Kleshas (;  kilesa;  nyon mongs), in Buddhism, are mental states that cloud the mind and manifest in unwholesome actions.
Kleshas 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 kleshas, such as: afflictions, defilements, destructive emotions, disturbing emotions, negative emotions, mind poisons, neurosis etc.
In the contemporary Mahayana and Theravada Buddhist traditions, the three kleshas of ignorance, attachment, and aversion are identified as the root or source of all other kleshas.
These are referred to as the three poisons in the Mahayana tradition, or as the three unwholesome roots in the Theravada tradition.
While the early Buddhist texts of the Pali canon do not specifically enumerate the three root kleshas, over time the three poisons (and the kleshas generally) came to be seen as the very roots of samsaric existence.
Pali literature
In the Pali Canon's discourses (sutta), kilesa is often associated with the various passions that defile bodily and mental states.
In the Pali Canon's Abhidhamma and post-canonical Pali literature, ten defilements are identified, the first three of which – greed, hate, delusion – are considered to be the "roots" of suffering.
Sutta Piṭaka: mental hindrances
In the Pali Canon's Sutta Piṭaka, kilesa and its correlate upakkilesaBeyond the etymological relationship between and semantic closeness of kilesa and upakkilesa (e.g., see Rhys Davids & Stede, 1921–25, p. 139, entry for upakkilesa at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.0:1:3657.pali), the below-referenced Samyutta Nikaya collection entitled "<u>Kilesa</u>-sayutta" (SN 27) does not use kilesa in its actual suttas but, in fact, <u>upakkilesa</u>.
Bodhi (2000), pp.
1012–14, 1100 n. 273, specifically makes note of the lexical differences between these two Pali words and chooses to translate kilesa as "defilement" and upakkilesa as "corruption."
Similar, in Bodhi (2000), p. 1642, SN 47.12, upakkilesa is translated as "corruption" whereas, as indicated below, in Bodhi (2005), p. 416, this same Pali word in the same sutta is translated as "defilement."
Consistent with Bodhi (2005), as seen below, Thanissaro (1994) also translates upakkilesa as "defilement."
<p>The related correlate sankilesa (or sakilesa) is also translated as "defilement" by Bodhi (e.g., 2000, pp. 903-4; 2005, pp. 55-6), Thanissaro (2004) and Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-5, entry for "Sankilesa").
In SN 22.60 (Bodhi, 2000, pp. 903-4), sankilesa is contextualized by: "By being enamoured with [form], [beings] are captivated by it, and by being captivated by it they are defiled."
In this sutta, sankilesa is juxtaposed with purification (visuddhi) which is contextualized by:  "Experiencing revulsion [in the impermanence of form's pleasure], [beings] become dispassionate, and through dispassion they are purified." are affective obstacles to the pursuit of direct knowledge (abhijñā) and wisdom (pañña).
For instance, the Samyutta Nikaya includes a collection of ten discourses (SN 27, Kilesa-sayutta) that state that any association of "desire-passion" (chanda-rāgo) with the body or mindIn particular, this sayutta contextualizes kilesa vis-à-vis the six internal and external "sense bases" (ayatana) and their mental concomitants (the six classes of consciousness, contact, feeling and craving, see the section on the "six sextets"), the six primary "elements" (dhātu, cf. mahābhūta), and the five "aggregates" (khandha).
is a "defilement of mind" (cittasse'so upakkileso):
"Monks, any desire-passion with regard to the eye is a defilement of the mind.
Any desire-passion with regard to the ear... the nose... the tongue... the body... the intellect is a defilement of the mind.
When, with regard to these six bases, the defilements of awareness are abandoned, then the mind is inclined to renunciation.
The mind fostered by renunciation feels malleable for the direct knowing of those qualities worth realizing."
SN 27.1 (trans. Thanissaro, 1994).
Note that the phrase that Thanissaro translates as "defilement of <u>awareness</u>" here is <u>ceta</u>so upakkileso; Bodhi (2000), p. 1012, simply translates this as "<u>mental</u> corruption" (underlining added for clarity).
More broadly, the five hindrances – sensual desire (kāmacchanda), anger (byāpāda), sloth-torpor (thīna-middha), restlessness-worry (uddhacca-kukkucca), and doubt (vicikicchā) – are frequently associated with kilesa in the following (or a similar) manner:
Additionally, in the Khuddaka Nikaya's Niddesa, kilesa is identified as a component of or synonymous with craving () and lust (rāga).See Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-5), pp.
216-7, entry for "Kilesa," retrieved 2008-02-09 from "University of Chicago" at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:579.pali.
Abhidhamma: ten defilements and unwholesome roots
While the Sutta Pitaka does not offer a list of kilesa, the Abhidhamma Pitaka's Dhammasangani (Dhs. 1229ff.) and Vibhanga (Vbh. XII) as well as in the post-canonical Visuddhimagga (Vsm. XXII 49, 65) enumerate ten defilements (dasa kilesa-vatthūni) as follows:
greed (lobha)
hate (dosa)
delusion (moha)
conceit (māna)
wrong views (micchāditthi)
doubt (vicikicchā)
torpor (thīna)
restlessness (uddhacca)
shamelessness (ahirika)
recklessness (anottappa)Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-5), p. 217; and, Nyanatiloka (1988), entry for "kilesa," retrieved 2008-02-09 from "BuddhaSasana" at http://www.buddhanet.net/budsas/ebud/bud-dict/dic3_k.htm.
The Vibhanga also includes an eightfold list (aha kilesa-vatthūni) composed of the first eight of the above ten.Rhys Davids & Stede (1921–25), p. 217.
Throughout Pali literature, the first three kilesa in the above tenfold 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 three "wholesome roots" (kusala-mūla or the root of kusala).In addition to frequent reference in the Abhidhamma and post-canonical Pali literature, references to the unwholesome roots (akusala-mūla) are sprinkled throughout the Sutta Pitaka.
For instance, in the Digha Nikaya, it can be found in DN 33 (D iii.215) and DN 34 (D iii.275); in the Majjhima Nikaya, it is the first of several topics discussed by Ven.
Sariputta in the well-known Sammādihi Sutta ("Right View Discourse," MN 9); and, in the Itivuttaka, a brief discourse on three unwholesome roots starts off the "Section of the Threes" (Iti. 50).
However, in none of these Sutta Pitaka texts are the three unwholesome roots referred to as kilesa.
Such an association appears to begin in the Abhidhamma texts.
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).Nyanatiloka (1988), entry for "mūla," retrieved 2008-02-09 from "BuddhaSasana" at http://www.buddhanet.net/budsas/ebud/bud-dict/dic3_m.htm.
Visuddhimagga: round of defilements
In the 5th-century CE commentarial Visuddhimagga, in its discussion of "Dependent Origination" (Pali: paticca-samuppada) (Vsm. XVII), it presents different expository methods for understanding this teaching's twelve factors (nidana).
One method (Vsm. XVII, 298) divides the twelve factors into three "rounds" (vaa):
the "round of defilements" (kilesa-vaa)
the "round of kamma" (kamma-vaa)
the "round of results" (vipāka-vaa).Cf.
the paracanonical Nettipakaraa's "round of suffering, round of action, round of defilements" (dukkhavao kammavao kilesavao) (Nett. i.95).
In this framework (see Figure to the right, starting from the bottom of the Figure), kilesa ("ignorance") conditions kamma ("formations") which conditions results ("consciousness" through "feelings") which in turn condition kilesa ("craving" and "clinging") which condition kamma ("becoming") and so on.Strictly speaking, in this framework the Visuddhimagga (Vsm. XVII, 298) does not explicitly identify "birth" (jāti) and "aging-death" (jarāmaraa) with results (vipāka).
Nonetheless, in the preceding paragraph (Vsm. XVII, 297), Buddhaghosa writes: "And in the future fivefold fruit: the five beginning with consciousness.
These are expressed by the term 'birth'.
But 'ageing-and-death' is the ageing and the death of these [five] themselves" (Ñāamoli, 1991, p. 599, v. 297; square-brackets in original).
Thus, "birth" and "ageing and death" become correlates or expressions of the five-fold "results" sequence.
Buddhaghosa (Vsm. XVII, 298) concludes:
So this Wheel of Becoming, having a triple round with these three rounds, should be understood to spin, revolving again and again, forever; for the conditions are not cut off as long as the round of defilements is not cut off.Ñāamoli (1991), p. 599, v. 298.
As can be seen, in this framework, the round of defilements consists of:
ignorance (avijjā)
craving ()
clinging (ūpādānā).
Elsewhere in the Visuddhimagga (Vsm. XXII, 88), in the context of the four noble persons (ariya-puggala, see Four stages of enlightenment), the text refers to a precursor to the attainment of nibbana as being the complete eradication of "the defilements that are the root of the round" (vaa-mūla-kilesā). (1991)
, p. 715.
Sanskrit Sravaka and Mahayana literature
Three poisons
The three kleshas of ignorance, attachment and aversion are referred to as the three poisons (Skt. triviṣa)  in the Mahayana tradition and as the three unwholesome roots (Pāli, akusala-mūla; Skt. akuśala-mūla )  in the Therevada tradition.
These three poisons (or unwholesome roots) are considered to be the root of all the other kleshas.
Five poisons
In the Mahayana tradition, the five main kleshas are referred to as the five poisons (Sanskrit: ; Tibetan-Wylie: ).
The five poisons consist of the three poisons with two additional poisons: pride and jealousy.
The five poisons are:Padmakara (1998), p. 336, 414. (from the glossary)
Longchen Yeshe Dorje (Kangyur Rinpoche) (2010).
p. 492
Six root kleshas of the Abhidharma
The Abhidharma-kośa identifies six root kleshas (mūlakleśa):
Attachment (raga)
Anger (pratigha)
Ignorance (avidya)
Pride/Conceit (māna)
Doubt (vicikitsa)
Wrong view/False view/Opinionatedness (dṛiṣṭi)Guenther (1975), Kindle Location 321.
In the context of the Yogācāra school of Buddhism, Muller (2004: p. 207) states that the Six Klesha arise due to the "...reification of an 'imagined self' (Sanskrit: )".Muller (2004).
Mahaparinirvana Sutra
The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra lists approximately 50 kleshas, including those of 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.
Two obscurations
Mahayana literature often features an enumeration of "two obscurations" (Wylie: sgrib gnyis), the "obscuration of conflicting emotions" (Sanskrit: kleśa-avaraṇa, Wylie: nyon-mongs-pa'i sgrib-ma) and the "obscuration concerning the knowable" (Sanskrit: jñeya-avaraṇa, Wylie: shes-bya'i sgrib-ma).Dorje, Jikdrel Yeshe (Dudjom Rinpoche, author), translated and edited: Gyurme Dorje and Matthew Kapstein (1991).
The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History.
Boston, USA: Wisdom Publications. , p. 107(Enumerations).
Contemporary glosses
Contemporary translators have used many different English words to translate the term kleshas,Epstein, Mark (2009) http://www.quietspaces.com/kleshas.html such as: afflictions, passions, destructive emotions, disturbing emotions, etc.
The following table provides brief descriptions of the term kleshas given by various contemporary Buddhist teachers and scholars:
Overcoming the kleshas
All Buddhist schools teach that through Tranquility (Samatha) 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.
Alternate translations
The term kleshas has been translated into English as:
Afflictions
Mental afflictions
Mental disturbances
Afflictive emotions
Conditioning factors
Destructive emotions
Defiled emotions
Defilements
Dissonant emotions
Disturbing emotions
Disturbing emotions and attitudes
Negative emotions
Dissonant mental states
Kleshas
Passions
Poisons
Mind poisons
Worldly desiresTranslation of the Japanese the term Bonno:
See also
Five hindrances
Mental factors (Buddhism)
Ten fetters (Buddhism)
Three poisons (Buddhism)
Bhavacakra
Maya (illusion)
Buddhism and psychology
Kleshas (Hinduism)
Six Enemies (Hinduism)
Five Thieves (Sikhism)
Kashaya (Jainism)
References
Sources
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Boston: Wisdom Publications. .
Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2005).
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Boston: Wisdom Publications. .
Dictionary of Buddhism.
Oxford University Press, 2003, 2004.
Source: http://www.answers.com/topic/kle-a (accessed: January 5, 2008).
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse (2011).
What Makes You Not a Buddhist.
Kindle Edition.
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Epstein, Mark (2009).
Going on Being: Buddhism and the Way of Change, a Positive Psychology for the West.
Wisdom.
Goldstein, Joseph.
The Emerging Western Buddhism: An Interview with Joseph Goldstein.
Insight Meditation Society website.
Goleman, Daniel (2008).
Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama.
Bantam.
Kindle Edition.
Guenther, Herbert V. &  Leslie S. Kawamura (1975), Mind in Buddhist Psychology: A Translation of Ye-shes rgyal-mtshan's "The Necklace of Clear Understanding" Dharma Publishing.
Kindle Edition.
Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen (2009).
A Complete Guide to the Buddhist Path.
Snow Lion.
Longchen Yeshe Dorje (Kangyur Rinpoche) (2010).
Treasury of Precious Qualities.
Revised edition.
Paperback.
Shambhala.
Muller, Charles (2004).
The Yogācāra Two Hindrances and Their Reinterpretations in East Asia.
Toyo Gakuen University.
Source: http://www.acmuller.net/articles/reinterpretations_of_the_hindrances.html (accessed: January 5, 2008)
Ñāamoli, Bhikkhu (trans.) (1991), The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga.
Seattle: BPS Pariyatti. .
Nyanatiloka Mahathera (1988).
Buddhist Dictionary.
Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society.
An on-line search engine is available from "BuddhaSasana" at http://www.buddhanet.net/budsas/ebud/bud-dict/dic_idx.htm.
Padmakara Translation Group (translator) (1998).
The Words of My Perfect Teacher, by Patrul Rinpoche.
Altamira.
Patañjali (undated; author); Gabriel Pradīpaka & Andrés Muni (translators) (2007).
Yogasūtra.
Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20071222115211/http://www.sanskrit-sanscrito.com.ar/english/sanskrit_pronunciation/pronunciation7.html (accessed: November 23, 2007).
Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5).
The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary.
Chipstead: Pali Text Society.
An on-line search engine is available from "U. Chicago" at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/.
Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1994).
Upakkilesa Samyutta: Defilements (SN 27.1-10).
Retrieved 2008-02-10 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn27/sn27.001-010.than.html.
Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2004).
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Retrieved 2010-03-20 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.026.than.html.
Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (2007).
The Joy of Living.
Kindle Edition.
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External links
Demons of Defilement: (Kilesa Mara), by Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo
List of ten kilesa (palikanon.com)
Kilesa, practical synopsis
ABHIDHAMMA IN DAILY LIFE by Janakabhivamsa, Ashin – Chapter 2: Akusala Cetasikas (Unwholesome mental factors)
Mind and Life Institute Conference VIII (2000) on Destructive Emotions
How to Cure 'Destructive Emotions' – an interview with Daniel Goleman
