Two Major Kinds of Obstacles on the Spiritual Path | Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh (EN subtitles)

[Touching the bell once]

[Bell]

There's no need to say,
"Open, Sesame!" It's already open.

The question is, "Is going into the ultimate
within our capability?"

Because there are 2 kinds of obstacles

that keep us from entering
the Door of the Ultimate.

The first kind of obstacle
is "obstacles of afflictions".

Phiền não chướng in Vietnamese, i.e.
"obstacles of afflictions", 煩 惱 障 in Chinese,

or kleśā-varaṇa in Sanskrit.

They're exhilaration, dispiritedness,
anger, hate, disappointment, etc.

Well, in the consciousness of the scientists,

and in the consciousness of ours,

there are such afflictions that can cloud us.

If our heart and mind is clouded by these
afflictive mind states, going into the...

ultimate world will be impossible.

The scientist (Albert) Einstein

was extremely intelligent.

But

if we learn a little bit
about his personal life,

we'll see that he also had
a lot of pain and difficulties...

in his relationships with his wife and children,
going through a divorce and living in pain.

If Einstein hadn't had
those obstacles of afflictions,

Einstein would have already gone much further.
That's Thầy's conviction.

He could have gone twice
or three times further.

The same with us.
We...

may or may not be a scientist,

we may or may not be
a scholar in Buddhist studies.

If we have obstacles of afflictions,

although the door of the ultimate
is already open, we can never go in.

The second kind is "obstacles of knowledge" (sở tri
chướng, jñeyā-varaṇa in Sanskrit, 所 知 障‎ in Chinese).

Sở tri (jñeyā, 所 知) means
what we've already learned and/or known.

Phiền não (kleśā, 煩 惱) means
afflictions, pain, or suffering.

They are two kinds of obstacles (āvaraṇa):
obstacles of afflictions and obstacles of knowledge.

Obstacles of afflictions are desire, anger,
ignorance, arrogance, suspicion, and wrong views.

Obstacles of knowledge are
what we've accumulated intellectually.

If we're still caught
in the idea of time,

if we're still caught in the idea
that mind and consciousness...

...is one thing
and the world is another,

that the observer is one thing
and the observed is another,

that God or the creator is one thing
and creatures are another

—if we're still caught
in such dualistic views,

we're still not free to enter

the ultimate, the world of nirvāṇa.

Well, in Buddhism,
the Buddha showed us the method

to overcome obstacles of afflictions
and knowledge to go into the ultimate.

We don't have to knock on the door
saying, "Sésame, ouvre-toi".

We only need to practice right mindfulness (niệm 念),
right concentration (định 定), and insights (tuệ 慧).

i.e. smṛti,

samādhi,

and prajñā in Sanskrit, respectively.

These are Three Trainings,

i.e. tam học in Sino-Vietnamese
(triśikṣā in Sanskrit, 三 學 in Chinese).

These 3 subjects

are called śikṣā in Sanskrit,
meaning "learning" or "training."

This is the Triple Science of the Buddha.

The science of the Buddha doesn't need
any tools, equipment, or machines.

There's no need for
telescopes or accelerators.

We only need the mind.

But whether the mind is successful or not

depends on whether we can be completely free
from obstacles of afflictions and knowledge.

On the one hand,

the baggage of afflictions must be put down.

On the other hand, the other baggage of
dualistic views and ideas must also be put down.

With that, we have enough freedom
to go into the ultimate.

Have scientists had that kind of freedom?

Has scientific knowledge helped scientists
attain freedom and liberation?

Science can help technology...

develop.

And many of us are being carried away.

All the while, our greed, anger, hate,
conceitedness, etc. are puffing up every day.

Meanwhile, the Buddha's path

tells us that, with these Three Trainings,

i.e. right mindfulness,
right concentration, and insights,

we can cleanse and purify our hearts and minds

so that obstacles of afflictions
can be alleviated;

and that if we can put down
all of our seeing and knowing—

all of our dualistic seeing and dualistic knowing
—we will attain freedom.

Only with such freedom,
can we enter the ultimate.

Scientists have the intellect.

But the scientists' hearts
and minds are very probably...

being weighed heavily
by these two kinds of baggage.

So, even when the door has already opened,

even when Sesame has already opened,
one still cannot go in.

One can only walk back and forth
in front of the door.

So, studying Buddhism,

you should study discourses like Rohitassa Sutta
(“Discourse to Rohitassa”, Mã Huyết Thiên Tử, 馬 血 天 子)

or Kālāma Sutta
(“Charter of free inquiry”, Kinh Kalama)

to see what the Buddha taught exactly
on how to enter the ultimate.

Because Buddhism is also a science.

But it's a spiritual science.
The tool in use is the mind.

One has to sharpen it up, hone it up.

One has to brighten the mind.
Only then can one go in.

So, perhaps the 21-day retreat
that we're holding next year

will have a theme called

"The Science of the Buddha."

And in it, we're going to talk about
the relations between Buddhism and science.

Probably, we're going to invite a few quantum physics
scientists and astronomers over for a discussion.

We'll present the path of the Buddha

because the science of the Buddha
is the science of...

right mindfulness,
right concentration, and insights.

But this science doesn't use
the intellect alone.

The intellect alone is not enough.

In Buddhism,

besides the mind consciousness (ý thức
in Vietnamese, mano-vijñāna in Sanskrit, 意 識),

we also have store consciousness (tàng thức
in Vietnamese, ālaya-vijñāna in Sanskrit, 藏 識).

Only when one has transformed
the store consciousness, can there be...

Great Mirror Wisdom (Đại Viên Cảnh Trí
in Vietnamese, ādarśa-jñāna in Sanskrit, 大 圓 境 智).

Only then, can one go into the ultimate.