Got the poison or the remedy? The Three Poisons or Kleshas.

As human beings, we all experience three primary afflictive mental states; in Tibetan Buddhism, these are known as the Kleshas, or 'Three Poisons'.

The first is delusion or ignorance, more softly described as misunderstanding. Our misunderstanding comes in the form of dualistic ways of observing the world around us. We can quickly categorise things as good or bad, black or white, square or circular. When this happens, we overlook the intricacies and complexities of whatever we are observing. We may fail to see that all phenomena comprise a wide range of different attributes that are constantly changing. This delusional way of seeing things puts us in a fixed or rigid mind state, one that's closed to the vast array of factors that make up every single moment.

Secondly, we have attachment, also referred to as greed or grasping. In this state we may try to obtain or hold on to what we desire or have categorised as being good or valuable. Our grasping to gather these things can become a struggle, and we feel disappointed and suffer when we can't get what we want. We get stressed trying to hold on to what we like, and when we lose what we love, we experience suffering.

The third poison is aversion, also referred to as anger or hatred. It can cause us to attempt to manage or get rid of what we dislike. Some of us try very hard to create a life that avoids everything we despise, find difficult, unpleasant or challenging. Our aversion again causes us to struggle because, of course, not everything in our external environment can be managed and is constantly changing. The nature of our existence is that we are interconnected. Humans attempt to create separation by building social and physical constructions, like walls and borders, to keep out the people we feel afraid of or dislike. These mental or physical barriers represent our fear and ignorance and our inner struggle with aversion/hatred.

Now we know what these poisons are, we can seek to recognise them when they pop up in our thinking. Some of them may be heavily ingrained; our ignorance, attachment or aversion may lead us to respond habitually at times before we even realise what's happening. Under examination, we might find that some of our behaviour is not just making us feel bad; it may harm other beings and our environment. Perhaps we’re hasty to make superficial judgements, want more than we need or harbour prejudices.

Albert Einstein said, 'the measure of intelligence is the ability to change'. No matter how deeply ingrained our thinking and behaviour is, change is always possible. We can build a relationship with our minds that gives us more control over our responses to thoughts and emotions. When we become more capable, we can pause and then respond more peacefully, rationally, and logically, carefully choosing our words and actions.

Try regularly asking yourself, 'why am I thinking this? What am I feeling? and how will I respond?' Maybe try to identify if your thinking relates to one of these poisons. We are not our thoughts nor do we need to react to them.

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