Categories: Eradicate the Fear of Meditation
May the blessings of the Triple Gem be with you all!
Today, through our spiritual teachings, we hope to illuminate an experience that many of you may have encountered on your journey of spiritual development, particularly in the practice of calming and insight meditation. This is something that may have already happened to some of you; in fact, it happens to the majority of people.
For a few, it may not, but for most, the experience is almost universal. What is this experience? It is the appearance of what we call spiritual obstacles when you try to deepen your spiritual life.
Obstacles in Everyday Life: A Relatable Starting Point
These spiritual obstacles manifest in various ways. We have spoken before about external troubles and hindrances that arise when you try to develop spiritually, especially through meditation, which is a practice called Bhāvanā, or mental cultivation. When we engage in Bhāvanā, we are not developing a physical object in the material world or inventing a new product. We are cultivating the mind, the heart.
Yet, consider our experience in the ordinary world. Even when we try to do something good for society, we face various troubles and hindrances. People become jealous. Others who dislike our efforts try to stop us. Society is filled with different kinds of people, including those with mental defilements, known in Buddhism as kilesa. These individuals, driven by their defilements, try to obstruct good work. This could be social service, your educational pursuits, or personal projects. You have likely faced this already.
Think about your own life. Perhaps you faced obstacles when trying to marry the person you love, sometimes from your own parents or siblings, or from friends and the wider community. Maybe it happened when you tried to start a new business, enroll in a university, or find a new way to earn a living.
Whenever you strive for worldly progress, you may encounter opposition from family, relatives, friends you thought you could trust, or colleagues at your workplace. These experiences of facing obstacles are not uncommon; nearly everyone has them.
The Choice We Face: Surrender or Persevere?
You might have even been the one who created an obstacle for someone else, or perhaps you have never done so. You may have been the one trying to walk a noble path, or perhaps not. Either way, you have experienced this from both sides. You may have been the person causing the hindrance, as I mentioned, or you may have been the one facing the hindrance while on your path.
I am showing you this briefly to point out that even in the worldly realm, these problems are normal. The question is, did we stop our work because we were afraid of these external things? Did we abandon our journey out of fear of those who obstruct us, or because we couldn’t face their criticisms? If we did, our life was defeated at that point.
It means we lacked the strength and personality to face them, a lack of self-confidence. However, those with self-confidence and a strong character somehow achieved victory. The world is full of people who won and people who lost in this way.
From Worldly Wisdom to the Spiritual Path
There is a vital idea to grasp here. It is normal to face troubles and obstacles when trying to accomplish something, even in the worldly sphere. This is not strange. It existed in the past, it exists in the present, and it will continue to exist in the future. This is the reality we must understand.
Similarly, when someone starts to meditate and lead a spiritual life, they too will face spiritual obstacles. When these hindrances arise, some people fall away. They misunderstand what is happening and abandon the path, taking their ‘vehicle’ off the road. But there are many who pay these things no mind and continue their journey. This is what we must learn: when we begin a spiritual practice, when we try to develop our meditation, various people and forces may appear to stop us.
The Sources of Spiritual Obstacles: Seen and Unseen
Spirituality is not something of the visible, worldly realm. It deals with an unseen aspect of ourselves, something we cannot physically perceive. We are trying to develop this unseen dimension. And when we do, obstacles can come from that unseen side, from non-human forces, which we call amanussa, or even from what is known as Māra. You may have heard of the obstacles from Māra, which can be understood as the embodiment of temptation and the forces that oppose liberation.
Furthermore, these forces of Māra and amanussa can manifest in the human world through people close to us. They can be our parents, siblings, or friends. Through them, our opportunities to develop spiritually are often blocked.
Sometimes, there is no direct action from unseen beings, but the wrong understanding of our loved ones, our parents, spouse, children, relatives, or friends, creates these spiritual obstacles for us. Even without the influence of unseen forces, their misconceptions can create significant hindrances.
The Misguided Fear: “You’ll Go Mad from Meditating”
I must address a phrase that has become a kind of tradition in Sri Lanka, especially since the periods of foreign invasion. After our country was subjected to these invasions, the understanding of spirituality declined. In the wake of that decline, a certain saying became common: ‘You’re just trying to go crazy by meditating.’
This phrase, I believe, resurfaced repeatedly after the invasions. In the times of great kings like Dutugemunu and Parakramabahu, people cultivated their spirituality. But after the invasions by the Portuguese, Dutch, and British, people reached a point where they didn’t even know what spirituality was. In such an era, this phrase has persisted for a century or two. Today, even our parents might use this very phrase, discouraging meditation or stopping a child who shows an interest in it from a young age.
I am not accusing all parents. There are many who possess deep understanding and will even contact us to ask how they can help their child develop spiritually. We provide them with systematic guidance. But there is also a high probability of encountering parents with these older, ingrained fears.
Other Forms of Hindrance: Illness and Meditative Experiences
Some parents and elders hold various opinions: that their child’s worldly life will fail, that they might become a monk, or that they will become disillusioned with life. Your well-meaning friends in society may also try their best to stop you. These are the kinds of spiritual obstacles that arise. It is something we need to understand.
But these are not the only hindrances. As I’ve mentioned in other teachings on the topic of ‘External Troubles and Hindrances in Meditation,’ obstacles can also come in the form of physical illnesses. When we fall sick, we can break down. Another point where we falter is when we cannot understand the experiences we have in meditation.
We receive various experiences, and it is important to face them without fear. Exploring teachings that help remove the fear of meditation can be very useful. Many people try to move away from meditation because of these things.
Ultimately, what I want you to understand is that when we develop spiritually, we face numerous spiritual obstacles. The majority of people encounter them. These can come from your family, your spouse, your children, your parents, or from your friends, your workplace, or your school or university. They can come from various facets of your life and present different kinds of challenges.
The Powerful Reframe: Obstacles Are a Sign You’re on the Right Path
From the unseen side, it could be non-human beings who dislike meditation. It could be Māra or the army of Māra. As we have explained in our series of talks on this topic, they create various hindrances to remove us from the spiritual path. They try to push us off course and turn us into an immoral person, a good-for-nothing who doesn’t gather anything useful for the long journey of existence (Saṃsāra). They will try their utmost to make this happen. If we fall into such a state, you must realize how dangerous our situation is.
No matter how many spiritual obstacles come, we must understand one thing. When we are on a path and an obstacle appears, think about the worldly example again. Imagine someone is jealous of you when you are studying. They create various obstacles to stop you from learning. I have mentioned before that this tendency is especially high in all-girls’ schools.
You may have experienced this. If this happens, if someone is overly jealous of a student, you must understand it is because you have a certain talent. You have something that is causing their jealousy. They create obstacles, disrupting your studies, even hiding or destroying your books. If you face such a situation, consider yourself talented. This is happening because you are good at your studies.
It is the same when you invent something and try to develop it, or when you are growing a business. If obstacles appear, if people try to sabotage it, if they spread rumors as you become successful, understand this: it means you are more developed than the other person. You have achieved some result. You are hearing those words because of your superior skill. It is happening because you are on the right path. This is the lesson from the worldly level.
Embracing Challenges as Your True Guide
This is the very same principle you must apply to the spiritual world. This is the point you may not have understood. If you face various troubles and spiritual obstacles while meditating, some may think it’s a problem with non-human beings. Others may think it’s a trap or a hindrance from Māra or his army. However you think of it, if things are happening that prevent you from meditating, remember this: the path you are on is correct.
This is the signpost. This is how you know your path is the right one. For the person who understands this, no obstacle will ever truly be a hindrance. No matter how many challenges come, their mind will not perceive them as obstacles. Instead, they see them as confirmation that the path is correct.
They are correct signposts. Happily accepting them, they face them while continuing their spiritual practice without interruption. The day you happily accept these things, they will cease to be a mental torment. You will have the ability to move forward.
To do this, explore the teachings I have mentioned, gain the proper understanding, and act practically. Then you can definitely travel this path to the end, whether it is the path of tranquility (Samatha) or the path of insight (Vipassanā).
Conclusion: Your Path is Confirmed
Today, I will conclude this teaching on the theme that ‘the arrival of obstacles means our path is correct.’ With the power and blessings of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, the Triple Gem, may you all be able to understand these matters well and continue your practice with clear comprehension.
We invite you to walk this path with us. Read our teachings, and most importantly, apply them practically in your own life. as you practice, questions will naturally arise. Please feel free to share your experiences and questions in the comments below, via email or contact form. I will do my best to offer guidance in future talks based on your progress. For now, begin this practice with an open heart and a mind free from expectation. Cultivate it correctly, and may you find the clarity and peace you seek.
Thank you for joining us. We hope this blog will be of great benefit to your spiritual journey.
May you all be well and happy.
May the blessings of the Triple Gem be with you all!
