A Brief Discourse on the Essence of Consciousness

Chapter 5  The Harmful Effects of the Three Poisons: Greed, Anger, and Delusion

1. If in one's practice one has not effectively subdued the afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion, the mind's nature cannot become gentle and pliant. When the afflictive obstruction (kleśāvaraṇa) is heavy, it not only obstructs one's progress on the Path but also obstructs one's physical and mental health. People with heavy afflictions and afflictive obstructions, on the one hand, bring affliction and displeasure to others, and both parties inevitably form negative karmic bonds and grudges; in future lives they themselves will also undergo the retribution of these afflictions, and suffering is unavoidable. On the other hand, the one most harmed is oneself, and the one most distressed is also oneself. When afflictions become severe, one's own mind will feel suffering and agitation, body and mind are thereby disturbed, and one's own mind is the most unhappy. If the other person has cultivation, perhaps they will not be troubled by the affliction; even if they experience suffering, it will pass quickly. But you yourself must continually suffer the assault of the afflictive obstruction, and your mind will constantly give rise to sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress (śoka-parideva-duḥkha-daurmanasyopāyāsa).

If in studying Buddhism and practicing we can subdue our afflictions, we benefit in every life, life after life, gaining ease and liberation. Having subdued afflictions and ceased to harm and vex others, we no longer drain away our own merit, and we will not form negative karmic bonds with others. If we can be considerate of others everywhere and bring benefit to them, our merit will increase rapidly, and the one who benefits most is still ourselves. Therefore we must subdue the afflictions and the afflictive obstruction.

When the afflictive obstruction is heavy and the mind lacks tranquility (praśama), what kind of poison will our body and mind suffer? The afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion are commonly called the three poisons. What is called a poison? Since it is called a poison, it naturally has harmful and toxic properties. Harming others is secondary; the one most harmed is oneself. When the mind contains greed, anger, and delusion, one's bodily, verbal, and mental actions will inevitably create evil karma of greed, anger, and delusion; having created evil karma, one must undergo evil retribution. This is the toxic effect of greed, anger, and delusion.

Furthermore, when a heavy obstruction of afflictions gives rise to anger, the physical body is necessarily affected. When the body is affected, the four great elements of the body—its tissues and structures—change accordingly; the speed of blood flow changes accordingly; the composition of the blood also changes; toxins are produced within the body, and these toxins directly harm physical health. The most obvious example is when we give rise to rage: in an instant, our facial expression changes, becoming swollen, red, purple, and dark. Why purple and dark? Toxic substances are often purple-black in color. When blood circulation is obstructed and the composition of the blood changes, the complexion of the skin clearly turns purple-black, and the altered blood composition has severe toxicity to one's own body. When the blood contains toxins, its flow is not smooth, the heart's function is impeded, and the toxins in the blood can severely assault the body, causing illness. People with heavy afflictions and anger have a relatively higher probability of developing heart disease and also more blood-related illnesses.

The three poisons of greed, anger, and delusion can disturb our physical body and even more can assault our mind, making us suffer bitterly life after life, and causing us to fall into the three evil destinies to suffer. Because heavy anger and rage can make the blood flow abnormally, the burden on the body increases. Moreover, the toxins in the blood make the heart's blood flow become unsmooth; people who love to lose their temper are prone to heart disease and other illnesses. Therefore the poison of anger does the greatest harm, injuring both others and oneself. When the afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion flare up, the physical body changes accordingly; the components of the blood have already altered, the circulation of gases and blood becomes abnormal, the body develops blockages, and the roots of disease slowly settle in from this.

As soon as anger stirs, the body is affected. Therefore people with heavy afflictions also have serious illnesses and unhealthy bodies; their health in this life is already affected, let alone in future lives. Because of heavy anger, one's appearance in future lives becomes ugly and lacking in adornment with major and minor marks (lakṣaṇa-vyañjana-sampad). Moreover, because the afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion create evil karmic actions, the evil karma diminishes one's own merit, causing one to transmigrate through the three evil destinies, with endless suffering in the future. Furthermore, having created evil karma, our future physical bodies will manifest all kinds of suffering from illness; because the physical body is the principal retribution, evil karma can directly affect the body—poor health, many calamities and illnesses—and those with severe evil retribution mostly receive the retribution of a short lifespan.

If one habitually provokes and irritates others, whether there is reason or not, causing their minds to arise with distress and displeasure, one's own future retribution will also be very bad; the suffering one undergoes will far exceed that of others. Not only will one be unhappy and distressed in mind, but one will also encounter the misfortune of a short lifespan. A short lifespan is closely related to the afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion, and also closely related to the evil karma one has created. Having created evil karma and harmed others, one simultaneously diminishes one's own merit and must undergo evil retribution.

The most obvious personal example is: when we give rise to greed, our thoughts become impure because of it. When thoughts are impure, the physical body is affected, and the water element within the body changes accordingly. Because water flows downward, at the time of death, the "water" of greed causes oneself to fall into the three evil destinies. Because greed arises, the blood flow of the body quickens, the mind is not calm,s to everything become sluggish and confused, and one's judgment and handling of people, affairs, objects, and principles easily become biased and extreme.

When anger arises, the proportions and ordering of the four great elements change, the four-element structure of the body's blood changes accordingly, and toxins are thereby produced; then the blood flow also changes. Especially when anger is very severe, the face immediately turns green, indicating that toxins have already been produced in the blood; then the blood flow is obstructed and the face turns green. Over time, first, one is prone to heart disease; second, one is prone to blood-related illnesses, easily developing tumors and cancer. Even the blood supply within the body becomes problematic; insufficient blood supply to the brain leads to brain-related illnesses, and in old age one easily develops cerebellar atrophy and other brain diseases. So do not think that the greed, anger, and delusion you create only cause distress to others—in fact, you yourself are the greatest victim.

When our body is unhealthy, we should examine our own mental state: are there thoughts and emotions of greed, anger, and delusion that obstruct and affect the physical body? These emotions are what most readily produce toxins in the body and impair its functions. Poor health has one cause in the afflictions of this life, and another cause in the karmic force brought from past lives; the evil karmic actions created in past lives can summon forth an unhealthy body in this life, a body with all kinds of illnesses, because the physical body is the master of retribution. Now, when we give rise to the afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion and create evil karma, the condition of the body must change, exerting a bad influence on the body. After the body is affected, it slowly and quietly undergoes changes; the initial changes are not easy to detect, but once accumulated over a long time, the body will undergo a qualitative change, and then the symptoms of illness clearly manifest.

Our mental emotions—the afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion, as well as various unwholesome thoughts—can all affect the health of the physical body, and the mental activities of the six consciousnesses can also affect our body. Since the physical body can change under the influence of the six consciousnesses, then the producer of the myriad dharmas is not only the eighth consciousness alone; there are also the manas (seventh consciousness) and the first six consciousnesses. The eight consciousnesses operate together in harmony to produce the myriad dharmas, but the seeds all come from the eighth consciousness. Our physical body is changing at every moment; this is related not only to the eighth consciousness but also to the present mental activities of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses.

If the minds of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses, which respond to sense objects, are calm and placid, the physical body maintains its original state unchanged, unaffected. If the minds of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses are neither calm nor placid, and the emotions undergo sudden change, then the body is in another state—such as heart palpitations, trembling all over, bulging veins, sallow complexion, purple lips, quivering calves, flushed face and thick neck, fainting, and so on—the body's operation is no longer smooth or normal. This shows that the body's operational state is related to the sixth and seventh consciousnesses. The myriad dharmas are manifested by the three consciousnesses in combination, not produced by the eighth consciousness alone; this is called "the myriad dharmas are consciousness-only." "The three realms are mind-only" means that all dharmas in the world of the three realms come from the eighth consciousness, manifested by it through seeds; therefore all dharmas come from the eighth consciousness.

The eighth consciousness, upon encountering conditions, can give birth to and transform the myriad worldly dharmas and transform the five-aggregate body; these conditions of course include the mental activities of the six consciousnesses. Whether the six consciousnesses operate in a pure or defiled manner, with or without the afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion, the changes in the physical body differ accordingly. The six root afflictions—greed, anger, delusion, arrogance, doubt, and wrong view/false view (mithyā-dṛṣṭi)—are poisoning our present mind and also poisoning our future five-aggregate body and mind. Why can the six root afflictions also affect the future? Because the seeds of created karma are stored in the eighth consciousness, and when in the future these seeds are outputted again upon encountering conditions, the mental activities of the six consciousnesses will be defiled. With the accumulation of defiled karmic seeds life after life, the afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion become ever more severe, the body becomes ever less healthy, and both the principal retribution and the circumstantial retribution become ever less satisfactory.

Therefore each of us should properly subdue our own afflictions and afflictive obstructions. After subduing greed, anger, delusion, and arrogance, we can not only bring an atmosphere of joy and harmony to others, but the one who benefits most is still ourselves: healthy body, happy spirit, open and expansive mind, free of worry and affliction, with increased merit. By remedying our own afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion and ending all afflictions and sorrows, everything around us becomes pleasant. Not only will we be free of affliction life after life, but in the future we can become bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, attain buddhahood, and become the honored one of the three realms, the teacher of humans and gods.

2. Modern people are too attached to worldly things, so they always feel that everything in the world is beautiful and lovable. Such people will never be weary of the world and can hardly give rise to the mind of renunciation. They cannot see the suffering, empty, and impermanent aspect of the world; they only see the world's false aspect of pleasure, precisely because their mind of craving for worldly things is very heavy. Whether a person's mind is worldly-engaged or world-transcending is clearly expressed in their speech, yet they themselves do not know it; they lack the power of introspection (pratyavekṣā-bala) and the power of awareness, and their minds are unawakened.

Because of attachment to worldly things, the six faculties and six consciousnesses are all unrestrained. The unrestraint of the eye consciousness is looking at forms at will; the unrestraint of the ear consciousness is hearing sounds at will; the unrestraint of the nose consciousness is delighting in fragrances and loathing odors; the unrestraint of the tongue consciousness is craving delicious flavors; the unrestraint of the body consciousness is seeking comfort and ease; the unrestraint of the mind consciousness is distraction, torpor, and restlessness; the unrestraint of the manas is everywhere clinging and attaching. The arhats' six faculties are never unrestrained: they absolutely do not go around looking, listening, smelling, tasting, and touching, and their mind consciousness does not engage in scattered and random thinking.

Some people always love food and delicacies—that is the joint unrestraint of the tongue consciousness and the mind consciousness. Some people always love to smell fragrances—that is the joint unrestraint of the nose consciousness and the mind consciousness. Some people always love to wear fine clothes and sleep on fine beds, wanting everything comfortable and pleasant—that is the joint unrestraint of the body consciousness and the mind consciousness. Some people always love to recall the past and reach toward the future—that is the unrestraint of the mind consciousness. Some people always love to reach toward everything—that is the unrestraint of the manas.

Let us learn from our eighth consciousness: He has no preferences whatsoever, His mind is always in meditative concentration (samādhi); there is no time when He is greedy, no time when He is angry, no time when He is deluded; He holds no view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi), and He does not make decisions; He passes the days according to conditions, yet there is no day to be passed. If the seven consciousnesses were like this, they would more than suffice for attaining buddhahood.