The Three Root Poisons

The cause of human suffering

greed, hatred and ignorance are the negative traits and fundamental evils called the three root poisons. They are the source of an unquenchable thirst for possessions and the root of all harmful illusions. Buddhists believe they are painful pollutants which bring sickness, both physical and mental

Greed

Desire and lust, which causes a desire to get hold of things, and to have more and more of them.

Hatred

This is when humans experience aversion and rejection. Other characteristics of this poison are emotions such as anger and animosity which cause people to reject anything that displeases them and especially things that infringe upon ego.

Ignorance

“not knowing” especially not knowing thee true nature of human existence, paves the way for delusion pr believing something that is false.

Interconnection and Interdependence of all Phenomena

Buddhism teaches all beings are connected with each other, and the natural world, meaning the personal poisons are reflected in our society.

When individuals realise this interdependence, connectedness and oneness, they rid themselves of the poisons that cause dukkha.

The Pippala Leaf

“He saw the earth, time, space and mind - all were present in the leaf… the entire universe existed in that leaf.. He could see that the presence of any one phenomena made possible the existence of all other phenomena. One included all and all were contained in one.”

This means the leaf cannot exist in isolation.

KU Points

• greed - desire, lust, attachment

• hatred - aversion, anger, animosity

• ignorance - of self, living in delusion

• poisonous toxins

• locks unenlightened beings in samsara: suffering, dissatisfaction, unhappiness

• motivation of the three root poisons leads to unskilful actions, immorality

• one poison may dominate, the others lie dormant

• positive outcomes - greed, hatred and ignorance can lead to positive change for society if applied with loving kindness and compassion

• interconnection of all things means the root poisons impact everything

• overcoming sense of self; recognising the ego as the basis of the 3 root poisons enables one to overcome them

• key source - Pippala leaf

Analysis/Evaluation (Support)

• very clear that the root of all clinging, desire and evil can be traced back to greed, hatred and ignorance

• relevant to everyday life as apparent

• recognising these traits, acknowledging them, being aware of them, enables one to overcome them

• significant as tie in with so many other Buddhist beliefs - kamma, rebirth in samsara, skilful means, interconnection of all things

• central to Buddhist understanding of the nature of human beings

Analysis/Evaluation (Against)

• as an unenlightened being it is too hard to overcome the three root poisons

• interconnection of all things means that even if you are working to overcome them in your own actions you will be negatively impacted by the greed, hatred and ignorance of other people.

• even if you can recognise that the three root poisons can be used skilfully to over an evil, it is often very hard to do, e.g. we know the planet needs rescued but how powerless are we to fix it, this creates more anger at our powerlessness and the futility of our attempts