discussed.
Gaia House Mindfulness, Insight, Liberation: The Foundations of MBCT/MBSR

2011-08-17 Hindrances: Obscurations of Radiant Mind 63:18
Dori Langevin
Working with the hindrances on retreat. Story of Angulimala.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Insight Meditation Retreat for Young Adults

2011-07-30 The Five Hindrances 50:32
Chas DiCapua
How we develop a wise and compassionate approach to all aspects of our lives through learning how to have a wise and compassionate relationship to the hindrances.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Investigating Life: Insight Meditation Retreat for 18-32 Year Olds

2011-07-13 The Five Hindrances and Doing vs. Being 57:23
Grove Burnett
Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center Awake in the Wild: Meditation in Nature Retreat

2011-07-09 Gradual Training 1:14:16
Sayadaw U Jagara
Tentative elaboration of the gradual Training found in the suttas. Starting with Sila and Samadhi and sub-divisions. Simple description of guarding the sense doors. Full understanding and the five hindrances.
Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge July through October 2011 at IMS - Forest Refuge

2011-07-07 The Five Hindrances 26:24
Grove Burnett
Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center

2011-06-25 Meeting the Challenges - Working with the Hindrances in Meditation 62:53
Yanai Postelnik
A reflection on how to work with the challenges we all encounter in meditation. Craving, aversion, sleepiness, restlessness, and sceptical doubt are challenging but temporary visitors which obscure our deeper truth. By recognising them as such and learning to work skillfully with them we can free ourselves from their grip, revealing the natural purity and radiance of our heart and mind.
Gaia House Insight Meditation and Yoga Retreat

2011-06-16 The Great Departure into the Unknown 56:19
Larry Yang
Departing from the conditioned patterns of our lives, the hindrances and renunciation.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha

2011-06-15 Hindrances - Discussion - Q&A 26:59
Amma Thanasanti
Meditation II on the Hindrances, Bodhi Mind Center
Shakti Vihara

2011-06-15 Hindrances - Guided Meditation 28:57
Amma Thanasanti
Meditation II on the Hindrances, Bodhi Mind Center
Shakti Vihara

2011-06-15 Hindrances - Introduction 39:23
Amma Thanasanti
Meditation II on the Hindrances, Bodhi Mind Center
Shakti Vihara

2011-05-16 4. The Hindrances The Psychotherapy of Vipassana 53:53
Bhante Bodhidhamma
Gaia House Mahasi 9 Day Retreat

2011-05-07 The Hindrances are Mara 45:34
Noah Levine
Working with the hindrances in retreat and in our lives. Kindness as a main antidote.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center (Yucca Valley) Spring Vipassana Retreat

2011-05-01 Letting go of Disturbance, Deepening Stillness 60:07
Sally Armstrong
To deepen our meditation practice we need to work skillfully with whatever is a disturbance -- whether it's the gross forms of the hindrances, or the subtlest manifestations of restlessness. This subtle restlessness often comes from a primal anxiety. We need to recognize this and find the stillness in our experience. Then we can truly be with things as they are.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Concentration

2011-04-08 The Hindrances 1:37:19
Sayadaw Vivekananda
Mountain Hermitage Vivekananda

2011-03-13 Forms of Desire and the Hindrances 1:14:25
Akincano Marc Weber
Gaia House Stillness and Insight

2011-03-07 Reading The Book Of The Heart 37:16
Kittisaro
Two great oxen: samatha - calming and vipassana - insight- meditation; each supports the other . Hindrances as teachers.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center The Mysterious Way of the Heart: Where Wisdom and Compassion Meet

2011-03-06 The Prisoner 44:43
Thanissara
The light awareness illuminates the dark. Working with hindrances.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center The Mysterious Way of the Heart: Where Wisdom and Compassion Meet

2010-12-30 Instructions on Vedana and The Hindrances 36:16
Chris Cullen
Gaia House The New Years Retreat

2010-12-21 Letting Go: Crossing the Creek 54:25
Heather Sundberg
After recently returning from six months of study and practice in Asia, Heather shares a few stories from her trip, weaving the themes of the outer journey and the inner journey of retreat. Teachings and practice tips focus primarily on working with strong emotions, the five hindrances and the process of letting go.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Solstice Retreat

2010-12-13 The Five Hindrances 54:22
Greg Scharf
A discussion of the difficulties we encounter in our practice and some suggestions for how to work with them skillfully.
Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge December 2010 at IMS - Forest Refuge

2010-12-01 Investigating the Dharma: Refuges, Hindrances, Mindfulness 59:33
Anushka Fernandopulle
First night talk on what we are doing on retreat, working with hindrances, mindfulness, connection to refuges and precepts.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Discovering Presence in Each Moment

2010-11-21 Hindrances and Such 56:19
Wes Nisker
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Monday and Wednesday Talks

2010-11-05 Practicing with the Hindrances 40:09
Christina Feldman
The meditative journey involves understanding and dispelling the veils of mental states that cloud the radiance of the mind.
Gaia House November Solitary Retreat

2010-11-03 Tending the garden of the heart and mind 50:52
Mary Grace Orr
Just as we garden, tending out plants and pulling weeds, so we need to cultivate the ground of heart and mind. Uprooting obscurations and dealing with hindrances are part of this work.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Mindfulness of the Body

2010-10-17 Going Beyond the Hindrances 56:28
Mark Nunberg
Dharma Talk
Common Ground Meditation Center

2010-10-08 The Third and Fourth Foundations of Mindfulness 1:22:25
Leigh Brasington
Mindfulness of mind-states, of the Five Hindrances and of the Five Aggregates
Gaia House Paticca-Samuppada and Jhana Dependent Co-Origination and the Meditative Absorptions

2010-10-03 The Five Hindrances 52:01
Leigh Brasington
Gaia House Paticca-Samuppada and Jhana Dependent Co-Origination and the Meditative Absorptions

2010-09-20 Am I OK? 54:16
Sally Armstrong
Though we receive lots of instructions for our meditation practice on retreats, let’s face it – we spend a lot of time thinking. What do we think about? At the heart of these movements of the mind is answering the questions, “Am I OK?”, “Was I OK?”, and “Will I be OK?” Our obsession with these questions is the cause of a huge amount of restlessness. Restlessness is one of the major hindrances to calming the mind and deepening our meditation, and can be seen as both the cause and the effect of all the other hindrances. The Buddha also talked about this kind of thinking, and called it unwise attention that leads to all kinds of suffering. We need to look at the core issues that lead us to dwell on these questions if we are to create a more skilful relationship to our thoughts.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 1

2010-09-14 The Judging Mind 51:37
Christina Feldman
Mindfulness and investigation are doorways to understanding the inner critic as a compound of hindrances and self view.
Gaia House Mindfulness, Insight, Liberation: The Foundations of MBCT/MBSR

2010-08-18 Skillful Means for Concentration 63:22
Andrea Fella
Cultivating the skill of concentration includes recognizing and working with those qualities that both support and hinder concentration. This talk explores ways to let go of the hindrances, and ways to cultivate the factors of concentration.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Concentration Retreat

2010-08-01 Subliminal Inclinations, Defilements and Hindrances 55:00
Bhante Bodhidhamma
date estimated
Satipanya Retreat Centre

2010-06-25 Dhammanupassana Satipatthana I 64:07
Sayadaw Vivekananda
Introduction; hindrances
Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge June 2010 at IMS - Forest Refuge

2010-06-05 Knowing Hindrances Through Body Awareness 62:55
Pascal Auclair
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Awakening in the Body: Meditation with Qigong

2010-05-31 The Five Hindrances 55:07
Greg Scharf
A discussion of the difficulties we encounter in our practice and some suggestions for how to work with them skillfully.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Loving Friendliness: Metta Retreat

2010-05-20 The Five Hindrances 42:21
Caroline Jones
Gaia House Work Retreat

2010-05-10 Tendencies, Defilements and Hindrances 46:38
Bhante Bodhidhamma
Gaia House Mahasi Retreat

2010-03-21 Morning Instructions 38:51
Christina Feldman
Hindrances
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Women in Meditation: Insight Meditation Retreat

2010-03-04 The Hindrances 53:43
Gil Fronsdal
Spirit Rock Meditation Center March 2010 Month Long

2010-02-10 Mind Only and The Hindrances 1:53:50
John Peacock
Please note that these talks are from a 4 week retreat for experienced meditators. The talks and meditations can be listened to in any order or individually, but as they progressively unfold different levels of understanding of Emptiness, they will probably be more fully understood and the practices more easily developed if taken in series.
Gaia House Meditation on Emptiness (2010)

2010-02-09 Transforming Hindrances Through Love 64:37
Mark Coleman
This talk explores the unity of mindfulness and metta and how we work with obstacles to meditation that arise doing metta (loving Kindness) practice.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Metta (Lovingkindness) Retreat

2010-01-15 Uncovering the Luminous Mind - Working with the Hindrances 54:58
John Teasdale
The hindrances not only obstruct meditation practice, but stand between us and our inherent potential for clarity, wisdom and compassion. Ways of working with the hindrances to reveal that potential are discussed.
Gaia House An Exploration of Mindfulness MBCT/MBSR Retreat

2010-01-09 What we're doing here 50:58
Trudy Goodman
Mettafying the hindrances to death! This is what should be done by one who is skilled in goodness. How we maintain the self through excluding our vulnerability. The protection of inclusion, no one left out.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Metta Retreat

2009-12-13 Reading the Book of the Heart 38:13
Kittisaro
Hindrances as the teacher, cultivating trust. Mindfulness is the path to the deathless. That which knows doubt isn't doubt.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Wings of Awakening: Cultivating the Five Spiritual Faculties

2009-11-18 The Cure for Pain Is in the Pain 65:58
Howard Cohn
Working with the difficult mental states, especially the 5 hindrances.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Insight Meditation Retreat

2009-11-02 Mindfulness - What It Is and What Makes It Difficult 64:30
Donald Rothberg
On this first evening of the retreat, we explore the nature of mindfulness in general and how we practice mindfulness of the body in particular. We then examine the five "difficult energies" (nivarana or "hindrances"), and how they make mindfulness difficult and how to practice when they are present.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Cultivating Clear Seeing, Opening the Heart

2009-10-29 Five Hindrances 57:21
Pascal Auclair
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Two-Month Retreat

2009-10-01 Hindrances and Aggregates - The Right Response 28:18
Ajahn Sucitto
We can use the suffering that arises from the hindrances as a means for clearing kamma. Rather than getting hooked by our habitual reactions, track the experience through the lens of the aggregates. Set aside the topic, get underneath it. Work with it on an energetic level, feel it in the body. It isn’t easy, but over time confidence builds that this is where it ceases. Then these hindrances have taught us a powerful lesson we won’t get anywhere else.
Cittaviveka Vassa Retreat

2009-09-28 The Hindrances 53:04
John Teasdale
Gaia House Mindfulness, Insight, Liberation

2009-08-19 Hindrances as a Door of Awakening 65:55
Howard Cohn
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Meditation and Yoga

2009-08-12 The Joy of Hindrances 67:37
Dori Langevin
Difficult mind-body states can be a gateway to freedom if we bring a sincere interest and an open, spacious and kind presence to grasping and aversion in all of their forms.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Young Adult's Insight Meditation Retreat

2009-07-20 The Five Hindrances 63:45
Bhante Khippapanno
Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge July 2009 at IMS - Forest Refuge

2009-07-19 Navigating the Hindrance Terrain of Metta Practice 60:43
Kamala Masters
How to work with the hindrances in Metta practice.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Metta Retreat

2009-07-16 Growing a True Face 24:19
Ajahn Sucitto
A lot of practice is about working with difficult mind states, emotional currents, and personality patterns. With the establishment of basic ground, we bring together a unified Dhamma body that holds us steady. It gives us a reference point, a presence, that drains power out of the hindrances and allows us to meet difficulties that arise.
Cittaviveka Vassa Retreat

2009-06-02 Appreciative Joy 44:02
Shaila Catherine
Appreciative joy (sympathetic joy, mudita) is the third of four qualities called Brahma Viharas (divine abodes) which are the subjects for this 4-part lecture series. Appreciative joy is presented as an extension of the loving kindness (metta) practice. Joy refers to the ability to delight and rejoice in the success and good fortune of others. Mudita overcomes the hindrances and obstacles of conceit, comparing, envy, avarice, jealousy, aversive criticism, resentment, competitiveness, and boredom.
Insight Meditation South Bay - Silicon Valley Four Brahma Viharas
In collection: Four Brahma Viharas

2009-05-24 Humility As A Spiritual Awakening 59:18
Heather Sundberg
How do we find the place between indulgence and self-mortification, between pride and shame? This talk explores the relationship between humility and the Middle Way, through personal stories, poetry and practical techniques such as working with fear, the hindrances and the RAIN practice.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Dharma of Recovery

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