Pali Vocabulary

貪

Greed / Lust / Attachment

masculine noun (a-stem)

The first of the three unwholesome roots (akusala-mūla). Lobha is a grasping, reaching quality of mind — the desire to acquire, possess, or hold on to pleasant objects, people, or experiences. It ranges from mild preference to intense craving (taṇhā). In the Abhidhamma, lobha is present in all 8 types of greed-rooted (lobha-mūla) consciousness. Its direct antidote is non-attachment (alobha) and the contemplation of impermanence. At the gross level it manifests as greed; at the subtle level it manifests as the conceit 'I am'.

瞋

Hatred / Aversion / Ill-will

masculine noun (a-stem)

The second unwholesome root — a rejecting, pushing-away quality of mind toward unpleasant objects. Dosa includes hatred, anger, irritation, contempt, and even subtle aversion. In the Abhidhamma, 2 types of dosa-rooted consciousness arise with unpleasant feeling (domanassa). Its direct antidote is loving-kindness (mettā). Unlike lobha which clings, dosa repels — but both arise from the fundamental misperception of self (attā) and its interests.

癡

Delusion / Confusion / Bewilderment

masculine noun (a-stem): from muhyati (to be bewildered)

The third and most fundamental unwholesome root — delusion about the nature of reality. Moha is non-knowing (avijjā at the cetasika level), the fog that prevents clear perception of impermanence, suffering, and non-self. The Abhidhamma identifies moha as present in all 12 types of unwholesome consciousness. Unlike lobha and dosa which have a specific object, moha is a pervasive quality of mental dullness and confusion. Its antidote is paññā (wisdom).

有身見

Personality view / Self-view / Identity view

compound: sakkāya (existing body/person — sat + kāya) + diṭṭhi (view)

The first of the ten fetters (saṃyojana) and the first destroyed at stream-entry (sotāpatti). Sakkāyadiṭṭhi is the wrong view that takes one of the five aggregates — or a combination of them — to be a permanent self. The Buddha enumerated 20 forms: viewing each of the five aggregates as 'self', 'self having aggregate', 'aggregate in self', or 'self in aggregate'. Its destruction at stream-entry removes the deep root of personal identity view, though subtler forms of 'I am' (māna) persist until arahantship.

疑

Doubt / Sceptical doubt / Vacillation

feminine noun (ā-stem): from vi + cikicchā (treatment/uncertainty)

The second fetter — paralysing doubt about the Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha, the training rules, past and future lives, and Dependent Origination. Vicikicchā is not healthy scepticism (which is encouraged), but the doubting that prevents commitment and practice. It manifests as inability to decide, vacillation, intellectual paralysis. It is destroyed at stream-entry when direct experience of the Dhamma confirms its truth beyond intellectual doubt.

戒禁取見

Adherence to rites and rituals / Grasping at rules and vows

compound: sīlabbata (virtue and vows — sīla + vata) + parāmāsa (grasping — from parāmasati)

The third fetter — the wrong belief that liberation can be attained through mere rituals, ceremonies, rules, or vows without developing the path of insight. This includes views like: animal sacrifices purify the mind, bathing in holy rivers removes kamma, or that mere rule-following (without understanding) leads to liberation. It is distinguished from sīla itself — ethical virtue is essential and not a fetter — the fetter is the grasping of form-without-substance. Destroyed at stream-entry.

慢

Conceit / Pride / Self-comparison

masculine noun (a-stem): from māneti (to honour/think highly of)

The ninth fetter — the subtle residual sense of 'I am' that persists even after wrong views about self are abandoned. Māna operates through comparison: 'I am better than', 'I am equal to', 'I am worse than'. Even thinking 'I am equal to the arahants' is still māna. The Abhidhamma identifies nine forms of conceit based on three qualities (excellent, equal, inferior) and three comparisons. Māna is one of the last three fetters destroyed at arahantship, along with restlessness (uddhacca) and ignorance (avijjā).