5 Hindrances to self-mastery is about 5 hindrances that can be managed through self-mastery, as spoken by Master Shi Heng Yi at TEDxVitosha in 2020.
5 Obstacles That Can Be Managed With Self-Control
Master Shi Heng Yi told us an interesting story. A man lived near a mountain. He had always wondered what he would see when he climbed to the top of the mountain. Finally, the day of his journey came. While the man was walking up the mountain, he met a traveler. He asked the traveler about the route the traveler took and the view from the top of the mountain. After listening to him, the man felt that the route the traveler chose to take was very difficult. So he continued his journey and met another traveler. Of course, he also asked the traveler about the route and the view from the top of the mountain. He did the same thing to 28 other travelers. After the man asked the same question to the 30th person, the man decided not to go up the mountain and turned around to walk home. Because he said that he knew the route and the view from the top of the mountain from all 30 travelers he had asked.
What does this story teach us or give us any ideas?
Other people’s experiences will definitely not be the same as our own. Other people’s perspectives and ideas will definitely not be the same as ours. Asking too many questions from others can also be an obstacle to the journey towards the goal of life.
“When you grow up in an Asian family, you have to choose to be a doctor, an engineer or a lawyer.”
Master Shi Heng Yi lived in Germany before attending Shaolin Temple. He graduated with academic degrees from two universities, a Master’s degree in Business Administration, and numerous certificates and associate degrees, just like every Asian parent would want. Ideally, families would want their children to be doctors, engineers, or lawyers so that their parents would be happy. But strangely, he felt that there was something missing.
“Self-exploration and discovery are the missing pieces of our curriculum.”
Master Shi Heng Yi discovered that even though he had graduated from many institutions and fields of study, he still felt like there was something missing, and that was self-exploration and discovery. He had the opportunity to know the first place of religious practice at the age of 4, where the practice was behavioral development along with physical training. It was carried out with the goal of allowing practitioners to explore and discover themselves. It is now known as Shaolin Kung Fu. He himself studied the practice and self-development, which was a way to enjoy the time even though he did nothing. The important thing in this process is to find a way to discover yourself and choose to do what you love to do.
“Clarity means you can see more clearly. When you see more clearly, the relationship becomes clearer.”
From the story of the man whose house was near a high mountain, what we have learned is that every traveler always finds the most suitable way to reach the top of their desired mountain. Thirty people will have thirty different ways, and it is possible for all thirty travelers to share the information they have found and the methods they used, but it is unlikely that they will clearly share the experience they had from standing on the top of the mountain.
“You will only get clarity when you experience it yourself.”
When you can see it clearly with your own eyes, words or experiences from others are no longer necessary. No matter who you hear from or what, receiving it yourself is the clearest. You will be able to find the best and most suitable way for you to climb the mountain by yourself, without having to listen to how tiring or easy other people’s paths are. And you will see the view of the highest point of that mountain by yourself, without having to listen to anyone describe its beauty or the worth of going up there.
Throughout your journey, you may encounter challenges that will keep you from reaching the top of the mountain. The Shaolin Temple calls these challenges the “5 Hindrances,” which describe five different states of mind that affect your ability to see clearly and, of course, make the right decisions.
1. Sensual desire: Sensual desire occurs when you pay attention to something that makes you feel positive. This positive emotion is created by opening the five doors of our body: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling. For example, if on your way to a mountaintop, you come across a restaurant that is beautifully decorated, the people eating there look good, and the smell of the food is inviting you to go in. When you step into that restaurant, you are lost. If you go in and never want to come out, you have turned your sensual desire into an obsession and abandoned your goal.
2. Ill will / Aversion: Ill will arises from a negative emotional state. You have hatred, rejection or dislike in your mind. For example, while you are traveling to the top of a mountain, it suddenly starts to rain. You don’t like the rain, you don’t like the potholes on the road after the rain, you don’t like the mud, and you don’t like the rain making your journey difficult. Now there is a high chance that your journey will fail, unless you let go of your dislike and move on.
3. Dullness / Heaviness : Laziness and heaviness occur when you feel sleepy, unmotivated, lack of energy, and often manifests itself as depression. In Buddhism, we would say that laziness is like a prison or a pit that imprisons us. The only way to do this if you don’t want to be in that prison or pit is to pull yourself up and move forward, because no one can help you better than yourself.
4. Restlessness Restlessness occurs when our mind is not at peace. An unrested mind is one that is not in the present. It keeps thinking about the past, things that have already happened and cannot be changed, or thinking about the future that has not yet arrived and we cannot know what it will be like. Buddhism calls this condition the monkey mind. The monkey will jump and hang on to the branches in front or behind that it has already passed. It cannot stay on any branch for long, even the one in the present. Therefore, when the mind is restless and lacks peace, it does not have enough time to see anything clearly.
5. Skeptical doubt : Doubt occurs when your mind is not firmly set. You do not believe in yourself, but rather lean towards things that come your way. Is it a good idea to go this way? What will other people think? Would other people choose the same way? When doubt is too much, it can reduce your ambition towards your goals. Often, doubt will stop you instead of moving forward.
Conclusion
Once you know and understand the 5 obstacles that will come your way, know that if you do not remove them, they will create a thick cloud in your mind on your path up that mountain. The only way to remove them is through awareness, acceptance, validation and de-identification. In other words, you have to be aware of what you are doing, recognize the state of mind that is searching for itself. Then learn to accept that things are just the way they are, not all situations or people are pleasant or not, but just accept them and let them be.
When you accept the things around you, you turn to look at yourself, check your mental state, and finally, anonymity means practicing, realizing that your body, mind, and emotions are not yours. You are only the one who is aware of these three aspects.
Because each of our lives is uniquely different. That diversity makes each person unique. Therefore, everyone has their own uniqueness and beautiful differences that are too much for us to copy someone else’s life path. In order to find the meaning and value of your own life, you need to explore, learn and master yourself first. You will find your own path to the top of the mountain and you will be the judge of how beautiful the view from the top of the mountain you are wondering about is.
“In this lecture, you will get a lot of inspiration from many travelers. But in this lecture, I cannot recommend and will not tell you which way to go.”
Master Shi Heng Yi – 5 hindrances to self-mastery | Shi Heng YI | TEDxVitoshaitosha
