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In [[Buddhism]], the [[Sanskrit]] word ''[[klesha]]'' ([[Pali]]: ''Kilesa'' meaning "defilements", "corruptions" or "poisons") refers to mental states that temporarily cloud the mind's nature and manifest in various forms as unskillful actions of body, speech, and mind. The kilesha are known as The Three Poisons in [[Mahayana]] Buddhism. There are three primary kilesa known as ''mula klesha'' ("root obscurations"): 1) ''lobha'': greed, lust (''rāga''), attachment; 2) ''dosa'': hatred, aversion; and 3) ''moha'': delusion, sloth, ignorance (''avijjā''). The three ''kilesas'' specifically refer to the subtle movement of mind ([[citta]]) when it initially encounters a mental object (In Buddhist conceptions of the mind, 'mental object' refers to any object which the mind perceives, be it a thought, emotion or object perceived by the physical senses.).  If the mind initially reacts by moving towards the mental object, seeking it out, or attaching to it, the experience and results will be tinged by the ''lobha'' ''kilesa.''  Unpleasant objects or experiences are often met by aversion, or the mind moving away from the object, which is the root for hatred and anger to arise in relation to the object.
 
In [[Buddhism]], the [[Sanskrit]] word ''[[klesha]]'' ([[Pali]]: ''Kilesa'' meaning "defilements", "corruptions" or "poisons") refers to mental states that temporarily cloud the mind's nature and manifest in various forms as unskillful actions of body, speech, and mind. The kilesha are known as The Three Poisons in [[Mahayana]] Buddhism. There are three primary kilesa known as ''mula klesha'' ("root obscurations"): 1) ''lobha'': greed, lust (''rāga''), attachment; 2) ''dosa'': hatred, aversion; and 3) ''moha'': delusion, sloth, ignorance (''avijjā''). The three ''kilesas'' specifically refer to the subtle movement of mind ([[citta]]) when it initially encounters a mental object (In Buddhist conceptions of the mind, 'mental object' refers to any object which the mind perceives, be it a thought, emotion or object perceived by the physical senses.).  If the mind initially reacts by moving towards the mental object, seeking it out, or attaching to it, the experience and results will be tinged by the ''lobha'' ''kilesa.''  Unpleasant objects or experiences are often met by aversion, or the mind moving away from the object, which is the root for hatred and anger to arise in relation to the object.
  

Revision as of 16:53, 10 December 2007

In Buddhism, the Sanskrit word klesha (Pali: Kilesa meaning "defilements", "corruptions" or "poisons") refers to mental states that temporarily cloud the mind's nature and manifest in various forms as unskillful actions of body, speech, and mind. The kilesha are known as The Three Poisons in Mahayana Buddhism. There are three primary kilesa known as mula klesha ("root obscurations"): 1) lobha: greed, lust (rāga), attachment; 2) dosa: hatred, aversion; and 3) moha: delusion, sloth, ignorance (avijjā). The three kilesas specifically refer to the subtle movement of mind (citta) when it initially encounters a mental object (In Buddhist conceptions of the mind, 'mental object' refers to any object which the mind perceives, be it a thought, emotion or object perceived by the physical senses.). If the mind initially reacts by moving towards the mental object, seeking it out, or attaching to it, the experience and results will be tinged by the lobha kilesa. Unpleasant objects or experiences are often met by aversion, or the mind moving away from the object, which is the root for hatred and anger to arise in relation to the object.

All Buddhist schools teach that through Tranquility (Samatha) meditation the kilesas are pacified, though not eradicated, and through Insight (Vipassana) the true nature of the kilesas and the mind itself is understood. When the empty nature of the Self and the Mind is fully understood, there is no longer a root for the disturbing emotions to be attached to, and the disturbing emotions lose their power to distract the mind.

Existential Context

There is no Buddhist concept of sin per se although there are analogous ideas such as karma (action and its consequence) and demerit. In general, Buddhism does not recognize the idea behind sin because of its "Cause-Effect Theory", known as karma, which postulates that intentions are the cause of either good or bad actions. Thus, Aryadasa Ratnasinghe writes, "There is nothing called 'sin' in Buddhism in which actions are merely termed as meritorious ('kusala') and demeritorious 'akusala')."[1] Vipaka, the result of one's Karma, may create low quality living, hardships, destruction and all means of disharmony in life and it may also create healthy living, easiness, and harmony in life. Good deeds produce good results while bad deeds produce bad results. Karma and Vipaka are your own action and result. Nevertheless, Buddhism does speak of the three root causes of suffering (greed, hatred and anger) and states that they must be rooted out in one's mind in order for one to live at peace.

The Five Hindrances and Ten Fetters

In Buddhism, Kleshas encompass all mental defilements including both fetters and hindrances.[2] A mental fetter or "chain" or "bond" (Pāli: samyojana, saŋyojana, saññojana) shackles a person to samsara, the cycle of endless suffering. By completely cutting through all fetters, one attains Nibbana (Skt.: Nirvana). Fetters span multiple lifetimes and are difficult to remove, while hindrances are transitory obstacles.

Throughout the Pali canon, the word "fetter" is used to describe an intrapsychic phenomenon that ties one to suffering. For instance, in the Khuddaka Nikaya's Itivuttaka 1.15, the Buddha states:

"Monks, I don't envision even one other fetter — fettered by which beings conjoined go wandering and transmigrating on for a long, long time — like the fetter of craving. Fettered with the fetter of craving, beings conjoined go wandering & transmigrating on for a long, long time."[3]

Elsewhere, the suffering caused by a fetter is implied as in this more technical discourse from Samyutta Nikaya 35.232, where Ven. Sariputta converses with Ven. Kotthita:

Ven. Kotthita: "How is it, friend Sariputta, is ... the ear the fetter of sounds or are sounds the fetter of the ear?..."
Ven. Sariputta: "Friend Kotthita, the ... ear is not the fetter of sounds nor are sounds the fetter of the ear, but rather the desire and lust that arise there in dependence on both: that is the fetter there...."[4]

The Pali canon identifies ten fetters:[5]

  1. belief in an individual self (Pali: sakkāya-diṭṭhi)[6]
  2. doubt or uncertainty, especially about the teachings (vicikicchā)[7]
  3. attachment to rites and rituals (sīlabbata-parāmāso)[8]
  4. sensual desire (kāmacchando)[9]
  5. ill will (vyāpādo or byāpādo)[10]
  6. lust for material existence, lust for material rebirth (rūparāgo)[11]
  7. lust for immaterial existence (arūparāgo)
  8. pride in self, conceit, arrogance (māno)[12]
  9. restlessness, distraction (uddhaccaŋ)[13]
  10. ignorance (avijjā)[14]

In Buddhism, the five hindrances (Pali: pañca nīvaraṇāni)[15] are negative mental states that impede success with meditation (jnana) and lead away from enlightenment. These states are:

  1. Sensual desire (kamacchanda): Craving for pleasure to the senses.
  2. Anger or ill-will (byapada, vyapada): Feelings of malice directed toward others.
  3. Sloth, torpor and boredom (thina-middha): Half-hearted action with little or no concentration.
  4. Restlessness and worry (uddhacca-kukkacca): The inability to calm the mind.
  5. Doubt (vicikiccha): Lack of conviction or trust.

In the Pali Canon

In the Pali Canon's Samyutta Nikaya, several discourses juxtapose the five hindrances with the seven factors of enlightenment (bojjhanga).[16] For instance, according to Samyutta Nikaya 46.37, the Buddha stated:

"Bhikkhus, there are these five obstructions, hindrances, corruptions of the mind, weakeners of wisdom. What five? Sensual desire... ill will... sloth and torpor ... restlessness and remorse... doubt....
"There are, bhikkhus, these seven factors of enlightenment, which are nonobstructions, nonhindrances, noncorruptions of the mind; when developed and cultivated they lead to the realization of the fruit of true knowledge and liberation. What seven? The enlightenment factor of mindfulness... [discrimination of states... energy... rapture... tranquility... concentration...] equanimity....[17][18]

In terms of gaining insight into and overcoming the Five Hindrances, according to the Satipatthana Sutta, the Buddha proclaimed:

How, monks, does a monk live contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the five hindrances?
Herein, monks, when sense-desire is present, a monk knows, "There is sense-desire in me," or when sense-desire is not present, he knows, "There is no sense-desire in me." He knows how the arising of the non-arisen sense-desire comes to be; he knows how the abandoning of the arisen sense-desire comes to be; and he knows how the non-arising in the future of the abandoned sense-desire comes to be.[19]

Each of the remaining four hindrances are similarly treated in subsequent paragraphs.

From post-canonical Pali literature

  method of
suppression		 path of
eradication
sensual
desire		 first jnana based
on bodily foulness		 nonreturning or
arahantship[20]
ill will first jhana based
on metta		 nonreturning
sloth &
torpor		 perception of light arahantship
restlessness
& worry		 serenity arahantship
& nonreturning
doubt defining of phenomena
(dhammavavatthāna)		 stream-entry
Table 1. The Pali commentary's methods
and paths for escaping the hindrances.

According to the first-century CE exegetic Vimuttimagga, the five hindrances include all ten "fetters": sense desire includes any attachment to passion; ill will includes all unwholesome states of hatred; and, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry, and doubt include all unwholesome states of infatuation. The Vimuttimagga further distinguishes that "sloth" refers to mental states while "torpor" refers to physical states resultant from food or time or mental states; if torpor results from food or time, then one diminishes it through energy; otherwise, one removes it with meditation. In addition, the Vimuttimagga identifies four types of doubt:

  • doubt regarding self is a hindrance to tranquility;
  • doubt regarding the Four Noble Truths and three worlds is a hindrance to insight;
  • doubt regarding the Triple Gem is a hindrance to both tranquility and insight;
  • doubt regarding places and people is a hindrance to "non-doctrinal" things;
  • doubt regarding the Discourses is a hindrance to solitude.[21]

According to Buddhaghosa's fifth-century CE commentary to the Samyutta Nikaya (Sāratthappakāsinī), one can momentarily escape the hindrances through jnanic suppression or through insight while, as also stated in the Vimuttimagga, one eradicates the hindrances through attainment of one of the four stages of enlightenment (see Table 1).[22]

Notes

  1. ↑ Aryadasa Ratnasinghe, "The uniqueness of Buddhism."
  2. ↑ Gunaratana (2003), dhamma talk entitled "Dhamma [Satipatthana] - Ten Fetters."
  3. ↑ Thanissaro (2001).
  4. ↑ Bodhi (2000), p. 1230. Tangentially, in discussing the use of the concept of "the fetter" in the Satipatthana Sutta (regarding mindfulness of the six sense bases), Bodhi (2005) references this sutta (SN 35.232) as explaining what is meant by "the fetter," that is, "desire and lust" (chanda-raga). (While providing this exegesis, Bodhi, 2005, also comments that the Satipatthana Sutta commentary associates the term "fetter" in that sutta as referring to all ten fetters.)
  5. ↑ These fetters are enumerated, for instance, in Samyutta Nikaya 45.179 and 45.180 (Bodhi, 2000, pp. 1565-66). This article's Pali words and English translations for the ten fetters are based on Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 656.
  6. ↑ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), pp. 660-1.
  7. ↑ Ibid., p. 615.
  8. ↑ See, for instance, Ibid., p. 713, regarding the similar concept of sīlabbata-upādāna, "grasping after works and rites."
  9. ↑ Ibid., pp.203-4, 274.
  10. ↑ Ibid., p. 654.
  11. ↑ Ibid., pp. 574-5.
  12. ↑ Ibid., p. 528.
  13. ↑ Ibid., p. 136.
  14. ↑ Ibid., p. 85.
  15. ↑ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 376, entry for "Nīvaraṇa."
  16. ↑ For example, in Samyutta Nikaya chapter 46, Bojjhanga-samyutta, discourses 46.31 through 46.40 are based on this juxtaposition (Bodhi, 2000, pp. 1589-94).
  17. ↑ Bodhi (2000), pp. 1591-92. Bodhi elides the middle five factors of enlightenment, inserted here in square brackets, since all seven factors of enlightenment are identified previously multiple times in Bodhi's text.
  18. ↑ Anālayo (2006), pp. 239-40, underlines:
    "To overcome the hindrances, to practise satipatthana, and to establish the awakening factors are, indeed, according to several Pali discourses, the key aspects and the distinctive features common to the awakenings of all Buddhas, past, present, and future."
    Anālayo further supports this by identifying that, in all extant Sanskrit and Chinese versions of the Satipatthana Sutta, only the five hindrances and seven factors of enlightenment are consistently identified under the dhamma contemplation section; contemplations of the [Skandha|[five aggregates]], six sense bases and Four Noble Truths are not included in one or more of these non-Pali versions.
  19. ↑ Nyanasatta (1994).
  20. ↑ Upatissa et al. (1995), p. 316, identifies that sense-desire is "destroyed through the Path of Non-Return." In the context of commenting on sutta Samyutta Nikaya 46.55, Bodhi (2005), p. 440, n. 14, states that sensual desire is "eradicated by the path of arahantship (since kāmacchanda is here interpreted widely enough to include desire for any object, not only sensual desire)".
  21. ↑ Upatissa et al. (1995), pp. 91-92.
  22. ↑ Regarding the Sāratthappakāsinī commentary, see Bodhi (2005), p. 440, n. 14. Regarding the Vimuttimagga commentary, see Upatissa et al. (1995), p. 316.

Appearance in Yoga Sutras

The third śloka of Patañjali's Yogasūtra explicitly identifies the Pañca-kleśa:[1]

अविद्यास्मितारागद्वेषाभिनिवेशाः पञ्च क्लेशाः॥३॥ [2]
Avidyāsmitārāgadveṣābhiniveśāḥ pañca kleśāḥ//3// [3]

This may be rendered in English as:

Ignorance (in the form of a misapprehension about Reality) (ávidyā), egoism (in the form of an erroneous identification of the Self with the intellect) (asmitā), attachment (rāga), aversion (dveṣa) and fear of death (which is derived from clinging ignorantly to life) —abhiniveśa— (abhiniveśāḥ) are the five (pañca) Kleśa-s or Afflictions (kleśāḥ)//3// [4]

Notes

  1. ↑ Patañjali (undated; author); Pradīpaka, Gabriel & Andrés Muni (translators) (2007). Yogasūtra. Source: [1] (accessed: November 23, 2007)
  2. ↑ Ibid. [2] (accessed: November 23, 2007)
  3. ↑ Ibid. [3] (accessed: November 23, 2007)
  4. ↑ Ibid. [4] (accessed: November 23, 2007)

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Anālayo (2006). Satipatthāna: The Direct Path to Realization. Birmingham: Windhorse Publications. ISBN 1-899579-54-0.
  • Bodhi, Bhikkhu (trans.) (2000). The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya. Boston: Wisdom Pubs. ISBN 0-86171-331-1.
  • Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed.) (2005). In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pāli Canon. Boston: Wisdom Pubs. ISBN 0-86171-491-1.
  • Nyanasatta Thera (trans.) (1994). Satipatthana Sutta: The Foundations of Mindfulness (Majjhima Nikaya 10). Available on-line at [5]
  • Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary. Chipstead: Pali Text Society.[6]
  • Upatissa, Arahant and N.R.M. Ehara (trans.), Soma Thera (trans.) and Kheminda Thera (trans.) (1995). The Path of Freedom (Vimuttimagga). Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society. ISBN 955-2

External links

All links retrieved Dec. 8, 2007.

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