What causes sloth and torpor?
These two suttas are useful:
SN 46.51 Nourishment and starving of Sloth and Torpor
SN 46.53 balancing
7sb☀️ factors
Theravada Abhidhamma and Commentary give further explanation of the nutriments that cause sloth and torpor:
But as to the five, this is how the Vibhaṅga defines them:
1. Tattha katamā arati? Pantesu vā senāsanesu aññataraññataresu vā adhikusalesu dhammesu arati aratitā anabhirati anabhiramaṇā ukkaṇṭhitā paritassitā: ayaṃ vuccati “arati”.
Therein what is “tedium”? Tedium, having tedium, displeasure, being displeased, dissatisfaction, dread of remote abodes or certain higher skilful dhammas. This is called tedium.
2. Tattha katamā tandī? Yā tandī tandiyanā tandimanakatā ālasyaṃ ālasyāyanā ālasyāyitattaṃ: ayaṃ vuccati “tandī”.
Therein what is “apathy”? That which is apathy, being apathetic, mental lethargy, idleness, being idle, state of being idle. This is called apathy.
3. Tattha katamā vijambhitā? Yā kāyassa jambhanā vijambhanā ānamanā vinamanā sannamanā paṇamanā byādhiyakaṃ: ayaṃ vuccati “vijambhitā”.
Therein what is “stretching”? That which is twitching, stretching, bending forward, bending backward, twisting, stretching upwards, fidgeting of the body. This is called stretching.
4. Tattha katamo bhattasammado? Yā bhuttāvissa bhattamucchā bhattakilamatho bhattapariḷāho kāyaduṭṭhullaṃ: ayaṃ vuccati “bhattasammado”.
Therein what is “after meal drowsiness”? That which in one who has eaten is dizziness because of food, fatigue because of food, feverishness because of food, bodily unfitness. This is called after meal drowsiness.
5. Tattha katamaṃ cetaso ca līnattaṃ? Yā cittassa akalyatā akammaññatā olīyanā sallīyanā līnaṃ līyanā līyitattaṃ thinaṃ thīyanā thīyitattaṃ cittassa: idaṃ vuccati “cetaso ca līnattaṃ”.
Therein what is “mental sluggishness”? That which is indisposition of consciousness, unwieldiness, drooping, sagging, sluggishness, being sluggish, state of being sluggish, sloth, being slothful, state of consciousness being slothful. This is called mental sluggishness.
(Vibh. 17:10:1. U Thittila's translation, with 'restlessness' changed to 'stretching' as the translation of vijambhitā)
https://legacy.suttacentral.net/en/vb17
And from the Dispeller of Delusion:
The arising of stiffness and torpor comes about through unwise bringing to mind in regard to boredom (arati) and so on. "Boredom" is a name for dissatisfaction; "languor" (tandi) is a name for bodily laziness; "stretching" (vijambhitā) is a name for bending of the body; "faintness after meals" (bhattasammada) is a name for giddiness after meals and feverishness after meals. And mental lassitude" (cetaso līnattaṃ) is a name for the sluggish state of the mind.
Because of employing unwise bringing to mind much in regard to these [states] beginning with boredom, stiffness and torpor arise.
(Dispeller of Delusion I 335)
summary of which nutriments physical and which mental
So, it seems to me that arati is wholly mental;
tandī is both bodily and mental (the Dispeller of Delusion later defines it as "bodily idleness due to defilement");
likewise vijambhitā, which is later defined as "bodily shifting due to defilement";
bhatta-sammada is wholly bodily; and
cetaso līnattaṃ wholly mental.
Ven. Nyanaponika’s research
3. Sloth and Torpor
A. Nourishment of Sloth and Torpor
There arises listlessness, lassitude, lazy stretching of the body, drowsiness after meals, mental sluggishness; frequently giving unwise attention to it — this is the nourishment for the arising of sloth and torpor that have not yet arisen and for the increase and strengthening of sloth and torpor that have already arisen.
—
SN 46.51
B. Denourishing of Sloth and Torpor
There is the element of rousing one's energy, the element of exertion, the element of continuous exertion; frequently giving wise attention to it — this is the denourishing of the arising of sloth and torpor that have not yet arisen and of the increase and strengthening of sloth and torpor that have already arisen.
—
SN 46.51
May nothing remain but skin and sinews and bones; may flesh and blood dry up in the body! Not before having achieved what can be achieved by manly strength, manly energy, manly exertion shall my energy subside!
—
MN 70
Six things are conducive to the abandonment of sloth and torpor:
Knowing that overeating is a cause of it;
Changing the bodily posture;
Thinking of the perception of light;
Staying in the open air;
Noble friendship;
Suitable conversation.
These things, too, are helpful in conquering sloth and torpor:
The recollection of Death
To-day the effort should be made,
Who knows if tomorrow Death will come?
—
MN 131
Perceiving the suffering in impermanence
In a monk who is accustomed to see the suffering in impermanence and who is frequently engaged in this contemplation, there will be established in him such a keen sense of the danger of laziness, idleness, lassitude, indolence and thoughtlessness, as if he were threatened by a murderer with drawn sword.
—
AN 7.46
Sympathetic joy
Cultivate the meditation on sympathetic joy! For by cultivating it, listlessness will disappear.
—
MN 62 mudita to counter listlessness
Contemplation of the spiritual journey
"I have to tread that path which the Buddhas, the Paccekabuddhas and the Great Disciples have gone; but by an indolent person that path cannot be trodden."
— Vism. IV,55
Contemplation of the Master's greatness
"Full application of energy was praised by my Master, and he is unsurpassed in his injunctions and a great help to us. He is honored by practicing his Dhamma, not otherwise."
— Ibid.
Contemplation on the greatness of the Heritage
"I have to take possession of the Great Heritage, called the Good Dhamma. But one who is indolent cannot take possession of it."
— Ibid.
How to stimulate the mind
How does one stimulate the mind at a time when it needs stimulation? If due to slowness in the application of wisdom or due to non-attainment of the happiness of tranquillity, one's mind is dull, then one should rouse it through reflecting on the eight stirring objects. These eight are: birth, decay, disease and death; the suffering in the worlds of misery; the suffering of the past rooted in the round of existence; the suffering of the future rooted in the round of existence; the suffering of the present rooted in the search for food.
— Vism. IV,63
How to overcome sleepiness
Once the Exalted One spoke to the Venerable Maha-Moggallana thus: "Are you drowsy, Moggallana? Are you drowsy, Moggallana?" — "Yes, venerable sir."
(1) "Well then, Moggallana, at whatever thought torpor has befallen you, to that thought you should not give attention, you should not dwell on it frequently. Then it is possible that, by so doing, torpor will disappear.
(2) "But if, by so doing, that torpor does not disappear, you should think and reflect within your mind about the Dhamma as you have heard and learned it, and you should mentally review it. Then it is possible that, by so doing, torpor will disappear.
(3) "But if, by so doing, that torpor does not disappear, you should learn by heart the Dhamma in its fullness, as you have heard and learned it. Then it is possible...
(4) "But if, by so doing, that torpor does not disappear, you should shake your ears, and rub your limbs with the palm of your hand. Then it is possible...
(5) "But if, by so doing, that torpor does not disappear, you should get up from your seat, and after washing your eyes with water, you should look around in all directions and look upwards to the stars in the sky. Then it is possible...
(6) "But if, by so doing, that torpor does not disappear, you should firmly establish the (inner) perception of light: as it is by day, so also by night; as it is by night, so also by day. Thus with a mind clear and unobstructed, you should develop a consciousness which is full of brightness. Then it is possible...
(7) "But if, by so doing, that torpor does not disappear, you should, conscious of that which is before and behind, walk up and down, with your senses turned inwards, with your mind not going outwards. Then it is possible...
(8) "But if, by so doing, that torpor does not disappear, you may lie down on your right side, taking up the lion's posture, covering foot with foot — mindful, clearly conscious, keeping in mind the thought of rising. Having awakened again, you should quickly rise, thinking: 'I won't indulge in the enjoyment of lying down and reclining, in the enjoyment of sleep!'
"Thus, Moggallana, you should train yourself!"
—
AN 7.61 Pacalāyana: Buddha advises Moggallana with 7 ways to cope: You should have 7 memorized and recite daily.
The five threatening dangers
If, monks, a monk perceives these five threatening dangers, it is enough for him to live heedful, zealous, with a heart resolute to achieve the unachieved, to attain the unattained, to realize the unrealized. Which are these five dangers?
(1) Here, monks, a monk reflects thus: "I am now young, a youth, young in age, black-haired, in the prime of youth, in the first phase of life. But a time will come when this body will be in the grip of old age. But one who is overpowered by old age cannot easily contemplate on the Teachings of the Buddha; it is not easy for him to live in the wilderness or a forest or jungle, or in secluded dwellings. Before this undesirable condition, so unpleasant and disagreeable, approaches me, prior to that, let me muster my energy for achieving the unachieved, for attaining the unattained, for realizing the unrealized, so that, in the possession of that state, I shall live happily even in old age."
(2) And further, monks, a monk reflects thus: "I am now free from sickness, free from disease, my digestive power functions smoothly, my constitution is not too cool and not too hot, it is balanced and fit for making effort. But a time will come when this body will be in the grip of sickness. And one who is sick cannot easily contemplate upon the Teachings of the Buddha; it is not easy for him, to live in the wilderness or a forest or jungle, or in secluded dwellings. Before this undesirable condition, so unpleasant and disagreeable, approaches me, prior to that, let me muster my energy for achieving the unachieved, for attaining the unattained, for realizing the unrealized, so that, in the possession of that state, I shall live happily even in sickness."
(3) And further, monks, a monk reflects thus: "Now there is an abundance of food, good harvests, easily obtainable is a meal of alms, it is easy to live on collected food and offerings. But a time will come when there will be a famine, a bad harvest, difficult to obtain will be a meal of alms, it will be difficult to live on collected food and offerings. And in a famine people migrate to places where food is ample, and there habitations will be thronged and crowded. But in habitations thronged and crowded one cannot easily contemplate upon the Teachings of the Buddha. Before this undesirable condition, so unpleasant and disagreeable, approaches me, prior to that, let me muster my energy for achieving the unachieved, for attaining the unattained, for realizing the unrealized, so that, in the possession of that state, I shall live happily even in a famine."
(4) And further, monks, a monk reflects thus: "Now people live in concord and amity, in friendly fellowship as mingled milk and water and look at each other with friendly eyes. But there will come a time of danger, of unrest among the jungle tribes when the country people mount their carts and drive away and fear-stricken people move to a place of safety, and there habitations will be thronged and crowded. But in habitations thronged and crowded one cannot easily contemplate upon the Teachings of the Buddha. Before this undesirable condition, so unpleasant and disagreeable, approaches me, prior to that, let me muster my energy for achieving the unachieved, for attaining the unattained, for realizing the unrealized, so that, in the possession of that state, I shall live happily even in time of danger."
(5) And further, monks, a monk reflects thus: "Now the Congregation of Monks lives in concord and amity, without quarrel, lives happily under one teaching. But a time will come when there will be a split in the Congregation. And when the Congregation is split, one cannot easily contemplate upon the Teachings of the Buddha; it is not easy to live in the wilderness or a forest or jungle, or in secluded dwellings. Before this undesirable condition, so unpleasant and disagreeable, approaches me, prior to that, let me muster my energy for achieving the unachieved, for attaining the unattained, for realizing the unrealized, so that, in the possession of that state, I shall live happily even when the Congregation is split."[3]
—
AN 5.78 5 future dangers
These things, too, are helpful in conquering sloth and torpor:
Applied thought, of the factors of absorptions (jhananga);
Energy, of the spiritual faculties (indriya);
Investigation of reality, energy and rapture, of the factors of enlightenment (bojjhanga).
When the mind is sluggish, it is not the proper time for cultivating the following factors of enlightenment: tranquillity, concentration and equanimity, because a sluggish mind can hardly be aroused by them.
When the mind is sluggish, it is the proper time for cultivating the following factors of enlightenment: investigation of reality, energy and rapture, because a sluggish mind can easily be aroused by them.
—
SN 46.53 balancing
7sb☀️ factors
C. Simile
If there is a pot of water, covered with moss and water plants, then a man with a normal faculty of sight looking into it could not properly recognize and see the image of his own face. In the same way, when one's mind is possessed by sloth and torpor, overpowered by sloth and torpor, one cannot properly see the escape from sloth and torpor that have arisen; then one does not properly understand one's own welfare, nor that of another, nor that of both; and also texts memorized a long time ago do not come into one's mind, not to speak of those not memorized.
—
SN 46.55 simile of water covered with moss
Stay out of no man’s land
There’s a reason that
AN 3.16 where the Buddha gives his daily schedule for monks, the periods of meditation, he lists walking meditation first then sitting meditation.
Ajahn Mun describing his typical daily schedule, when he woke up at 3am, the first thing he would do is walking meditation for 1 to 2 hours.
Here’s an important detail that the sutta doesn’t say about walking meditation, that I found out the hard way, but I did figure it out eventually.
Hopefully you can learn it early and avoid the pain that it causes.
Walking meditation, when done to ward off drowsiness, needs to be done at a sufficiently brisk pace to raise the heart rate and energy level, for a suficiently long period of time.
If you do Mahasi slow motion walking meditation for example, you’re going to feel almost as drowsy and miserable as when you were sitting very drowsy and wishing to lie down.
So in the 3 years I lived at a monastery, I spent many months where I would spend a couple hours every day miserable in this drowsy state, until finally one day I thought, why not walk at a brisk pace, raise the heart rate, breathe more deeply, and see if that works better.
Guess what? It worked.
Everyone’s health, age, etc., are different, so you have to use trial and error to figure out the exact details that are fine tuned for you.
But for me, currently, if I do brisk walking for 20 minutes (I usually do
🏃👨🍳🥧 which is better), then I can probably sit down for at least 20minutes afterwards of high quality non drowsy sitting.
But the best part is, it only takes about 2 minutes while doing the brisk exercise to get rid of that horrible drowsy feeling where you have strong desire to lie down. That’s the no mans land that you don’t want to be in. Whenever you get in that drowsy state, figure out a plan and move into action. Either set an alarm and take a power nap (10-20min. Usually will do the trick), or get moving with brisk exercise.
At the monastery, we also had several mandatory Dhamma talks we had to attend in the evenings every week in the evening. I was almost always drowsy and miserable because of that, unless the talk was especially interesting to arouse piti or pamojja. In hindsight, I could have avoided or at least greatly reduced all that drowsiness either with 15min. Power nap or 15 min. of exercise before each dhamma talk.
Important prerequisite
I get plenty of sleep everyday, more than I actually need to make sure I err on the side of not being sleep deprived. If you have chronic sleep deprivation, or you know you're drowsy because that day the monastery had everyone doing lots of hard manual labor, then the advice above doesn't apply.
This situation I'm talking about, is going to be a common problem for meditators who are already sufficiently advanced that they can go into noble silence easily (2nd jhana or better), but their body isn't healthy enough yet with all the energy channels opened up, vegan and vegetarian diets don't help in this regard either. It's a very common problem for this class of meditators to have difficulty with long sits without getting drowsy.
Avoid the extreme of walking too briskly and triggering adrenaline
It takes practice and lots of trial and error to tune your exercise just right so you regain energy to sit in jhana for a long time, rather than work yourself up, trigger adrenaline and have too much energy with a very undesirable side effect of having trouble getting back into a regular sustainable healthy sleeping schedule. I've made this mistake several times too, walking fast (or equivalent strenuous exercise) and doing
maraṇa-s-sati 💀 at the same time, and then trigger adrenaline almost to the point of fight or flight intensity. It's great that you know how to turn on a switch to get a huge surge of energy and you can stay up all night and meditate, but what good is that if it takes you 2-3 days afterwards of super low energy and poor meditation before you feel normal again? And when you're that worked up, sitting all night meditating in that state is hard to get into good quality sustained jhana.