Verified
Grammatical Analysis
Amoha: [m.] Non-delusion; undeludedness; wisdom. Formed by negative prefix a (not) + moha (delusion, ignorance, blindness).
Orthodox Definition
Amoha is the third and most powerful of the Wholesome Roots (kusala-mūla). In Abhidhamma terminology, Amoha is the exact equivalent of the mental factor of Wisdom (paññā-cetasika).
While non-greed and non-hatred can arise in a worldly, uneducated person performing a basic good deed, Amoha specifically involves cognitive illumination. It is the ability to see reality exactly as it is (yathābhūtaṃ). It ranges from the basic intellectual understanding of the law of karma (knowing that good actions yield good results) to the supreme, piercing insight of the supramundane paths that completely destroys ignorance (avijjā).
The commentaries compare Amoha to a brilliant lamp brought into a pitch-black room; it instantly banishes the darkness of delusion, revealing the true shapes of impermanence, suffering, and non-self.
Quote
AN 3.69
yadapi, bhikkhave, amoho tadapi kusalamūlaṃ; yadapi amūḷho abhisaṅkharoti kāyena vācāya manasā tadapi kusalaṃ; yadapi amūḷho mohena anabhibhūto apariyādinnacitto na parassa asatā dukkhaṃ uppādayati vadhena vā bandhanena vā jāniyā vā garahāya vā pabbājanāya vā balavamhi balattho itipi tadapi kusalaṃ.
“Whatever, monks, is non-delusion, that is a root of wholesome states; whatever one performs by body, speech, or mind, being undeluded, that is wholesome; whatever one does not inflict suffering on another through killing, or binding, or loss, or blame, or banishment, being undeluded, not overcome by delusion, with an unoverwhelmed mind, (thinking) ‘I am powerful, I am strong’, that too is wholesome.itissame amohajā amohanidānā amohasamudayā amohapaccayā aneke kusalā dhammā sambhavanti.
Thus, many wholesome states arise from non-delusion, having non-delusion as their source, their origin, their condition.
Textual References
- Sutta: Mūla Sutta (AN 3.69) – The Buddha explains that actions born of non-delusion do not bind a person to saṃsāra.
- Abhidhamma: Dhammasaṅgaṇī – Explicitly equating amoha with the faculty of wisdom (paññindriya), investigation of states, and right view.
- Commentary: Atthasālinī – Providing the simile of the expert archer; just as the archer hits the target unfailingly, amoha strikes the true nature of reality without missing.