Overview
The Abhidhamma organizes the various lists of defilements found in the Suttas into rigorous structural Dyads. The Taints (Āsavas)—sensual desire, existence, views, and ignorance—are compared to intoxicating liquors that ooze out of the mind. This Dyad separates the taints themselves from the rest of reality.
The List
- Āsavā dhammā - States that are taints: This refers specifically to the mental factors operating as taints. Structurally, these are reduced to three specific mental factors: Greed (lobha - covering sensual and existence taints), Wrong View (diṭṭhi), and Delusion (moha - covering ignorance).
- No āsavā dhammā - States that are not taints: Everything else. All other unwholesome factors (like hatred or restlessness), all wholesome factors, all consciousnesses, matter, and Nibbāna. While they might be the object of a taint, they are not the taint itself.
Textual References
- Abhidhamma: Dhammasaṅgaṇī (Duka) – The master matrix begins grouping the defilements, establishing the precise psychological components of corruption.