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kleśa

A Dictionary of Buddhism | 2004 | 700+ words | Copyright

kleśa (Skt.; Pāli, kilesa). General term for defilements, vices, or negative psychological tendencies. The term means something like ‘affliction’, in the sense of disturbances of the mind. The three most basic are greed (rāga), hatred (dveṣa), and delusion (moha), although many different lists and variant terms are found. Thus, according to Vasubandhu in the Abhidharma-kośa the six basic defilements are greed (rāga), hatred (pratigha), ignorance (avidyā), arrogance (māna), doubt (vicikitsā), and false views or opinionatedness (dṛṣṭi). Sometimes the list is extended to ten to include delusion (moha), laxity (styāna), exciteability (auddhatya), shamelessness (ahrīka), and recklessness (anapatrāpya). Under the influence of these defilements individuals perform unwholesome (akuśala) acts which produce bad karma leading to an inferior rebirth. They can be eliminated by the cultivation of their corresponding virtues and through meditation.

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