Kilesa
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In Buddhism, the Pali word klesha (Sanskrit: kleśa or kilesa) is used to mean "defilements", "corruptions" or "poisons". These are mental states which temporarily cloud the mind's nature and manifest in various forms as unskillful actions of body, speech, and mind.
Three main kinds of kilesa are:
- lobha: greed, lust (rāga), attachment. (Compare rajas.)
- dosa: hatred, aversion.
- moha: delusion, sloth, ignorance (avijjā). (Compare tamas.) (These three kilesha are known as The Three Poisons in Vajrayana Buddhism and their transmutation is symbolized by the gankyil.)
These 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.
Another common enumeration of the Kleshas lists them as:
The Five Disturbing Emotions
- Passion ( desire, greed, lust, etc.)
- Aggression (anger, hatred, resentment etc.)
- Ignorance (bewilderment, confusion, apathy etc.)
- Pride (wounded pride, low-self esteem etc.)
- Jealousy ( envy, paranoia etc.)
All Buddhist schools teach that through Tranquility (Samatha) meditation the kleshas are pacified, though not eradicated, and through Insight (Vipassana) the true nature of the kleshas 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.
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