SN 46.55 the sutta on the beer goggles effect, and why the similes are the best ones on 5niv hindrances

 

similes for 5niv⛅

AN 3.101 simile of 3 levels of gold impurities preventing samadhi and 6ab ⚡☸. 5niv are the 2nd level moderate impurities.
AN 5.23 simile of gold impurities (instead of 'nivarana' calls 5niv 'cittassa upakkilesā') preventing samadhi and 6ab ⚡☸. Also uses keywords from j4🌕 āneñja⚡.
AN 5.51 simile of river split into 5.
DN 2 similes 1. in debt, 2. ill, 3. imprisoned, 4. slave, 5. crossing desert
MN 140 references goldsmith removing impurities, similar to AN 3.101 and AN 3.102, but doesn't call out 5 elements of 5niv by names.
SN 46.33 5 impurities of gold (copper, tin, silver...) make gold (samadhi mind) brittle and unworkable.
SN 46.55 similes for not seeing one's reflection in bowl of water: 1. water is colored with dyes, 2. heated by fire, boiling and bubbling, 3. overgrown with moss, 4. stirred by the wind, 5. murky, muddy.

Above are full pali + english sutta links. 

Definition of beer goggles: (merriam wesbster dict.)

the effects of alcohol thought of metaphorically as a pair of goggles that alter a person's perceptions especially by making others appear more attractive than they actually are

Bart Simpson can demonstrate the Beer Goggles effect in 20 seconds

That piece of animation is an amazing work and brilliant craftsmanship. 

You probably should watch it a few times to notice the details, especially how not just the visual faculty is impaired by the goggles, but the hearing faculty as well!

Listen to what Bart hears what his aunt says while he's wearing the goggles,

and what he hears when she says the same thing without the goggles on.

Brilliant writing and craftsmanship.

Why the similes in SN 46.55  are the best ones on 5niv hindrances

1. Because all 5 hindrances are connected to the same body of water.

2. Water represents the state of the mind. Disturbed water with impurities, is under the influence of the 5niv hindrances. Though the sutta doesn't explicitly say this, the fact that it's in the SN 46 (bojjhanga samyutta), and the nivarana chapter (on hindrances), the metaphor is clearly saying that the water, when undisturbed and undefiled with impurities, represents the mind in samadhi-samobjjhanga (mind in undistractible lucidity)  and upekkha-sambojjhanga. (equanimous-observation of one's state of mind as it actually is).  

3. The sutta does make a very interesting explicit connection between the sati (memory/rememberfulness) aspect of samadhi. That the 5niv hindrances hinders the ability of our long and short term memory recall. 

Samadhi War elephant metaphor expanded to include the water filled googles

The elephant mahout (rider, representing the sampajano, dhamma-vicaya, pañña factor) wearing googles with pure water free of 5niv.

 

sampajano = mahout

sati = elephant, always remembers, everything relevant to the goal of defeating the enemy. 

samadhi = the war elephant is khamo (resilient),   undistractible, imperturbable to the fearsome stimuli of combat. 

Dhamma = the weapons

viriya = the army of fighters wielding the weapons of Dhamma.

samadhi = 4 jhanas, the quality and skill which the warriors and elephant fight

samadhi, jhanas =  weapon quality, sharpness, lethal capability (of destroying mara) . 

goggles with clear water = samadhi mind free of 5niv hindrances, seeing clearly, lucidly (yatha bhuta).