Chapter 12 The Sage and Education 1 The Five Poisons and Four Minds
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Buddha is not far away on Mount Ling;
Mount Ling is right in your heart.
1. The Five Poisons and Four Minds
In Buddhism, it is believed that the Five Poisons and Four Minds are the main culprits that trap beings in the cycle of the "six realms of samsara".
The Five Poisons are: greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. The Four Minds are: jealousy, vanity, discrimination and comparison. While the following text further explains the Five Poisons. The Four Minds are relatively easier to understand, except for the discriminatory mind.
Overcoming the discriminatory mind is the most challenging. Prof. Zeng Shiqiang, when discussing the "Absolute Universe and the Relative Universe", mentioned that the absolute soul originally could roam freely, but once it developed a discriminatory mind, it immediately "fell into the mortal world". In the "Ekottara Āgama Sūtra"（《阿含经》）, Buddha stated that: beings from the Abhassara Heaven originally came to Earth in a pure and superior state, but after tasting the spring water and fertile earth, they developed discriminatory minds. From then on, emotions and desires arose, along with distinctions between good and evil, beauty and ugliness.
The discrimination mind is the mind that arises from human thoughts and discriminates in terms of choosing and rejecting. In most cases, the discriminatory mind is detached from objective reality. Having a discriminatory mind leads to distress and creates thoughts of duality, superiority, and inferiority within oneself.
For example, when several colleagues discuss a newly purchased three-bedroom house, it initially serves as mere conversation. However, for someone currently living in a cramped rented room or for someone already enjoying a spacious villa, it will evoke entirely different feelings. Similarly, many people enjoy discussing various aspects of their families at the dinner table, with their partners and children becoming points of reference. Consequently, each person at the table develops a variety of attitudes and thoughts. Few people can listen without judgment, processing, or generating afflictions.
Only by adopting the perspective of "God" to observe the occurrence of anything will the discrimination mind be absent. Only by realizing that everything in this world is an illusion, a "dream, fantasy, bubble or shadow", can one avoid being attached to things and refraining from making distinctions between right and wrong, good and evil, self and others, big and small, beautiful and ugly, good and bad. This prevents the emergence of emotions and desires such as greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt, thus freeing oneself from the endless suffering and hopeless cycle of samsara. This state of non-discrimination is what the "Diamond Sutra" describes as "no self, no person, no sentient being, and no lifespan."
Achieving a state of "a mind free from all attachments" without any arising thoughts is indeed difficult. In reality, regardless of whether ordinary people make distinctions or not, they are inherently engaged in making distinctions. The very moment you try to counter or eliminate discrimination, you are already caught in the discriminatory thought of duality and comparison. If one believes that simply chanting the Buddha's name can eliminate afflictions, or if one hold the belief that following a particular sect or method, or merely reciting a specific Buddha mantra daily, will bring salvation, he has already been trapped in the attachment of a discriminatory mind.
The following sections elaborate on the Five Poisons and their origins.
- Greed
Greed—Attachment, desire and avarice. When one develops greed for favorable circumstances, it becomes something they must obtain; otherwise, their heart remains unsatisfied, and their emotions unsettled.
Everyone has some level of greed because of their attachment to material pleasures, which makes it difficult to let go of various desires, fame, power, and affection. This can lead to a daily frenzy of toil and hardship in the pursuit of life's demands. The more intense a person's greed, the more troubles they will encounter. No matter how much material wealth they possess, they will never feel true happiness, as if trapped in the bottomless pit of endless greed.
Many entrepreneurs and political figures who could have achieved great success and established lasting legacies ultimately cannot bear the burden of wealth and fame. Many fall because of their greed, ending in ruin, leaving them worse off than ordinary people who find contentment in modest wealth and enjoy a peaceful old age. The same applies to love, marriage, and wealth (as discussed in Chapter 9).
- Anger
Anger—Rage, resentment and hatred. When faced with adversity, one may develop feelings of resentment, lose their temper, complain about unfairness, act impulsively, and even harbor hatred and a desire to harm others. The emergence and effects of anger are the exact opposite of greed. While greed involves a strong pursuit and possession of things, anger arises from aversion, frustration, and hateful emotions toward things. As stated in the Buddhist scriptures: "Anger, towards suffering and its causes, is the nature of aversion. It obstructs peace and stability, and supports negative actions as its basis." When anger arises, it not only harms oneself but also destroys all merits and virtues. Many karmic entanglements, grievances, and love-hate relationships across lifetimes stem from the mind of anger.
As a child, I was deeply affected by the story of "Du Shiniang Sinks the Treasure Chest in Anger". Du Shiniang, despite her stunning beauty and exceptional talents, met an unworthy person and died with deep resentment. Many young people today are like Du Shiniang, showered with parental affection but unable to adapt to society. They often feel that their efforts should be reciprocated with genuine care, and they expect sincerity in return. However, this often leads to the development of deep resentment, as the saying goes, "The deeper the love, the deeper the hatred."
Once you realize that a person is not worth it, holding onto anger will only create entanglements in the next life, perpetuating the cycle of causality, making escape from love and hate impossible.
- Ignorance
Ignorance—Delusion, lack of wisdom. It refers to a mind shrouded in darkness, ignorance, and an inability to perceive the true nature of things, leading to distorted and misguided actions. This ignorance triggers greed and anger, giving rise to all kinds of wrongdoings. The Buddhist scriptures state: "Sentient beings, due to the ignorance that has existed since time, become mentally obscured and confused about the nature of things. This leads to the distinctions between 'self' and 'others', creating various forms of attachment to oneself and attachment to dharma."
All afflictions arise from ignorance. Life's myriad troubles and the complexities of the world all stem from this fundamental ignorance.
Greed, anger, and ignorance together are known as Three Poisons, the three fundamental afflictions in Buddhism. They damage both body and mind, causing individuals to sink into the cycle of birth and death, and are the root of all evil. Hence, they are also called the "Three Unwholesome Roots (三不善根)". These poisons do not exist independently but interact with other fundamental afflictions..
Even sages are not exempt from these Three Poisons. Patriarch Bodhidharma said: "All Buddhas from the very beginning constantly dwell within the three poisons, nurtured by pure practices, and thus attaining Buddhahood."
"Buddha" means awakened; those who possess an awakened mind attain the path of enlightenment, thus they are named Buddhas. By reflecting inwardly, one can overcome greed, anger, and delusion through morality, meditation, and wisdom, thereby severing the fundamental roots of these afflictions, which is the Buddha nature. The awakened one grows through the removal of defilements, ultimately reaching the state of the Buddha.
- Arrogance
Arrogance—Egotism, pride—is to excessively esteem oneself, look down upon others, and enjoy superiority. In daily life, some people always like to wear luxury brands; even if they can't afford genuine ones, they will get fake ones to display their status—this is arrogance. Some people are highly talented and knowledgeable, but they treat others rudely and speak disrespectfully—this is also arrogance. Others have a strong sense of vanity and love to compare themselves with others; when they fall short, they refuse to admit it and think nothing of it—this is still arrogance. Even among practitioners, when they gain a bit of insight or spiritual power, they may become self-inflated and unable to humble themselves—this all constitutes arrogance.
Arrogance is actually just a branch of ignorance. "Arrogance" stems from "ignorance"; it is only because of ignorance that arrogance arises.
- Doubt
Doubt—Suspicion, mistrust. It manifests as always being suspicious of others, not trusting others, only believing in oneself, and sometimes even doubting oneself. "Doubt" is a contaminated form of "wisdom" and also a branch of delusion. It is because of ignorance that doubt arises. People who have a tendency toward doubt will obstruct their true nature, close off their perception and hearing, and find it difficult to make progress. Indecisiveness is a form of doubt, and those who are hesitant and unbelieving are often not very confident in themselves, making it difficult for virtuous qualities to arise.
Doubt is part of human nature. Many scientific achievements stem from a lack of blind faith in authority, and this book will also face much skepticism. However, as stated in the preface: "You may not believe, but you need to know." The path of "faith, aspiration and practice" begins with faith, which then generates the power of aspiration. Therefore, while having faith may not be perfect, it certainly brings more happiness than having none.
In fact, the root of the five poisons—greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt—lies in just three: greed, anger, and ignorance. And the root of three poisons is actually just one: ignorance. Ignorance is the source of all troubles; it is the absence of wisdom. Because of this ignorance, the five poisons arise. To eliminate greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt, one must use the light of wisdom to dispel ignorance.
However, on the other hand, as human beings living in the mundane world, greed, anger, and ignorance are the primal forces of life. Maintaining them is also a way of preserving the passion for life. If one always feels shame or guilt towards greed, anger, and ignorance, it may diminish their vitality in this world; such a person might be better suited for monastic life. The life lesson is not to cut off greed, anger, and ignorance but to master them, keeping the connection with one's innate talents and life passion, allowing the passion to serve those talents.
Lastly, it must be said that Buddhism is strongly opposed to superstition. Blind worship and the pursuit of superficial forms are discouraged. Through his personal enlightenment, Shakyamuni taught us that the fortunes and misfortunes of life are not determined by gods. "Everyone has a sacred mountain within them; it's under this sacred mountain that one should cultivate." The true process of growth is an inward journey of constantly seeking and awakening one's inner wisdom. External circumstances are merely supportive conditions. The sutras say: "All sentient beings are like the roots of a tree, and the Buddhas are like its flowers and fruits." The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas give generously in the world, using the power of great compassion to benefit all sentient beings, nurturing and nourishing the roots with the "water of great compassion", ultimately yielding the flowers and fruits of the Bodhi tree.
As a concluding story that deeply touched me:
A practitioner was traveling through the mountains when he saw a small wooden hut covered by a radiant, multicolored cloud. Thinking a sage resided there, he decided to visit. Inside, he met an elderly woman.
He asked her: "Are you practicing here?"
The old woman replied, "I’m not sure if it’s called practicing; I just chant mantras all day long."
The practitioner asked: "What mantra are you chanting?"
The old woman said, "I just keep reciting the six-syllable mantra: 'Om Mani Padme Niu, Om Mani Padme Niu...'"
The practitioner laughed and said to her: "Grandma, you’re reciting it incorrectly. It should be 'Om Mani Padme Hung', not 'Om Mani Padme Niu!'"
The old woman was puzzled and said: "Is that so? I must have been doing it wrong. I’ll have to correct it."
Satisfied, the practitioner left. As he walked away, he glanced back and noticed the rainbow auspicious cloud had vanished from the hut. Realizing something, he hurried back and said to the old woman: "Grandma, I was wrong. The six-syllable mantra should indeed be recited as 'Om Mani Padme Niu.'"
When he left the hut again, he noticed that the radiant cloud had once again returned above the old woman’s small wooden hut.
As the Sixth Patriarch Huineng once said: "The profound truths of all Buddhas are not tied to words." The flowers and fruits of the Bodhi tree stem from the vows of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. May the words we speak help others eliminate their troubles rather than add to their doubts.
This story touched me in more ways than one; it also unexpectedly helped me in another aspect. I used to believe that one should be as honest as the Buddha and avoid "speaking falsely". If I couldn't speak the truth, I would rather say nothing, which often led to difficulties and troubles in life. For example, when discussing my dilemma and hardships with elders, it often only increased their worries. I didn't want to lie, yet couldn't evade their persistent questioning... Now, I realized that language is merely a tool; what truly matters is the intention behind it—the altruistic heart that considers others and the pursuit of goodness and harmony. Just like the deities who protect the elderly woman, they wouldn't be concerned with a minor mispronunciation. And the practitioner, wasn't he also carefully protecting the old woman's pure and kind heart with a "benevolent lie"?
