All of [the] hindrances -- desire, anger, sloth and torpor,restlessness,
doubt -- are mental factors. They are not self, just impersonal factors
functioning in their own way. A simile is given to illustrate the effect
of these different obstructions in the mind: Imagine a pond of clear
water. Sense desire is like the water becoming colored with pretty dyes.
We become entranced with the beauty and intricacy of the color and so do
not penetrate to the depths. Anger, ill will, aversion, is like boiling
water. Water that is boiling is very turbulent. You can't see through to
the bottom. This kind of turbulence in the mind, the violent reaction of
hatred and aversion, is a great obstacle to understanding. Sloth and
torpor is like the pond of water covered with algae, very dense. One
cannot possibly penetrate to the bottom because you can't see through
the algae. It is a very heavy mind.
Restlessness and worry are like a pond when windswept. The surface of
the water is agitated by strong winds. When influenced by restlessness
and worry, insight becomes impossible because the mind not centered or
calm. Doubt is like the water when muddled; wisdom is obscured by
murkiness and cloudiness.
- Joseph Goldstein, /The Experience of Insight/
From /Everyday Mind/, a /Tricycle/ book edited by Jean Smith
