Obstacles to Stillness: Thoughts, Hindrances, and Self-Surrender in Evagrius and the Buddha

In the fourth century, the Christian monk Evagrius of Pontus identified a group of "obstructive thoughts" that hindered individuals from stilling their minds in communion with God. Ranging from sadness and anger to gluttony and lust, Evagrius' list would later form the basis for the Church's "seven deadly sins." Notably, early Buddhist scriptures described a similar set of mental "hindrances" to liberating insight, which included problems such as sloth and sensory desire. Christian and Budd...