Seriously, what are alternate translations of “greed, hatred, and delusion”?
Greed, hatred and delusion are the three unwholesome roots. The terms are strong because they describe the forces of evil. When speaking of jhana, desire, anger and ignorance are used because these are merely hindrances to absorption and do not carry the entire cosmic consequence:
“The Buddha has taught that there are three roots of evil:
greed, hatred and delusion. These three states comprise the
entire range of evil, whether of lesser or greater intensity,
from a faint mental tendency to the coarsest manifestations
in action and speech. In whatever way they appear, these
are the basic causes of suffering.
These roots have their opposites: non-greed, non-hatred and
non-delusion. These are the three roots of good: of all acts of
unselfishness, liberality and renunciation; of all expressions
of loving kindness and compassion; of all achievements in
knowledge and understanding.
These six mental states are the roots from which everything
harmful and beneficial sprouts. They are the roots of the
Tree of Life with its sweet and bitter fruits.
Greed and hatred, maintained and fed by delusion, are the
universal impelling forces of all animate life, individually
and socially. Fortunately, the roots of good also reach into
our world and keep the forces of evil in check, but the
balance is a precarious one needing to be preserved by
constant watchfulness and effort.”—Nyanaponika
On denying defilement:
"But many modern Western teachers—anticipating that their listeners would react unfavorably to hearing their minds called defiled—have abandoned the concept entirely. Even when discussing the problems of greed, aversion, and delusion, they tend to avoid describing them as “defilements.” —Thanissaro
https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/BeyondAllDirections/Section0008.html
What’s your problem with them?
Maybe you will find this thread useful:
2 Likes
I did! Thank you
For the lazy:
- Desire for objects of the senses
- I’ll will
- Confusion
FWIW I found a bit of humor that the confirmation message for the “cancel” button is “abandon”.
Yes, that web post was but a vehicle to get to the far shore, but once there it should be abandoned.