Afflictions and hindrances (Buddhism)

In various Buddhist traditions, considerable importance is attached to fundamental afflictions as the cause of suffering (and as responsible for maintaining the cycle of rebirth). All other problems are seen as engendered by them. In the Visuddhimagga of Buddhaghosa, prepared in the 5th century AD, the following detailed checklist is given (followed there by indications of which forms of knowledge ensure release from them in each case). The seeming duplication is due to the emphasis on the different ways a limited set of "problems acts, as indicated by the often metaphoric categories:< - Fetters: greed for material benefits, greed for non-material benefits, conceit/pride, excitement/agitation, ignorance, delusion of selfhood (false view of individuality), doubt, susceptibility to rites and rituals, greed for sense desires, and resentment.

- Corruptions/Defilements: greed, hatred, delusion, conceit/pride, false view, uncertainty, mental sloth, excitement/agitation, consciencelessness, shamelessness.

- Wrongnesses: wrong view, wrong thinking, wrong speech (falsehood), wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, wrong concentration, possibly together with wrong understanding of deliverance and wrong knowledge.

- Worldly conditions (despondency/servitude to states): gain, loss, fame, disgrace, pleasure, pain, blame, praise.

- Meannesses (kinds of avarice): avarice about dwellings, families, gain, dhamma, praise.

- Perversions (reversals): perversion of perception, of consciousness, and of view (whereby, in each case, the inappropriate is misapprehended as the appropriate).

- Ties: covetousness, ill-will, susceptibility to rites and rituals, dogmatic misinterpretation of truth.

- Tendencies to inappropriate action: partiality (desire/zeal), hatred, delusion, fear.

- Bonds (cankers/yokes/floods): sensuous lust, lust for rebirth, wrong views, uncontrolled sensuousness, being swept into becoming, difficulty of overcoming.

- Hindrances: sensuous desire, ill-will, sloth/torpor, distraction (agitation/worry), doubt.

- Misapprehension/Wrong views: ignoring essentials in favour of non-essentials.

- Graspings/Clingings: clinging to views, susceptibility to rites and rituals, clinging to selfhood, desire.

- Inherent tendencies/Biases: sensuous passion, resentment, conceit/pride, false view, doubt, craving for existence, ignorance.

- Stains/Taints: greed, hatred, delusion.

- Courses of immoral action: life-taking, theft, sexual misconduct, lying, slanderous speech, harsh speech, gossip, covetousness, ill-will, wrong view.

- Immoral states of consciousness: eight rooted in greed, two rooted in hate, two rooted in delusion.