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Aṅguttara Nikāya · Discourse 5.51

Obstacles

Āvaraṇasutta — Nīvaraṇavagga — the sixth chapter of the Fives

Setting
Sāvatthī, in Jeta's Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's monastery; stated at the head of AN 5.51 and understood to hold across this chapter unless a discourse restates its own setting
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
The five hindrances named, then a single simile run twice — once for their presence, once for their absence
Length
~2 minutes to read
Northern parallel
The five hindrances (nīvaraṇa) are among the most widely attested lists across the Chinese Āgamas and Abhidharma literature; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — short, but naming material this series has anticipated since AN 5.23

Why this discourse

This chapter's name has been visible on the horizon since AN 5.23 named the same five states upakkilesa, corruptions, and flagged that they would eventually give an entire chapter of the Fives its title. That chapter has arrived. Sensual desire, ill will, dullness and drowsiness, restlessness and remorse, and doubt are named here by their most familiar term, nīvaraṇa, hindrances, and illustrated by a single, exact image: a mountain river, either running its full course or drained away through opened channels.

Reading guide

The teaching in one sentence

The five hindrances — sensual desire, ill will, dullness and drowsiness, restlessness and remorse, and doubt — are obstacles and parasites of the mind that weaken wisdom, and a mendicant who has not given them up cannot know what is good for themselves, others, or both, while one who has given them up can.

A third name for the same five states

This series has now met this identical five-item list under three separate labels: upakkilesa, corruptions, at AN 5.23; and now āvaraṇa nīvaraṇa, obstacles and hindrances, here. The content has not changed across any of these namings — sensual desire, ill will, dullness and drowsiness, restlessness and remorse, doubt, always in this order. What changes is the image each label carries: corruption suggested gold needing refinement; hindrance suggests something standing in a path.

‘Parasites of the mind’

Cetaso ajjhāruhā, translated here as parasites of the mind, is a more vivid image than ‘hindrance’ alone conveys — something that grows on or into the mind, drawing from it rather than merely blocking its way. Paired with paññāya dubbalīkaraṇā, weakening wisdom, the compound description names both what the five states are (parasitic) and what they specifically damage (wisdom, not virtue or concentration in general).

A river, opened and closed

The simile is worked twice, changing only one verb: a man opens channels on both sides of a swift mountain river, and its current disperses, weakens, no longer reaches far; a man closes those same channels, and the current runs swift and far, carrying everything before it. The hindrances are the opened channels — not external obstacles blocking the river’s path, but leaks in the container the water itself needed to keep moving with force.

What this discourse decides for a mendicant's own good

The stakes named are specific: without giving up the five hindrances, a mendicant cannot know attattha, their own good, parattha, another's good, or ubhayattha, the good of both — nor realize any distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones. The hindrances are not framed here as moral failings to be ashamed of, but as a specific, describable cause of a specific, describable incapacity.

Key terms

nīvaraṇa — “hindrance” — the term giving this chapter its name, the same five states already met as upakkilesa at AN 5.23.
cetaso ajjhāruhā — “parasites of the mind” — a vivid compound suggesting growth into the mind rather than mere external obstruction.
paññāya dubbalīkaraṇā — “that which weakens wisdom” — naming the specific faculty the five hindrances are said to damage.
attattha parattha ubhayattha — “one's own good, another's good, the good of both” — the threefold knowledge this discourse says the hindrances make impossible.
naṅgalamukha — “channel, sluice-gate” — literally a plow's mouth, the opening in the riverbank the simile turns on.

The text

The discourse in full: the five hindrances named, and the river simile run twice, for their presence and their absence. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

At Sāvatthī

§1So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, “Mendicants!” “Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:

The five hindrances

§2“Mendicants, there are these five obstacles and hindrances, parasites of the mind that weaken wisdom. What five? Sensual desire … Ill will … Dullness and drowsiness … Restlessness and remorse … Doubt … These are the five obstacles and hindrances, parasites of the mind that weaken wisdom.

The river, drained

§3Take a mendicant who has feeble and weak wisdom, not having given up these five obstacles and hindrances, parasites of the mind that weaken wisdom. It is quite impossible that they would know what’s for their own good, the good of another, or the good of both; or that they would realize any superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones.

§4Suppose there was a mountain river that flowed swiftly, going far, carrying all before it. But then a man would open channels on both sides, so the mid-river current would be dispersed, displaced, and separated. The river would no longer flow swiftly, going far, carrying all before it.

§5In the same way, take a mendicant who has feeble and weak wisdom, not having given up these five obstacles and hindrances, parasites of the mind that weaken wisdom. It is not possible that they would know what’s for their own good, the good of another, or the good of both; or that they would realize any superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones.

The river, running strong

§6Take a mendicant who has powerful wisdom, having given up these five obstacles and hindrances, parasites of the mind that weaken wisdom. It’s quite possible that they would know what’s for their own good, the good of another, or the good of both; or that they would realize any superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones.

§7Suppose there was a mountain river that flowed swiftly, going far, carrying all before it. But then a man would close up the channels on both sides, so the mid-river current would not be dispersed, displaced, and separated. The river would keep flowing swiftly for a long way, carrying all before it.

§8In the same way, take a mendicant who has powerful wisdom, having given up these five obstacles and hindrances, parasites of the mind that weaken wisdom. It’s quite possible that they would know what’s for their own good, the good of another, or the good of both; or that they would realize any superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones.”

· · ·

Self-check quiz

Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.

Question 1 of 10
What five states does this discourse name as obstacles and hindrances?
Correct: B. The nīvaraṇa, already met once before under a different name.
Question 2 of 10
Where did this identical five-item list already appear in this series, under a different label?
Correct: B. The same content, a different image, foreshadowed as far back as AN 5.23's own guide.
Question 3 of 10
What does 'cetaso ajjhāruhā', parasites of the mind, suggest that 'hindrance' alone does not?
Correct: B. A more vivid, organic image than a simple obstruction.
Question 4 of 10
What specifically does this discourse say the five hindrances weaken?
Correct: B. A specific, named faculty, not a vague general harm.
Question 5 of 10
What happens to the river when a man opens channels on both sides?
Correct: B. The hindrances are pictured as leaks, not as blockages in the river's path.
Question 6 of 10
What three kinds of good does this discourse say the hindrances make impossible to know?
Correct: B. Attattha, parattha, ubhayattha — the specific incapacity the hindrances cause.
Question 7 of 10
How does the guide characterize the hindrances' framing in this discourse?
Correct: B. A functional, almost mechanical description rather than a condemnation.
Question 8 of 10
What single word changes between the two halves of the river simile?
Correct: B. One verb, run twice, produces the entire contrast.
Question 9 of 10
What does the guide say changes across the three names this five-item list has received in this series (upakkilesa, nīvaraṇa)?
Correct: B. Corruption suggests refinement; hindrance suggests a path obstructed — different images, same five states.
Question 10 of 10
Where is AN 5.51 set?
Correct: B. A full restatement of the standard setting, opening this new chapter.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

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