5 Hindrances to Self-Mastery

Introduction

Self-Mastery refers to the ability to control one's own desires or impulses. It can be defined as self-control i.e., to be able to exert a strong will against the impulses of oneself to create the future that we wish to create.
Master Shi Heng Yi discussed 5 Hindrances to Self-Mastery in the TEDx VITOSHA. He grew up in two different ways of life as he was born in Germany and at the same time, he got the chance to learn about the ancient art coming from the Shaolin Temple. At the age of four, he got introduced into the monastic practices for the first time, nowadays known as Shaolin Kung Fu.
A master from the Shaolin Temple told him a story in which a man, who was living close to a mountain, every day thought about how would he climb that mountain and what would he see on the peak of the mountain? Finally, when the day came, he arrived at the foot of the mountain and asked more than 30 people about how they got up the mountain and what did they see there? They all told him about their experiences and after he finished talking to them, he finally made up his mind that since so many people shared with him their paths and told him what they saw from the top, he didn’t need to climb there anymore and hence, unfortunately, he never went on the journey.
He concludes from the story that,
1. Each and every person needs to find the most suitable way for him/her to climb that mountain.
2. Some information can possibly be shared with words, but it’s impossible to share the experience of clarity that you get when you are yourself standing on that peak.
He didn’t tell us which way to go but told us about the challenges that will prevent us or stop us from climbing the mountain. They are referred to as 5 Hindrances to Self-Mastery in the Shaolin Temple.

5 Hindrances to Self-Mastery

1. Sensual Desire: It is the first hindrance out of the 5 Hindrances to Self-Mastery mentioned by Master Shi Heng Yi. Sensual desires arise at the moment when you pay attention to something that gives you a positive emotion originating from one of the 5 gates of your body i.e., seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, or feeling. When you follow the temptation like food, beverage, etc., while climbing the mountain, you have already lost your track. It turns into obsession when this temptation becomes so strong that you don’t want to leave that place anymore. In both cases, you can’t get clarity because you remain at that place only.
2. Ill-Will: The second hindrance of the 5 hindrances to Self-Mastery mentioned by Master Shi Heng Yi is the ill-will. It refers to a state of the mind that arises from negative emotions where you have an aversion, a rejection, or simply dislike either an object, a situation, or even a person. Whatever it is, but it won’t make your journey pleasant. You need to learn to let go of this ill-will to continue your journey.

3. Loss & Torpor: According to Master Shi Heng Yi, the third hindrance out of the 5 Hindrances to Self-Mastery, is loss and torpor. Loss refers to the heaviness of the body and torpor refers to the dullness of the mind. Some of its characteristics are sleepiness, non-motivation, lack of energy, and many-a-times it can lead to a state of depression. It is described as imprisonment in Buddhism because you constantly get the feeling of being locked in a cell. You find it very difficult to make any mental or physical effort. To continue moving forward on your path, you have only one option left, that is, you need to find a way to get out from that cell.
4. Restlessness: The fourth hindrance out of the 5 hindrances to Self-Mastery mentioned by Master Shi Heng Yi, is restlessness. The state of mind when it is unsettled is called Restlessness. An unsettled mind cannot settle in the present moment and is either worrying about the future or thinking about the past. It is being referred to as a monkey mind that is constantly jumping from one branch to another and there is no time to see anymore.
5. Skeptical Doubt: According to Master Shi Heng Yi, the last one of the 5 hindrances to Self-Mastery is skeptical doubt. It’s very close to a state of mind that’s based on indecisiveness in which we tend to get lost in our thoughts. Your mind is not able to synchronize with your actions anymore. Due to which the result is that you are getting disconnected from the goals and aspirations that you had at one point in time. If the way is filled with so much doubt, you generally stop instead of moving on.

Summary

Steps to avoid or remove the 5 hindrances to Self-Mastery:
Master Shi Heng Yi opines there are few steps by which you can avoid or remove the 5 Hindrances to Self-Mastery. The first thing you need to do is to align and structure your life in a way that prevents those hindrances from arising. But if you are not successful, then, you should use techniques to remove them. There is a four-step method to help everyone remove those hindrances. Firstly, recognize the state of mind you are finding yourself in. Then, learn to accept, acknowledge, and allow the situation or a person to be the way they are. Try and find out by investigating your emotional and mental state by asking yourself that why such a hindrance came up and what are its consequences if you continue to remain in that state. You need to learn and master yourself if you want to bring meaning and value into your life. You should not let the hindrances stop you.