Bhikkhu Paññatharo once asked:

What causes Greed, Lust and Passion to arise?
Contacted by an attractive object, pleasurable feeling arises.
In the untrained person, pleasurable feeling instantly makes:
Craving Towards the Object arise...This Sense Pleasure thus
causes Greed, Lust & Passion to arise.

What causes Ill-Will, Anger and Aversion to arise?
Contacted by a repulsive object, painful feeling arises.
In the untrained person, painful feeling instantly makes:
Craving Away from the Object arise...This Sense displeasure
thus causes Ill-Will, Anger and Aversion to arise.

What causes Delusion, Ignorance and Obscuration to arise?
Contacted by a neither attractive nor repulsive object, a neither
pleasurable nor big painful feeling arises. In the untrained person,
this neutral, neither pleasurable nor painful feeling instantly makes:
Craving for Neglecting the Object arise...
This neither pleasurable nor big painful feeling thus causes
Delusion, Ignorance and Obscuration to arise.

What is the relationship between the Mental Defilements and Craving?
Craving is their Growth Force and Media: Because of craving this state (e.g. wealth),
aversion for the opposite state (e.g. poverty) arises. Possessiveness, envy & jealousy
soon follows, which again enables violence & cruelty... Suffering is the result ...

What is the relationship between the Mental Defilements and Self-Identification?
Self-Identification (egocentrism) is the Glue holding together all mental defilements.
How to be Possessive if there is no owner?!?

What is the absolute absence of all Greed, Hate and Ignorance?
The state called  Nibbāna  reached at the completion of the Noble 8-fold Way...

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Updated: 22 Nov 2009 http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Proximate_Causes_of_the_Root_Defilements.htm