Kleshas | Kleśas

1. Kleshas | Kleśas

Kleśas (Sanskrit: kleśa; Pāḷi: Kilesa), in Buddhism, are mental states that cloud the mind and manifest in unwholesome actions.

Kleśas include states of mind such as anxiety, fear, anger, jealousy, desire, depression, etc.

Contemporary translators use a variety of English words to translate the term Kleśas, such as:

afflictions, defilements, destructive emotions, disturbing emotions, negative emotions, mind poisons, neurosis etc.

In the contemporary Mahāyāna and Theravāda Buddhist traditions, the 3 Kleśas of ignorance, attachment, and aversion are identified as the root or source of all other Kleśas.

These are referred to as the 3 Poisons in the Mahāyāna tradition, or as the 3 Unwholesome Roots in the Theravāda tradition.

While the early Buddhist texts of the Pāḷi Canon do not specifically enumerate the 3 root Kleśas, over time the 3 Poisons (and the Kleśas generally) came to be seen as the very roots of Saṁsāric existence.

2. Pāḷi literature

In the Pāḷi Canon's discourses (Suttas), Kilesa is often associated with the various passions that defile bodily and mental states.

In the Pāḷi Canon's Abhidhamma and post-Canonical Pāḷi literature, 10 defilements are identified, the 1-3 of which – greed, hate, delusion – are considered to be the roots of suffering.

Sutta Piṭaka: mental hindrances

In the Pāḷi Canon's Sutta Piṭaka, Kilesa and its correlate Upakkilesa are affective obstacles to the pursuit of direct knowledge (abhijñā) and wisdom (paññā).

For instance, the Samyutta Nikāya includes a collection of 10 discourses (SN 27, Kilesa-Saṁyutta) that state that any association of desire-passion (chanda-rāgo) with the body or mind is a defilement of mind (cittasse'so upakkileso):

More broadly, the 5 hindrances –

 – are frequently associated with Kilesa in the following (or a similar) manner:

Additionally, in the Khuddaka Nikāya's Niddesa, Kilesa is identified as a component of or synonymous with craving (taṇhā) and lust (rāga).

Abhidhamma: 10 defilements and unwholesome roots

While the Sutta Piṭaka does not offer a list of Kilesa, the Abhidhamma Piṭaka in Dhamma saṅgaṇi (Dhs. 1229ff.) and Vibhaṅga (Vbh. XII)

as well as in the post-Canonical Visuddhimagga (Vsm. XXII 49, 65) enumerate 10 defilements (dasa Kilesa-vatthūni) as follows:

The Vibhaṅga also includes an 8-fold list (aṭṭha Kilesa-vatthūni) composed of the 1-8 of the above ten.

Throughout Pāḷi literature, the 1-3 Kilesa in the above 10-fold Abhidhamma list (lobha dosa moha) are known as the unwholesome roots (akusala-mūla or the root of akusala);

and, their opposites (alobha, adosa, amoha) are the 3 wholesome roots (kuśala-mūla or the root of kusala).

The presence of such a wholesome or unwholesome root during a mental, verbal or bodily action conditions future states of consciousness and associated mental factors (see Karma).

3. Śrāvaka and Mahāyāna literature

3 poisons

The 3 Kleśas of ignorance, attachment and aversion are referred to as the 3 Poisons (Skt. triviṣa) in the Mahāyāna tradition and as the 3 Unwholesome Roots (akusala-mūla) in the Theravāda tradition.

These 3 Poisons (or unwholesome roots) are considered to be the root of all the other Kleśas.

5 poisons

In the Mahāyāna tradition, the 5 main Kleśas are referred to as the 5 Poisons (Sanskrit: pañca kleśaviṣa).

The 5 Poisons consist of the 3 Poisons with +2 additional poisons: pride and jealousy.

The 5 Poisons are:

1) Ignorance (Sanskrit: moha, avidya), (Pāḷi: moha, avijjā)
– also translated as: Confusion, delusion
Description: Lack of discernment; not understanding the way of things

2) Attachment (Sanskrit: rāga), (Pāḷi: lobha)
– also translated as: Desire, passion
Description: Attachment or desire for what we like

3) Aversion (Sanskrit: dveṣa), (Pāḷi: dosa)
– also translated as: Anger, hatred
Description: Aversion for what we don't like, or for what prevents us from getting what we like

4) Pride (Sanskrit: māna), (Pāḷi: māna)
– also translated as: Arrogance, Conceit
Description: Having an inflated opinion of oneself and a disrespectful attitude toward others

5) Envy (Sanskrit: īrṣyā), (Pāḷi: issā)
– also translated as: Jealousy
Description: Being unable to bear the accomplishments or good fortune of others

Six root Kleśas of the Abhidharma

The Abhidharma-kośa identifies 6 root Kleśas (mūla-kleśa):

Mahā Parinirvāṇa Sūtra

The Mahāyāna Mahā Parinirvāṇa Sūtra lists approximately 50 Kleśas, such as:

attachment, aversion, stupidity, jealousy, pride, heedlessness, haughtiness, ill-will, quarrelsomeness, wrong livelihood, deceit, consorting with immoral friends,

attachment to pleasure, to sleep, to eating, and to yawning; delighting in excessive talking and uttering lies, as well as thoughts of harm.

2 obscurations

Mahāyāna literature often features an enumeration of 2 obscurations:

4. Contemporary glosses

Contemporary translators have used many different English words to translate the term Kleśas, such as:

afflictions, passions, destructive emotions, disturbing emotions, etc.

The following table provides brief descriptions of the term Kleśas given by various contemporary Buddhist teachers and scholars:

Afflictive emotions

Afflictions

Mental afflictions

Destructive emotions

Defilements

Kleśas

5. Overcoming the Kleśas

All Buddhist schools teach that through Tranquillity (Śamatha) 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.