Avidyā

Translations of avidyā English: ignorance, delusion, etc. Pali: avijjā Sanskrit: avidyā (Dev: अविद्या) Burmese: အဝိဇၨာ (IPA: [əweɪʔzà]) Chinese: 無明 (pinyin: wú míng) Japanese: 無明 (mumyō) Korean: (Hangeul) 무명 (Hanja) 無明 (RR: mu myeong) Tibetan: མ་རིག་པ (Wylie: ma rig pa; THL: ma rigpa) Thai: อวิชชา Vietnamese: vô minh Glossary of Buddhism view talk edit

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The 12 Nidānas:   Ignorance ↓ Formations ↓ Consciousness ↓ Name & Form ↓ Six Sense Bases ↓ Contact ↓ Feeling ↓ Craving ↓ Clinging ↓ Becoming ↓ Birth ↓ Old Age & Death

Avidyā (Sanskrit; Pāli: avijjā; Tibetan: ma rig pa) is commonly translated as "ignorance" or "delusion". It can be defined as not understanding the full meaning and implication of the four noble truths or as a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of reality. Avidyā is identified as the first link in the twelve links of dependent origination. It is sometimes identified as one of the three poisons. It is represented within the bhavacakra as an old blind man or woman.

Overview

Avidya is explained in different ways or on different levels within different Buddhist teachings or traditions. On the most fundamental level, it is a misunderstanding of the nature of reality; more specifically–a misunderstanding of the nature of self and of phenomena.^[1][2][3] On a more general level, avidya can be defined as not understanding the full meaning and implication of the four noble truths.^[4]

Avidya is referred to in the following contexts:

• As the first link within the twelve links of dependent origination
• It is sometimes identified as one of the three poisons
• It is symbolically represented as an old, blind person (particularly within the bhavacakra)
• As one of the six root unwholesome mental factors within the Mahayana Abhidharma teachings

Within the twelve nidanas

Avidya is identified as the first of the twelve links of dependent origination (twelve nidanas)—a sequence of links that describe a karmic process that keeps being bound within samsara (cyclic existence).

Ajahn Sucitto explains:

The sequence of dependent origination begins with the condition of unknowing or ignorance (avijjā), which in Buddhist iconography is depicted as either a blind man or someone wearing a blindfold. This is the driver of the bus to dukkha [i.e. suffering]. If you have to choose the one determining factor for suffering, it’s this ignorance. People tend to take “ignorance” as pejorative, but it more precisely refers to a lack of gnosis or insightful seeing. It is summarized as “not understanding the four noble truths”—or, perhaps more accurately, not understanding their implications. That is, as long as there is the condition of ignorance, the mind still expects to find an experience that is completely satisfying and feels disappointed when things “go wrong.” There is a parable of a man eating a bag of chili peppers one by one, weeping at their fiery taste as he does so. When asked why he continues to eat the peppers, he replies, “I’m looking for the sweet one.” This is ignorance.^[4]

Chogyam Trungpa states:

The twelve nidanas begins with what's called ignorance. It is ignorant in the sense that our own struggle has not been seen. We are unable to see our own struggle properly and completely, therefore there is this notion of blindness. The imagery for this is what's called the blind mother principle. A blind grandmother has no chance to see her grandchildren. She has her own concepts and ideas about how the world should function in her particular period of time in history and her particular social setup. All of that is on one level, that of blindness. And within the blindness, the grandmother struggles enormously, trying to communicate with her grandchildren constantly. The blind grandmother is also highly inquisitive and extremely interested in any kind of gossip that involves the grandchildren. Her way of maintaining power over her grandchildren is to maintain her intelligence of the gossip, which is what is called subconscious gossip: who got married, who had children, who got divorced, who got killed, who had cancer, who had an accident--that and this, this and that, this, this, that... That kind of gossip is endless...it goes on like a wheel which revolves again and again and again, maintaining constant eternity. Therefore, the second nidana process, which is called samskara...is traditionally analogized by a potter's wheel...This represents conceptual mind forming itself in a certain situation, and this is the point at which the creation of karma begins.^[5]

Uprooting avidya

The antidote to avidyā is the development of "wisdom" (Skt.: prajñā; Pali: pañña). This can be achieved by practicing awareness/mindfulness (Pali: sati, Skt: smṛti), patient endurance (Skt: kṣānti; Pali: khanti) and meditation (Skt: dhyāna). More generally, wisdom is developed by following the Noble Eightfold Path.

Etymology

The word is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *weid-, meaning "to see" or "to know". It is a cognate with the Latin verb vidēre' (to see)' and English "wit".

See also

• Avidya for the treatment of the concept in Hinduism.
• Kilesa for avidya's context within various Buddhist frameworks.
• Maya (illusion)
• Tanha for a complementary root of suffering in Buddhism.
• Three poisons (Buddhism)

References

1. ^ Dalai Lama (1992), p. 4, 43-44
2. ^ Sonam Rinchen (2006), p. 14.
3. ^ Ringu Tulku (2005), p. 31.
4. ^ ^{a b} Ajahn Sucitto (2010), Kindle Locations 1125-1132.
5. ^ Chogyam Trungpa (1972), p. 5.

Sources

• Ajahn Sucitto (2010). Turning the Wheel of Truth: Commentary on the Buddha's First Teaching. Shambhala.
• Chogyam Trungpa (1972). "Karma and Rebirth: The Twelve Nidanas, by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche." Karma and the Twelve Nidanas, A Sourcebook for the Shambhala School of Buddhist Studies. Vajradhatu Publications.
• Dalai Lama (1992). The Meaning of Life, translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, Boston: Wisdom.
• Dzongsar Khyentse (2004). Gentle Voice #22, September 2004 Issue.
• Geshe Sonam Rinchen (2006). How Karma Works: The Twelve Links of Dependent Arising, Snow Lion.
• Ringu Tulku (2005). Daring Steps Toward Fearlessness: The Three Vehicles of Tibetan Buddhism, Snow Lion.

Further reading

• Daniel Goleman: Vital Lies, Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self Deception (1985) Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7475-3413-6
• Avijja Sutta Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu