The Klesas | Setting in Motion the Dharma Wheel

Earlier we talked about karma and vexations accumulating as causes and conditions to causing our suffering. This is what the Buddha meant by the origin of suffering. Our emotional afflictions are really the ripening agents for karma, whether it be good, bad, or neutral karma. Whatever propels us to continue the cycle of existence is considered the origin of suffering. A sentient being completely free of emotional afflictions or vexations Will not originate suffering. Thus, the way out of the suffering is the termination of the klesas.

It is crucial to understand the role emotional afflictions in creating karma. Of these, the most important is avidya, or fundamental ignorance. In the Chinese avidya is translated as two characters to mean ‘not bright’ or ‘not clear,’ referring to the brightness and clarity of the mind of wisdom. Without this mind of wisdom, one remains in darkness–a kind of innate or fundamental ignorance that governs our way of being. Once we truly understand how the auxiliary forces of the klesas ripen our karma, it becomes possible to change these conditions to end suffering. Then, karma is less likely to ripen into effects.

There are six root vexations, or klesas, which branch out into innumerable other negative mental factors. Two of the most pervasive are greed and hatred. From greed grow desire, covetousness, and clinging, and attachment. Hatred has innumerable descendents such as aversion, anger, and jealousy Greed and hatred are like master criminals with their gangsters. TO break up the gang it is better to go right to the top. Once you get rid of the boss the underlings will disperse and scatter. Once we cut away the roots, the branches will wither away.

The six root vexations divide into the five emotional afflictions: ignorance, greed, hatred, pride, and doubt, with the sixth being the affliction of wrong views. Wrong views are views of the world that we have held since time without beginning. In fact you could even say that all six vexations are wrong view. All six are the byproducts of what we have done in the past with one difference. Emotional affliction is the accumulation of all our past actions, emotions, and so on, while affliction of views includes all of the karma we have created plus what we have learned in this present life–the different views and perspectives that we hold.

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