ยังไม่ทันเริ่ม ก็แพ้แล้ว — วิจิกิจฉา กิเลสที่ทำให้ไม่กล้าปฏิบัติ
Summary
The voices in many practitioners’ heads: how do I do this correctly, what if I am deceived, what if I get attached to rapture, to pleasure, to jhāna — some even fear attachment to nibbāna.
These are a defilement the Buddha named vicikicchā.
Its source is having heard too much: warnings from every tradition, stories of people deceived, and endless talk of getting stuck on this or that — until nobody dares begin.
Key points
Doubt is classed as a defilement, not as prudence
The teaching separates the two, and vicikicchā is the one that prevents beginning.
Hearing too much is the commonest cause
The more warnings from more traditions, the less clear which is right — and so nothing gets done.
Fearing attachment to nibbāna shows where it tips over
When the fear reaches that point, the problem is plainly the doubt rather than the practice.
The way through is to start and correct afterwards
Errors in practice can be corrected. Never starting leaves nothing to correct.