What do the “Three Poisons —— greed, anger, and ignorance'' mean?

　
    We often hear people mentioning "greed, anger, and ignorance". In Buddhism, it is also said that "greed, anger, and ignorance" will poison people's body and mind and hinder people's practice, so they are called "Three Poisons". But what does "greed, anger, and ignorance" really mean? Let's discuss it now:
　
    The so-called "greed" means "wanting more and not being contented." For example, at meal time, we have been full, but we crave the deliciousness of the food and continue to eat. This is a kind of "greed". Some people have already been very rich, but they still want to make more money than they need in their life. It is also a kind of "greed". From this point of view, "greed" seems to happen all the time in daily life. Some people may think: human nature is like this, it's no big deal; but if a person is too greedy and avaricious, then his life must be full of annoyance and unable to be happy, why? Buddhism believes that greed is the root of annoyance, just take the example mentioned above: craving for the deliciousness of food and overeating, in common case, may cause stomach discomfort; over time it will affect one's health, or cause obesity and then have to worry about one's own appearance. If you are greedy for more wealth, you will definitely start to worry about "how to protect your money". In order to make more money, you must bear more investment risks, which increases the pressure in daily life and the annoyance of gain or loss. In addition, greed is often accompanied by suffering of dissatisfaction: because of discontent, one will constantly cling to desiring something and not be able to stop.
　
    These examples are just the tip of the iceberg of "greed" in daily life. If I want to elaborate, I'm afraid I can't finish it in a short time. To sum up, the things people crave can be roughly divided into five types: 1. Wealth: greedy for money, even unscrupulous, and consider that it does not matter whether our greedy behavior will destroy the environment or morality. 2. Sex: do not know how to control sexual needs, and have relationships with people other than their partners; greed for temporary pleasure and violate ethics and morality, and do not hesitate to violate the law or destroy other people's feelings and families. 3. Reputation: In order to increase popularity, use deception; greed for a good reputation, regardless of whether it causes other people's losses and suffering. 4. Food: greedy for various kinds of tastes of food, only eat certain foods and not eat others; hoard the food he likes, but he can't finish it and waste it. 5. sleep: like to sleep, unable to stay awake often.
　
    Having said this, I do not hope that people will completely not do these things, but hope that everyone will be alert to "greed" and try their best to "be easy to satisfy and have less desires" in daily life. If you find yourself overly greedy, you should know that it is the time to control your desire.
　
    In Buddhism, there is a practice method to combat greed, which is called "contemplation of impurity". Its principle is to use "observing the impurity of our body" to eliminate our greed.
　
    The so-called "anger" is "to be angry because things are different from what we expected". "Anger" is a negative emotion, and sometimes we will use violence to solve problems in order to change these unhappy situations. "Anger" between countries may also lead to wars. Another kind of "anger" behavior is "revenge": because some people have caused you to suffer losses and pain, you want to make them feel pain too. Therefore, "anger" is a kind of behavior that hurts both others and oneself. A relatively small "anger" may not seem to have much harm, but if it occurs frequently, it will affect one's health, because frequent anger and being in a state of anger will affect the secretion of various hormones in our body. In addition, there is a theory in Buddhism that "a single thought of anger will burn the forest of merit". Anger will detract from the merit we have accumulated; moreover, when we are angry, it will destroy our concentration, the mind will not be able to calm down, and the body and mind will suffer and feel annoyed; it will become a source of pain.
　
    It needs mentioning that "arrogance" is also classified as a kind of "anger" in Buddhism, because "arrogance" usually carries a kind of hostility, wanting to show one's ability to all competitors. If someone dares to challenge, it will trigger his "anger". Therefore, it is better to be humble in dealing with others and reduce the possibility of conflict between people.
　
    How to reduce anger? Reducing too-egoistic attitudes and developing the ability to "see things from someone else's point of view" can reduce conflict. In Buddhism, there is a practice method for dealing with anger and hatred, which is called "contemplation of compassion" —— observing that every sentient being in samsara is floating and sinking in a sea of ​​suffering, but they are helpless about the situation. Therefore, generating the thought of "I hope they can be free from pain and find happiness forever" to all sentient beings can make our "anger" gradually subside.
　
    The so-called "ignorance" means "not understanding the truth of all things". From the Buddhist point of view, the origin of all suffering in the world actually is "not understanding the truth of things", which is called "ignorance". This is a very difficult theory, and what we can know now is: According to the teachings of the Buddha, by contemplating the Buddhist Dharma and practicing the Buddhist Dharma, we can obtain "wisdom", break through "ignorance", understand "the truth of all things", eliminate the root cause of all suffering, and obtain relief. Therefore, the way to deal with "ignorance" in Buddhism is to contemplate and observe "the truth of all things" in accordance with the Buddha's teachings. When we know this truth, we will be able to leave all suffering forever and attain the state of happiness and nirvana.
　
    The three poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance will bring us pain and annoyance. Before we can completely eliminate "greed, anger, and ignorance", we should start to try to overcome "greed, anger, and ignorance", suppress them, and reduce their interference in our life. Then, after we completely eliminate the three poisons of "greed, anger, and ignorance", we will be able to attain true great freedom and ease.
　

 

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