Overview
In Buddhist psychology, these three mental factors (cetasikas) are the fundamental toxins that poison the mind. Every unwholesome thought, word, or physical action can be traced back to one or more of these three roots. They are the driving forces that generate bad kamma and guarantee rebirth in the lower realms.
The List
- Lobha - Greed: The desire to pull things toward oneself. It manifests as attachment, craving, lust, covetousness, and clinging to sensual pleasures or existence.
- Dosa - Hatred: The desire to push things away. It manifests as aversion, anger, ill-will, irritation, resentment, and a destructive disposition toward objects or beings.
- Moha - Delusion: The darkness of the mind that prevents seeing things as they truly are. It is synonymous with ignorance (avijjā) and is present in every single unwholesome state of consciousness.
Textual References
- Canonical: Mūla Sutta (AN 3.69) – The Buddha explains that actions born of greed, hatred, and delusion bring painful future results.
- Abhidhamma: Dhammasaṅgaṇī – Categorizes all unwholesome consciousness into 12 types based entirely on the presence of these roots.