First revised August 2, 2016; last revised July 18, 2025
A wandering mind is an unhappy mind! The conclusion of an article in the prestigious journal “Science,” which, using real-time input from 5000 people worldwide, confirmed what the Buddha said 2500 years ago; see, “A wandering mind is an unhappy mind-Science-Killingsworth-2010.”
Mundane Ways to Calm a Mind
1. The easiest way to calm a mind is to focus it on a neutral object. There is only one thought arising at a time. So, if one can keep the mind focused on something neutral, those unwanted thoughts cannot arise. Several techniques are available. Let us discuss a few below.
- Especially when one gets angry, just stopping and counting to ten at least slows down the javana (or the impulse) from running wildly. Do not let unwanted thoughts take over. They multiply very quickly, and then things get out of control; for a more in-depth discussion, see “Javana of a Citta – Root of Mental Power.”
- Taking a few deep breaths helps, too. Alternatively, in an angry situation, visualizing a Buddha statue and contemplating its serenity can also be helpful.
2. A popular meditation technique to calm the mind is “breath meditation.” Go to a quiet place (a less bright and less noisy place), sit in a chair comfortably, and concentrate on the in-and-out breath. Most people can feel the breath at the tip of the nose or on the lips. If not, one can be aware of the chest or abdomen rising and falling. Just focus your mind on any of these and do not let it wander to another thought. Initially, it may be hard, but with practice, it becomes easy. That is a crude form of Samatha meditation.
- However, those are just “tricks” to get a temporary solution. Just like a restless child is bound to throw a tantrum again, any relief from “breath meditation” is only fleeting.
Buddhist Way to Calm a Mind
3. Even Samatha meditation becomes easier if one lives a simple and moral life. One must at least obey the conventional five precepts of not killing other beings, stealing, lying, engaging in sexual misconduct, or using excessive amounts of alcohol. If one can further abstain from harsh speech slandering, and vain talk, that makes it even better; see “Ten Immoral Actions – Dasa Akusala,“ and “Punna Kamma – Dāna, Sīla, Bhāvanā.“
- One must be aware of those precepts 24 hours a day. They are not rituals to be obeyed. One follows them to purify one’s mind. Don’t worry if a precept gets broken once in a while. Such occurrences will become less frequent over time.
4. The reason that the mind becomes agitated easily is because of the “gunk” that we have in our minds (they go by various names like kilēsa, anusaya, “bad gati”, or mental impurities). All this “gunk” is there due to greed, hate, and ignorance.
- If a mind is free from greed, hate, and ignorance (which is easier said than done), then the mind will be very calm, and nothing in the outside world can perturb that mind; see “The Basics in Meditation” and “The Second Level” for details.
5. In a simile, the Buddha compared a calm mind to a clear, calm lake that made the surroundings serene. That lake could become an undesirable eyesore if one or more of the following happens. (i) A dark-colored dye is in the water, (ii) The lake has boiling water, (iii) Water is covered with moss, (iv) the Lake is perturbed by wind, and (v) Water is turbid and muddy.
Pañca Nīvaraṇa – Root Causes for an Agitated Mind
6. Similarly, a peaceful mind will become polluted due to the five hindrances (pañca nīvaraṇa); obstacle could be another translation for nīvaraṇa (pañca means five). These five are called “nīvaraṇa” because they cover the mind from seeing the “true nature of the world”. They are kāmaccandha, vyāpāda, thina middha, uddhacca kukkucca, and vicikicchā.
- In simple terms, those five words refer to craving sensual pleasures, an angry mindset, a lethargic mindset, a tendency to engage in lowly deeds with arrogance, and doubts about the need for morality.
- One cannot see the bottom of a lake if any of the above five factors are present. Similarly, the mind loses its capacity to “see things clearly” if those hindrances are there.
Kāmaccandha – Main Culprit
7. Craving sensory pleasures (kāmaccandha) is like a dark dye. Kāmaccandha (“kāma”+“icca”+ “anda” means blinded by sense desires).
- Note that there is an established convention for writing Pāli using the English alphabet. Thus, “c” represents the “ch” sound, and “icca” is pronounced as “ichcha.” See, “Tipiṭaka English” Convention Adopted by Early European Scholars – Part 1
- Here, “kāma” means indulging in conscious thoughts about the five sense faculties that belong to the kāma loka: eye, ear, nose, tongue, and the body; “ichcha” is desire, and “andha” is for the blind.
- The attraction for something becomes so strong that one’s complete attention is on that object. The mind can lose control over what is sensible and what is not rational (or immoral).
Vyāpāda – Worse Than Kāmaccandha
8. Extreme hate (vayāpāda or vyāpāda) is like boiling water. We all have seen people who are so enraged that they are out of control.
- One could become “animal-like,” and one who develops such character (“gati”) could end up in hell (apāyā).
- Vayāpāda (“vayā”+”pāda”) means traveling downward (in the 31 realms): “vaya” is destruction, and “pāda” means “(walking) towards.”
- But vyāpāda arises because of kāmaccandha.
Thina Middha – Disinterest in Buddha Dhamma Due to Incomprehension of Basic Concepts
9. Thina middha (“frozen mind”) is like moss covering the water. Sleepiness is just a symptom of it. It is a dull mind that has not been exposed to Dhamma.
- When one learns Dhamma, one’s mind gets energized. Those meditators who fall asleep during meditation can overcome this problem by learning the pure Dhamma of the Buddha.
- See “Basic Framework of Buddha Dhamma.”
Uddhacca kukkucca – Worse Than Either Uddhacca or Kukkucca
10. Uddhacca kukkucca (customarily translated as restlessness and brooding) arises because of high-mindedness (uddhacca) and the tendency to engage in lowly deeds (kukkucca); in most cases, because of the high-mindedness, one tends to DO lowly things.
- “Uddhacca” means “high-mindedness” (high regard for oneself), which can be at various levels and completely removed only at the Arahant stage. “Kukkucca” refers to the tendency to engage in lowly actions, such as mistreating others. Those are two separate cetasika: “Cetasika (Mental Factors)”
- When they arise together, “uddhacca kukkucca” becomes one of the five nīvaraṇa that “covers a mind” and prevents “seeing the true nature of the world.” Here, one tends to do “lowly things” based on high-mindedness, power, and so on.
- After the Sōtapanna stage, only uddhacca remains as a cetasika (at a lower strength). The “uddhacca kukkucca” nīvaraṇa also remains at a lower level. Both uddhacca cetasika and “uddhacca kukkucca” nīvaraṇa fade with higher magga phala and are totally eliminated only at the Arahant stage.
Vicikicchā – No Faith Because of Incomprehension of Noble Truths/Paṭicca Samuppāda/Tilakkhana
11. With vicikicchā, one tends to do stupid things because of ignorance of the true nature of this world. It comes from “vi” (meaning twisted or unwise), “ca” (pronounced “cha”) is thoughts, and “icchā” or cravings.
- For example, the tendency to commit immoral actions to fulfill one’s desires stems from vicikicchā. One does not know or does not care about the adverse consequences of such activities. Thus, vicikicchā is compared to muddy water.
- One must eliminate both the ten types of micchā diṭṭhi and comprehend Tilakkhana to some extent. That means having a good idea about the real nature (anicca, dukkha, anatta) of this world. That helps REMOVE the vicikicchā nīvaraṇa.
A Simile (Analogy)
12. In another simile, the Buddha compared the five hindrances (pañca nīvaraṇa) to the darkness that keeps one from seeing true nature. For example, a furious person cannot see the damage to the other person and themselves. At least at that moment, hate and anger blind that person.
- A mind “blinded’ by the five hindrances can keep on adding “more bad stuff” even without realizing it. If you take a glass of muddy water and add more mud to it, you cannot see much difference. On the other hand, if you take a glass of clean water, you can see the presence of even the tiniest amount of dirt.
- Thus, when the mind is free of the five hindrances, one can easily see if any evil thoughts come to the mind. Then it is easy to contemplate the possible adverse consequences of such ideas and remove them. That will keep the mind from becoming perturbed. A mind free of the five hindrances is calm and peaceful.
- That is why one should listen to discourses or read Dhamma posts, preferably when the mind is calm and clear. Then one can absorb more.
- More on pañca nīvaraṇa in “Pañca Nīvaraṇa and Sensual Pleasures (Kāma Rāga).”
Mundane Meditations – Good Start
13. It is good to practice mundane Samatha meditation for short times. That allows one to have a peaceful state of mind during that time. But it does not remove any defilements (i.e., the underlying root causes). Ariya meditation leads to the gradual removal of evils; see “Bhavana (Meditation).“
- These hindrances are the results of bad habits (“gati“) we have developed over many lives. They have become deep-seated cravings (“āsāvās“), which remain with us as mental impurities (kilesa). When one starts on Ariya meditation, such bad habits, desires, and mental impurities will decrease. In the simile we initially discussed, the water in that lake will become pure by removing the dye, moss, and mud, and also by preventing disturbances through boiling and wind. The lake becomes calm and serene again in the absence of those ROOT CAUSES.
- The hindrances of thina middha and vicikicchā go away at the Sōtapanna stage. Those of kāmaccandha and vyāpāda reduce to kāma rāga and paṭigha. Kāma rāga and paṭigha lessen at the Sakadāgāmi stage and disappear at the Anāgāmi stage. Uddhacca goes away only at the Arahant stage.
- Progressive lessening of the five hindrances can bring the mind to a stable, peaceful state over time. That happens even before the Sōtapanna stage. Then one could feel the increase of the nirāmisa sukha that it brings; see, “Three Kinds of Happiness – What is Niramisa Sukha?“.
Next, “Solution to a Wandering Mind – Abandon Everything?“, ……..
