-M-
Macchariya: 'stinginess', avarice.;There are
5 kinds of stinginess, o Bhikkhus; regarding the dwelling place, regarding
families, regarding gain, regarding recognition, regarding mental things'
A. IX, 49;
Pug. 56.
Mada: 'infatuation'.;Infatuation is of
3 kinds: youth-infatuation, health-infatuation, life-infatuation;
D. 33.;Infatuated by youth-infatuation,
by health-infatuation and by life-infatuation, the ignorant worldling pursues
an evil course in bodily actions, speech and thought, and thereby, at the dissolution
of the body, after death, passes to a lower world, to a woeful course of existence,
to a state of suffering and hell; A. III,
39.
Magga: 'Path'. 1.
For the 4 supra-mundane paths
lokuttara-magga
see: ariya-puggala- 2. The 8-fold
path
atthangika-magga is the path leading
to the ceasing of suffering, i.e. the last of the 4 Noble Truths
sacca, namely:
Wisdom paññā III.
1. Right view sammā-ditthi
2. Right motivation sammā-sankappa
Morality sīla I.
3. Right speech sammā-vācā
4. Right bodily action sammā-kammanta
5. Right livelihood sammā-ājīva
Concentration samādhi II.
6. Right effort sammā-vāyāma
7. Right awareness or mindfulness sammā-sati
8. Right concentration sammā-samādhi
1. Right view or right understanding
sammā-ditthi is the understanding
of the 4 Noble Truths about the universality of suffering unsatisfactoriness,
of its origin, its cessation, and the path leading
to that cessation. - See the Discourse on 'Right Understanding'
M. 9, tr. and
Com. in 'R.
Und.'.
2. Right motivation sammā-sankappa
thoughts free from sense-desire, from ill-will, and cruelty.
3. Right speech sammā-vācā abstaining
from lying, tale-bearing, harsh language, and foolish babble.
4. Right bodily action
sammā-kammanta abstaining from
killing, stealing, and unlawful sexual intercourse.
5. Right livelihood sammā-ājīva abstaining
from a livelihood that brings harm to other beings, such as trading in arms,
in living beings, intoxicating drinks, poison; slaughtering, fishing, soldiering,
deceit, treachery soothsaying, trickery, usury, etc.
6. Right effort sammā-vāyāma the effort of avoiding or overcoming
evil and disadvantageous things, and of developing and maintaining advantageous
things see: padhāna.
7. Right awareness or mindfulness sammā-sati
awareness or mindfulness and awareness in contemplating body, feelings, mind,
and mental-objects see: sati
satipatthāna
8. Right concentration sammā-samādhi
concentration of mind associated with advantageous
kusala consciousness, which eventually
may reach the absorptions jhāna,. Cf.
samādhi
There are to be distinguished 2 kinds of concentration, mundane
lokiya and supra-mundane
lokuttara concentration. The latter
is associated with those states of consciousness known as the 4 supra-mundane
paths and fruitions see:
ariya-puggala As it is said in
M. 117:
'I tell you, o Bhikkhus, there are 2 kinds of right view: the understanding
that it is good to give food and offerings, that both good and evil actions
will bear fruit and will be followed by results. This, o Bhikkhus, is a view
which, though still subject to the fermentations, is meritorious, yields worldly
fruits, and brings good results. But whatever there is of understanding, of penetration,
of right view conjoined with the path -
the Noble path being pursued, this is called
the supra-mundane right view lokuttara-sammā-ditthi
which is not of the world, but which is supra-mundane and conjoined with the
path.'
In a similar way the remaining links of the path
are to be understood.
As many of those who have written about the 8-fold
path have misunderstood its true nature, it
is therefore appropriate to add here a few elucidating remarks about it, as
this path is fundamental for the understanding
and practice of the Buddha's.teaching.
First of all, the figurative expression 'path'
should not be interpreted to mean that one has to advance step by step in the
sequence of the enumeration until, after successively passing through all the
eight stages, one finally may reach one's destination, Nibbāna. If this really
were the case, one should have realized, first of all, right view and penetration
of the truth, even before one could hope to proceed to the next steps, right
thought and right speech; and each preceding stage would be the indispensable
foundation and condition for each succeeding stage. In reality, however, the
links 3-5 constituting moral training sīla
are the first 3 links to be cultivated, then the links 6-8 constituting mental
training samādhi and at last right
view, etc. constituting understanding paññā.
It is, however, true that a really unshakable and safe foundation to the
path is provided only by right view which, starting
from the tiniest germ of faith and knowledge, gradually, step by step, develops
into penetrating insight vipassanā
and thus forms the immediate condition for the entrance into the 4 supra-mundane
paths and fruits of Nobility, and for the realization
of Nibbāna. Only with regard to this highest form of supra-mundane insight,
may we indeed say that all the remaining links of the
path are nothing but the outcome and the accompaniments
of right view.
Regarding the mundane lokiya 8-fold
path, however, its links may arise without the
first link, right view.
Here it must also be emphasized that the links of the
path not only do not arise one after the other,
as already indicated, but also that they, at least in part, arise simultaneously
as inseparably associated mental properties in one and the same state of consciousness.
Thus, for instance, under all circumstances at least 4 links are inseparably
bound up with any kammically advantageous consciousness, namely 2, 6, 7 and
8, i.e. right thought, right effort, right awareness or mindfulness and right
concentration M. 117, so that as soon as
any one of these links arises, the three others also do so. On the other hand,
right view is not necessarily present in every advantageous state of consciousness.
Magga is one of the 24 conditions see:
paccaya 18.
Literature: The Noble 8-fold path and
its Factors Explained, by Ledi Sayadaw WHEEL
245/247. - The Buddha's Ancient path,
by Piyadassi Thera BPS.- The Noble 8-fold
path, by Bhikkhu Bodhi
WHEEL
308/311.
Maggāmagga-ñānadassana-visuddhi:
'purification by knowledge of what is path
and not-path', is one of the 7 stages of purification
visuddhi.
Magga-paccaya: 'Path
as a condition', is one of the 24 conditions
paccaya. magical powers: s. iddhi;
abhiññā 1.
Mahā-bhūta: the 4 'primary elements', is another
name for the 4 elements dhātu underlying
all materiality; see: dhātu
Mahā-brahmāno: the 'great gods', are a class
of divine beings in the fine-material world; see:
deva II.
Mahaggata: lit., 'grown great', i.e. 'developed',
exalted, supernormal. As mahaggata-citta
it is the state of 'developed consciousness', attained in the fine-material
and immaterial absorptions see: jhāna
it is mentioned in the mind-contemplation of the Satipatthāna Sutta
M. 10. - As mahaggatārammana it
is the 'developed mental object' of those absorptions and is mentioned in the
'object triad' of the Abhidhamma schedule and
Dhs. see:
Guide, p. 6.
Mahāpurisa-vitakka: the
8 'thoughts of a great man', are described in
A. VIII, 30, and D. 34.
Mahā-vipassanā: the 18 'chief
kinds of insight'; see: vipassanā
Maintain: effort to maintain advantageous things;
see: padhāna
Majjhimā-patipadā: 'Middle
path', is the Noble 8-fold
path which, by avoiding the two extremes of
sensual lust and self-torment, leads to enlightenment and deliverance from
suffering.
To give oneself up to indulgence in sensual pleasure
kāma-sukha
the base, common, vulgar, unholy, unprofitable; and also to give oneself up
to self-torment atta-kilamatha
the painful, unholy, unprofitable, both these two extremes the Perfect One
has avoided and has found the Middle path see:
magga which causes one both to see and
to know, and which leads to peace, to discernment, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna.
It is the Noble 8-fold path, the way that
leads to the ceasing of suffering, namely: right understanding, right thought,
right speech, right bodily action, right livelihood, right effort, right awareness
or mindfulness, and right concentration; S.
LVI, 11.
Mala: 'stains', is a name for the 3 kammically
disadvantageous roots akusala-mūla,
greed, hate and confusion lobha,
dosa, moha.
Māna: 'conceit', pride, is one of the 10 mental chains
binding to existence see: samyojana
It vanishes completely only at the entrance to Arahatship, or Nobility cf.
asmi-māna It is further one of the
latent tendencies see: anusaya and
defilements see: kilesa
The equality-conceit māna the inferiority-conceit
omāna and the superiority-conceit
atimāna this threefold conceit should
be overcome. For, after overcoming this threefold conceit, the monk, through
the full penetration of conceit, is said to have put an end suffering;
A. VI, 49.
Those ascetics and brahman priests who, relying on this impermanent, miserable
and transitory nature of materiality, feelings, perceptions, mental constructions
and consciousness, fancy: 'Better am I', or 'Equal am I', or 'Worse am I',
all these imagine thus through not understanding reality;
S. XXII, 49.
In reality no ego-entity is to be found. Cf.
anattā
Manasikāra: 'attention', 'mental directing',
'reflection'.
1. As a psychological term, attention belongs to the construction-group
sankhāra-khandha
Tab. II. and is one of the 7 mental properties
cetasika that are inseparably associated
with all states of consciousness see: cetanā
In M. 9, it is given as one of the factors
representative of mind nāma It is the mind's first 'confrontation with
an object' and 'binds the associated mental properties to the object.' It is,
therefore, the prominent factor in two specific classes of consciousness:
i.e. 'directing āvajjana at the
five sense-doors' Tab. I, 70 and at the mind-door
Tab. I, 71. These two states of consciousness, breaking
through the subconscious life-continuum bhavanga form the first stage
in the perceptual process citta-vīthi
see. viññāna-kicca See
Vis.M XIV, 152.
2. In a more general sense, the term appears frequently in the Suttas as
yoniso-manasikāra 'wise
or reasoned, methodical attention' or 'wise reflection'. It is said, in
M. 2, to counteract the fermentations
āsava, it is a condition for the
arising of right view see: M. 43, of Stream-entry
see: sotāpattiyanga and
of the factors of enlightenment see: S.
XLVI, 2.49,51. - 'Unwise attention' ayoniso-manasikāra
leads to the arising of the fermentations see:
M. 2 and of the five hindrances see:
S. XLVI, 2.51.
Manāyatana: 'mind-base', is a collective
term for all the different states of consciousness; see:
āyatana.
Mangala: means, in general usage, anything regarded
as 'auspicious' 'lucky', or a 'good omen'. Against the contemporary superstitions
notions about it, the Buddha, in the Mahā-mangala Sutta
Sn., w. 258 ff., set forth 36 'blessings'
that are truly auspicious, i.e. conducive to happiness, beginning with the
'avoidance of bad company' and ending with a 'serene mind'. It is one of the
most popular Suttas in Buddhist countries, and a fundamental text on Buddhist
lay ethics.
Tr. in Everyman's Ethics WHEEL
14. See Life's Highest Blessings, by Dr. R. L. Soni.
WHEEL
254/256.
Mano: 'mind', is in the Abhidhamma used
as synonym of viññāna consciousness
and citta state of consciousness, mind.
According to the Com. to
Vis.M, it sometimes means sub-consciousness
see: bhavanga-sota
Mano-dhātu: 'mind-element', is one of the 18
elements see: dhātu II. This term, unlike
manāyatana does not apply to the
whole of consciousness, but designates only that special element of consciousness
which first, at the beginning of the process of sense-perception, performs
the function of directing āvajjana
a href=../../library/Buddhist-Dictionary/dic2-abbrev.html#Tab. Tab. I, 70 to the sense-object and, then after
twice having become conscious of it performs the function of reception sampaticchana
Tab I- 39,.55 into mind-consciousness. See
viññāna-kicca
Mano-kamma: 'mental action'; see: kamma,
kamma-patha.
Manomayā iddhi: s.
iddhi.
Manopadosika-deva: 'the celestial beings
corruptible by temper', are a class of devas of the sense-sphere.;They
spend their time in becoming annoyed with one another, and getting into a temper,
and thus by being bodily and mentally exhausted, they pass from that world;
D. 1; 24.
Manopavicāra: 'mental indulging'.
There are mentioned 18 ways of indulging: 6 in gladness
somanassūpavicāra in sorrow
domanassa 6 in indifference
upekkhā Perceiving with the eye a visible
form... hearing with the ear a sound... being in mind conscious of an object,
one indulges in the joy-producing object, the sorrow-producing object, the
indifference-producing object... M. 137;
A. III, 61. - In the
Com. to
A., upavicāra
is said to be identical with vitakka-vicāra
Mano-sañcetanā: 'mental intention'; see:
āhāra.
Manovinñāna-dhātu: 'mind-consciousness
element', one of the 18 'elements' see: dhātu
II. This term is generally used as a name for that consciousness-element which
performs the functions of investigation santīrana determining votthapana
registering tadārammana etc. See Tab. I, 40,
41, 56, 71, 72.
Māra: lit. 'the killer', is the Buddhist 'Tempter-figure.
He is often called 'Māra the Evil One' pāpimā māro or Namuci
lit. 'the non-liberator', i.e. the opponent of liberation. He appears in the
texts both as a real person i.e. as a deity and as personification of evil
and passions, of the totality of worldly existence, and of death. Later Pāli
literature often speaks of a 'fivefold Māra' pañca-māra 1.
M. as a deity devaputta-māra.
the M. of defilements
kilesa-m 3. the
M. of the aggregates or clusters
khandha-m. the
M. of the kammic-constructions
kamma-m., and 5. Māra as death
maccu-m..
As a real person, M. is regarded as
the deity ruling over the highest heaven of the sense-sphere
kāmāvacara that of the paranimmitavasavatti-devas
the 'deities wielding power over the creations of others'
Com. to
M. 1. According to tradition, when the
Bodhisatta was seated under the Bodhi-tree, Māra tried in vain to obstruct
his attainment of Enlightenment, first by frightening him through his hosts
of demons, etc., and then by his 3 daughters' allurements. This episode is
called 'Māra's war' māra-yuddha For 7 years
M. had followed the Buddha, looking for
any weakness in him; that is, 6 years before the Enlightenment and one year
after it Sn. v. 446. He also tried
to induce the Buddha to pass away into Parinibbāna without proclaiming the
Dhamma, and also when the time for the Buddha's Parinibbāna had come, he urged
him on. But the Buddha acted on his own insight in both cases. See
D. 16.
For 3 M. as the aggregates or clusters,
see: S. XXIII, 1, 11, 12, 23. See Padhāna
Sutta Sn. v. 425ff.; Māra Samyutta
S. IV.
Marana: 'death', in ordinary usage,
means the disappearance of the vital ability confined to a single life-time,
and therewith of the psycho-physical life-process conventionally called 'man,
animal, personality, ego', etc. Strictly speaking, however, death is the continually
repeated dissolution and vanishing of each momentary physical-mental combination,
and thus it takes place every moment. About this momentaneity of existence,
it is said in Vis.M VIII:
In the absolute sense, beings have only a very short moment to live, life
lasting as long as a single moment of consciousness lasts. Just as a cart-wheel,
whether rolling or whether at a standstill, at all times only rests on a single
point of its periphery, even so the life of a living being lasts only for the
duration of a single moment of consciousness. As soon as that moment ceases,
the being also ceases. For it is said: 'The being of the past moment of consciousness
has lived, but does not live now, nor will it live in future. The being of
the future moment has not yet lived, nor does it live now, but it will live
in the future. The being of the present moment has not lived, it does live
just now, but it will not live in the future.
In another sense, the coming to an end of the psycho-physical life-process
of the Arahat, or perfectly Noble One, at the moment of his passing away may
be called the final and ultimate death, as up to that moment the psycho-physical
life-process was still going on from life to life.
Death, in the ordinary sense, combined with old age, forms the 12th link
in the formula of dependent origination
paticca-samuppāda.
For death as a subject of meditation, see:
maranānussati as a function of
consciousness, see: viññāna-kicca
Maranāsanna-kamma: s. kamma.
Maranānussati: 'recollection of death',
is one of the 10 recollections treated in detail in
Vis.M VIII:
''Recollection of death, developed and frequently practised, yields great
reward, great blessing, has Deathlessness as its goal and object. But how may
such recollection be developed?
As soon as the day declines, or as the night vanishes and the day is breaking,
the Bhikkhu thus reflects: 'Truly, there are many possibilities for me to die:
I may be bitten by a serpent, or be stung by a scorpion or a centipede, and
thereby I may lose my life. But this would be an obstacle for me. Or I may
stumble and fall to the ground, or the food eaten by me may not agree with
my health; or bile, phlegm and piercing body gases may become disturbing, or
men or ghosts may attack me, and thus I may lose my life. But this would be
an obstacle for me.' Then the Bhikkhu has to consider thus: 'Are there still
to be found in me unsubdued evil, disadvantageous things which, if I should
die today or tonight, might lead me to suffering?' Now, if he understands that
this is the case, he should use his utmost resolution, energy, effort, endeavour,
steadfastness, attentiveness and clear-mindedness in order to overcome these
evil, disadvantageous things; A VIII, 74.
In Vis.M VIII it is said: 'He who wishes
to develop this meditation, should retreat to solitude, and whilst living secluded
he should thus wisely reflect: 'Death will come to me! The vital energy will
be cut off!' Or: 'Death! Death!' To him, namely, who does not wisely reflect,
sorrow may arise by thinking on the death of a beloved person, just as to a
mother whilst thinking on the death of her beloved child. Again, by reflecting
on the death of a disliked person, joy may arise, just as to enemies whilst
thinking on the death of their enemies. Through thinking on the death of an
indifferent person, however, no emotion will arise, just as to a man whose
work consists in cremating the dead at the sight of a dead body. And by reflecting
on one's own death fright may arise... just as at the sight of a murderer with
drawn sword one becomes filled with horror. Thus, whenever seeing here or there
slain or other dead beings, one should reflect on the death of such deceased
persons who once lived in happiness, and one should rouse one's attentiveness,
emotion and knowledge and consider thus: 'Death will come, etc.'. Only in him
who considers in this way, will the hindrances
nīvarana be repressed; and through
the idea of death attention becomes steadfast, and the exercise reaches neighbourhood-concentration
upacāra-samādhi.
According to Vis.M VIII, one may also
reflect on death in the following various ways: one may think of it as a murderer
with a drawn sword standing in front of oneself; or one may bear in mind that
all happiness ends in death; or that even the mightiest beings on this earth
are subject to death; or that we must share this body with all those innumerable
worms and other tiny beings residing therein; or that life is something dependent
on in-and-out breathing, and bound up with it; or that life continues only
as long as the elements, food, breath, etc. are properly performing their functions;
or that nobody knows when, where, and under what circumstances, death will
take place, and what kind of fate we have to expect after death; or, that life
is very short and limited. As it is said: 'Short, indeed, is this life of men,
limited, fleeting, full or woe and torment; it is just like a dewdrop that
vanishes as soon as the sun rises; like a water-bubble; like a furrow drawn
in the water; like a torrent dragging everything along and never standing still;
like cattle for slaughter that every moment look death in the face;
A. VII, 74.
The Bhikkhu devoted to this recollection of death is at all time indefatigable,
gains the idea of disgust with regard to all forms of existence, gives up delight
in life, detests evil, does not hoard up things, is free from stinginess with
regard to the necessities of life, the idea of
impermanence anicca becomes familiar
to him; and through pursuing it, the idea of misery
dukkha and of
impersonality
anattā become present to him. Free from fear and bewilderment will
he pass away at death; and should he not yet realize the Deathless State in
his life-time, he will at the dissolution of the body attain to a happy course
of existence; Vis.M VIII.
See Buddhist Reflections on Death, by V. F. Gunaratna
WHEEL
102/103. -Buddhism and Death, by M.Q.C. Walshe
WHEEL.
261.
Marvel: s.
pātihāriya.
Mastery: regarding the absorptions: see: vasī
- 8 stages of: abhibhāyatana
Material food:
kabalinkārāhāra
Matter: materiality: see:
khandha,
rūpa-kalāpa.
Matured one: the:
gotrabhū
Maturity-knowledge:
gotrabhū-ñāna see:
visuddhi VII.
Meaning: evident, and to be inferred: see:
neyyatthadhamma
Meat-eating: Just as the kammical, i.e. moral,
quality of any action is determined by the quality of intention
cetanā underlying it, and independently
of this intention nothing whatever can be called kammically advantageous or
disadvantageous kusala, akusala just so it is with the merely external
act of meat-eating, this being as such purely non-moral, i.e. kammically neutral
avyākata.
'In 3 circumstances meat-eating is to be rejected: if one has seen, or heard,
or suspects that the animal has been slaughtered expressly for one's own sake;
M. 55. For if in such a case one should
partake of the meat, one would as it were approve the murder of animals, and
thus encourage the animal-murderer in his murderous deeds. Besides, that the
Buddha never objected, in ordinary circumstances, to meat-eating may be clearly
understood from many passages of the Suttas e.g.
A. V. 44; VIII, 12;
M. 55, etc., as also from the Vinaya, where
it is related that the Buddha firmly rejected Devadatta's proposal to forbid
meat-eating to the Bhikkhus; further from the fact that 10 kinds of meat were
for merely external reasons forbidden to the Bhikkhus, namely from elephants,
tigers, serpents, etc.
See Amagandha Sutta Sn.. Early
Buddhism and the Taking of Life, by I. B. Horner
WHEEL
104.
Meditation: see:
bhāvanā,
jhāna, samādhi.
Mental action:
mano-kamma see: kamma.
Mental directing:
mano-dvārāvajjana see:
āvajjana
Mental construction:
sankhāra see:
Tab. II.
Mental function:
citta-sankhāra see:
sankhāra 2.
Mental image: s.
nimitta
kasina samādhi
Mental obduracy: ceto-khila
Merit: the 4 streams of:
puñña-dhārā - For transference
of merit, see: patti-dāna
Meritorious action: s.
puñña,
puñña-kiriya-vatthu.
Message: the 9-fold: of the buddhasāsana
see: sāsana
Messengers: the 3 divine: see:
deva-dūta
Method: the right:
ñāya is a name for the 8-fold path
see: magga
Mettā: 'Lit: friendliness' or 'loving-kindness',
is one of the 4 sublime abodes brahma-vihāra.
Micchā-ditthi:
sankappa-vāca etc.: see: foll.
Micchā-magga: Atthangika: the '8-fold
wrong path', is:
1: Wrong view micchā-ditthi,
2:
Wrong motivation micchā-sankappa
3:
Wrong speech micchā-vācā
4:
Wrong bodily action micchā-kammanta
5:
Wrong livelihood micchā-ājīva
6:
Wrong effort micchā-vāyāma
7:
Wrong
awareness or mindfulness micchā-sati
8:
Wrong concentration micchā-samādhi
Just as the 8-fold Right path
sammā-magga so also here the 8
links are included in the group of mental constructions
sankhāra-khandha
see: khandha The links 2, 6, 7, 8,
are inseparably bound up with every kammically-disadvantageous state of consciousness.
Often are also present 3, 4, or 5, sometimes link 1.
Micchatta: 'wrongnesses' = prec.
Middha: 'lethargy': Combined with thīna
'Laziness', it forms one of the 5 hindrances
nīvarana. Both may be associated with greedy consciousness see:
Tab. II. and I, 23, 25, 27, 29.
Path" middle
path: majjhima-patipadā
Mind: mano,
cf. nāma
Mind and materiality:
nāma-rūpa
Mind-base:
manāyatana see: āyatana
Mind-consciousness-element:
mano-viññāna-dhātu
Mind-element:
mano-dhātu
Awareness or mindfulness:
sati, see:
satipatthāna- Right m.:
see: sacca, magga
Mental-object:
dhamma see:
āyatana- Contemplation of the, see:
satipatthāna 4.
Mind-training: 'higher': adhicitta-sikkhā,
see: sikkhā.
Miracle: s.
pātihāriya.
Mirth: in the Arahat: see:
hasituppāda-citta
Misapprehension: s.
parāmāsa
Misery"
misery: contemplation of:
dukkhānupassanā see:
ti-lakkhana.
Moha: 'confusion', is one of the 3 disadvantageous
roots mūla. The best known synonym is
avijjā
Moha-carita: the 'confused-natured'; see:
carita
Momentaneity: of existence: see:
marana
Monkhood: the fruits of;
sāmañña-phala
Bhikkhus' community:
sangha, further see:
pabbajjā progress of the disciple.
Morality: sīla
- Contemplation on, see: anussati
4.
Morality-training: higher:
adhisīla-sikkhā see:
sikkhā
Moral rules: the 5, 8 or 10: see:
sikkhāpada.
Muccitu-kamyatā-ñāna: 'knowledge
consisting in the desire for deliverance'; see:
visuddhi VI. 6.
Muditā: 'altruistic or sympathetic joy', is one
of the 4 sublime abodes brahma-vihāra.
Mudutā: rūpa, kāya, citta: 'elasticity' of materiality,
mental properties, consciousness; see: khandha
I and Tab. II.
Mūla: 'roots', also called hetu, see:
paccaya 1, are those conditions which
through their presence determine the actual moral quality of a intentional
state cetanā and the consciousness and
mental properties associated therewith, in other words, the quality of kamma.
There are 6 such roots, 3 kammically advantageous and 3 disadvantageous roots,
viz.,: greed, hate, confusion lobha
dosa, moha
and greedlessness, hatelessness, unconfusedness
alobha, adosa,
amoha.
In A. III, 68 it is said that greed arises
through unwise reflection on an attractive object, hate through unwise reflection
on a repulsive object. Thus, greed lobha
or rāga comprises all degrees of 'attractedness'
towards an object from the faintest trace of a longing thought up to grossest
egoism, whilst hatred dosa comprises all
degrees of 'repulsion' from the faintest trace of ill-humor up to the highest
pitch of hate and wrath.
The 3 advantageous kusala roots,
greedlessness, etc., though expressed in negative terms, nevertheless possess
a distinctly positive character, just as is also often the case with negative
terms in other languages, for example, the negative term 'immorality', which
has a decidedly positive character.
Thus, greedlessness alobha is a name
for unselfishness, generosity, etc., hatelessness
adosa for kindness or goodwill
mettā unconfusedness
amoha for understanding
paññā.
The perception of impurity is to be developed in order to overcome greed
lust; loving-kindness in order to overcome hate; understanding in order to overcome
confusion; A. VI, 107.
Killing, stealing, unlawful sexual intercourse, lying, tale-bearing, harsh
language, frivolous talk, covetousness, ill-will and wrong views see: kamma-patha
these things are due either to greed, or hate, or confusion;
A. X, 174.
Enraptured with lust greed, enraged with hate, blinded by confusion, overwhelmed,
with mind ensnared, man aims at his own ruin, at others' ruin, at the ruin
of both, and he experiences mental pain and grief. And he follows evil ways
in deeds, words and thought... And he really knows neither his own welfare,
nor the welfare of others, nor the welfare of both. These things make him blind
and ignorant, hinder his knowledge, are painful, and do not lead him to peace
The presence or absence of the 3 disadvantageous roots forms part of the
mind contemplation in the Satipatthāna Sutta M.
10. They are also used for the classification of disadvantageous consciousness
see: Tab. I.
See The Roots of Good and Evil, by Nyanaponika Thera
WHEEL
251/253.
Multiformity-perceptions:
nānatta-saññā see:
jhāna 5.
Mundane: lokiya
Mutability: Contemplation of: viparināmanupassanā
see vipassanā