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title: 5 Hindrances to Self-Mastery
created: 2026-09-14
modified: 2026-09-14
authors: Shi Heng Yi
category: TED Talk
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> The universal law of being successful and happy at the same time means finding the balance.

> There are 2 mistakes along the way to Mastery: Not starting it, and not going all the way.

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Self-mastery = the discovery of oneself.

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# The Five Hindrances

1. **Sensual desire** — pleasures & distractions

	> From the five gates of the body: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting (口腹之慾), feeling

2. **Ill-will** — aversion & negative thoughts
3. **Slothful body & mind** — lack of energy/motivation, heaviness of body, dullness of mind
4. **Restlessness** — unsettled/monkey mind
	* Regret about the past
	* Worry about the future
	* Unable to stay in the present
5. **Skeptical doubt** — indecisiveness → overthinking

# How to Remove These Hindrances

1. **Recognize** what state of mind you’re in
2. **Accept & Acknowledge** — let the situations and people be the way they are. Just let it rain.
3. **Investigate** your emotional & mental state. Observe the sensation and ask yourself:
	* _“Why did it come up?”_
	* _“What is the consequence if I remain in this state?”_
4. **Non-Identification** (無我) — practice: _“I’m not the body, I’m not the mind, I’m not my emotion, I can just see all these 3 aspects about me.”_ [^1] [^2]

[^1]: 我只是一名自己 の 觀察員
[^2]: Your physical body is just a heap of food you have eaten over time. Your mind is just a heap of impressions you have gathered from the outside. Everything is temporary.