There is no path without obstacles. While the challenges we face may discourage us, the truth is that if we find a path without obstacles, it likely won’t take us anywhere. A famous Zen saying goes, “The obstacle is the path.” This means that the obstacle is not something that appears in our way; it is the path itself. You may have heard of the Eight Limbs of Yoga. In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, there are nine obstacles that may arise on the path of yoga:
व्याधिस्त्यानसंशय प्रमादालस्याविरति भ्रान्तिदर्शनालब्ध भूमिकत्वानवस्थितत्वानि चित्तविक्षेपास्तेऽन्तराया: ।
vyādhistyānasanśaya pramādālasyāvirati bhrāntidarśanālabdha bhūmikatvānavasthitatvāni cittavikṣēpāstē̕ntarāyāḥ
These obstacles are:
- Vyadhi: Physical illness
- Styana: Lack of interest or enthusiasm
- Samshaya: Doubt or indecision
- Pramada: Carelessness or negligence
- Alasya: Physical laziness
- Avirati: Desire for sensory objects
- Bhrantidarshana: Living under illusion or misunderstanding
- Alabdhabhumikatva: Missing the point or failing to hold on to progress
- Anavasthitatva: Inability to sustain the progress made
These obstacles are inevitable. They will be there, and we should not try to escape them. Once we accept them and see that we can overcome them, we can begin to connect our practice to this realization.
