Page 134 - The Buddha‘s Noble Eightfold Path

(v) The Hindrance of Doubt and Indecision. This is the inability,

even the unwillingness, to think things out and come to a
definite conclusion and a definite decision. It is the refusal to

take a definite line of action, or to adopt a definite concrete
attitude.

Such are the Five Hindrances, and when we speak in terms of
eradicating arisen unskillful mental states it is primarily to the

getting rid of the craving for material things, hatred, sloth and
torpor, restlessness and anxiety, and doubt and indecision that
we refer.

In Buddhism the mind or consciousness of man is often

compared with water. Water in its natural state is pure,
translucent, and sparkling, but it can be contaminated in various
ways. Similarly the mind, which is also pure by nature, can be

defiled by the Five Hindrances. In Buddhist literature the mind
that is full of craving is compared with water in which various

colours — red, blue, green, yellow and so on — have been
mixed. There is a certain beauty, but the purity of the water —
and of the mind — has been lost. The mind that is overcome by

hatred is compared with water which, having reached boiling
point, is hissing and bubbling and giving off steam. (Significantly,

we speak of 'letting off steam' when we are angry). In the same
way, the mind that is disturbed by restlessness and anxiety is like
water whipped into waves by a strong wind, while a mind that is

in the grip of sloth and torpor is like a pond choked with weeds.
As for the mind that is under the influence of doubt and

indecision, it is like water which is full of evil-smelling black mud.

But how is one to cleanse and purify the water? How is one to

get rid of the Five Hindrances and eradicate all the arisen

134