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The Five Poisons - List

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The way of cultivation of the mind involves transforming both the five poisons or klesa as they are known and the consciousness, into the wisdom of suchness.

Checklist of the five poisons.Checklist of the five poisons.Checklist of the five poisons.Checklist of the five poisons.
The five klesha checklist.

Where do our annoyances come from? Are they related to the five poisons: greed, anger, ignorance, pride and doubt? What are the five poisons?
The four noble truths talk about suffering, how it should be understood and the quest to remove it.
One of the types of suffering, Sankhara dukkha, is about how we believe that the body and mind is the basis of ourselves. whilst we still believe the mind is part of us, understanding negative emotions and appreciating that we can gain control of them can reduce our suffering.
The poisons or klesha as they are oftentimes called all lead to negative actions and it is wise to avoid these.
Ignorance, attachment and aversion, sometimes called the three poisons or three unwholesome roots are the roots of all the poisons so best to be tackled first.
The story of the five attacks of Mārā, the lord of the senses, in Buddhism and the victory by Buddha Śākyamuni over each of these evil obstacles is an illustration of the five poisons tempting him and him then transcending them by evolving each into a state of pure consciousness connected to each of the five skandha consecutively.
Each Buddha Family has both a conflicted side, the Five Conflicted Emotions below and an awakened, open, side, which are the Five Facets of Primordial Awareness (yeshe-nga in Tib.) or five wisdoms.

The Five Poisons

01. Delusion, ignorance, confusion or bewilderment. Moha or avidya.

One of the three primary poisons which can be purified with body, speech and mind, this poison relates to not seeing the world as it actually is.
Study of the the twelve links to dependant origination and the eightfold path, shine a light on ignorance, without the capacity for mental concentration and insight, the mind is left undeveloped, unable to grasp the true nature of things.
Greed, envy, hatred and anger stem from this poison, and the antidote for ignorance is wisdom.
This poison is often represented in Buddhist art as a pig.
Ignorance is a blank sheet, on which we may write.

02. Anger, hatred, hostility, irritation, annoyance, resentment, ill-will or aversion. Dvesha, pratigha, Dosa (hatred).

One of the three primary poisons which can be purified with body, speech and mind.
By practice of the six perfections, which include love and patience, we see a reduction in anger and hatred.
Anger is a mental factor which, in reference to the person or object that harms us, the suffering we receive, or the reason we are harmed, agitates the mind through being unable to bear the object or through intending to cause it harm. The three objects are the person or object that harms us, the suffering we receive, or the reason we are harmed.
Patience is a mental state that counteracts and is the antidote for anger. It is the ability to remain steadfast and calm in the face of suffering or harm.
This poison is often represented in Buddhist art as a snake.
Blue/back anger.

03. Pride, arrogance or conceit. Māna.

Look into your mind, are you really faultless? Can any faults you find be replaced with good qualities?
Arrogance is a mental factor that grasps strongly at the wrong conception of I and mine and inflates their importance, making us feel superior to others.
Self-confidence and humility are antidotes and are mental states in which the mind is relaxed, receptive to learning, confident in our abilities, and content with our situation. We no longer feel the stress of needing to prove ourselves or to be recognized.
Equanimity of calmness and composure is the antidote for pride.

04. Desire, attachment, greed or passion. Raga (Desire) or Lobha (Greed).

One of the three primary poisons which can be purified with body, speech and mind.
Is what you desire permanent? If not should you give this emotion precedence?
Detachment is an attitude that counteracts attachment or desire. It withdraws our mind from its compulsive involvement with the object by understanding the nature of it and eliminates the grasping to possess it.
Consider how our mind creates the beautiful object by interpreting it a certain way and giving it the label of beautiful, we are simply confusing our concept of the object with the object itself.
Compassion is the antidote for desire.
This poison is often represented in Buddhist art as a rooster.
Think of the red, rouge of desire.

05. Jealousy or envy. Irshya.

Every time you see someone happy, joyful, or successful, be happy for them as they will be for you.
Jealousy is a mental factor that, out of attachment to respect and material gain, is unable to bear the good things that others have.
Joy is an antidote to jealousy, a mental state in which we rejoice when others have good qualities, opportunities, talents, material possessions, respect, love, and so on.
Do not be green with envy.

Synonyms/tags: the five klesha, five human delusions, kilesa, five conflicted emotions




Or, per your interest, look at other related links;

  The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra
  The four noble truths.
  The six perfections.
  The Eightfold Path.
  The twelve links of dependant origination.

Or, why not search for other related lists on our site;

Or, want to know more? Then more information can be found from external resources at this other website The Five Poisons.

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