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Spiritual Development 
The Roots of Good and Evil: An Anthology by Nyanaponika Thera
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II.General Texts
6. OVERCOMING BIRTH AND DEATH
If three things were not found in the world, the Perfect
One, the Holy One who is fully enlightened, would not appear in the world,
nor would his teaching and discipline shed their light over the world.
What are these three things? They are
birth, old age and death. Because these three are found in the world, the
Perfect One, the Holy One who is fully enlightened, has appeared in the
world, and his teaching and discipline shed their light over the world.
It is, however, impossible to overcome
birth, old age and death without overcoming another three things, namely:
greed, hatred and delusion.
Anguttara Nikaya, 10: 76
7. MARA'S PRISONER
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He who has not abandoned greed, hatred and delusion, is
called Mira's prisoner, captured in Mira's snares, subject to the Evil
One's will and pleasure.
But he who has abandoned greed, hatred
and delusion, is no longer Mara's prisoner; he is freed from Mara's
snares, no longer subject to the Evil One's will and pleasure.
Itivuttaka 68
8. CROSSING THE OCEAN
A monk or a nun who has not abandoned greed, hatred and
delusion, such a one has not crossed the ocean (of samsara), with its waves
and whirlpools, monsters and demons.
But a monk or a nun who has abandoned
greed, hatred and delusion, such a one has crossed the ocean (of samsara),
with its waves and whirlpools, monsters and demons, has traversed it and
gone to the other shore (Nibbana), standing on firm ground as a true saint.
Itivuttaka 69
9. THE THREE FIRES
There are three fires: the fire of lust, the fire of hatred
and the fire of delusion.
The fire of lust burns lustful mortals
Who are entangled
in the sense-objects.
The fire of hate burns wrathful men
Who urged
by hate slay living beings.
Delusion's fire burns foolish folk
Who cannot
see the holy Dhamma.
Those who delight in the embodied group
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Do not know
this triple fire.
They cause the worlds of woe to grow:
The hells,
and life as animal,
The ghostly and demoniac realms;
Unfreed are
they from Mara's chains.
But those who live by day and night
Devoted to
the Buddha's law,
They quench within the fire of lust
By seeing
the impurity of body.
They quench within the fire of hate
By loving-kindness,
loftiest of men.
Delusion's fire they also quench
By wisdom
ripening in penetration.
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When they extinguish these three fires,
Wise, unremitting
day and night,
Completely they are liberated,
Completely
they transcend all ill.
Seers of the holy realm,
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Through perfect
knowledge
10
wise,
By direct vision ending all rebirth,
They do not
go to any new existence.
Itivuttaka 93
From the commentary by Bhadantacariya
Dhammapala
Because greed, when it arises, burns and consumes living beings, therefore
it is called a fire; and so it is with hatred and delusion. Just as a fire
consumes the fuel through which it has arisen, and grows into a vast conflagration,
similarly it is with greed, hatred and delusion: they consume the life-continuity
in which they have arisen and grow into a vast conflagration that is hard
to extinguish.
Innumerable are the beings who, with hearts ablaze
with the fire of lust, have come to death through the suffering of unfulfilled
desire. This is greed's burning power. For the burning power of hatred,
a special example is the 'deities ruined by their angry minds'
(manopadosika-deva),
and
for delusion, the 'deities ruined by their playful pleasures'
(khiddapadosika-deva).11
In their delusion, the latter become so forgetful that they miss their
meal-time and die. This is the burning power of greed, hatred and delusion,
as far as the present life is concerned. In future lives these three are
still more terrible and hard to endure, in so far as greed, etc., may cause
rebirth in the hells and the other worlds of woe.
10. THREE INNER FOES
There are three inner taints, three inner foes, three inner enemies,
three inner murderers, three inner antagonists. What are these three? Greed
is an inner taint . . . . Hatred is an inner taint . . . . Delusion is
an inner taint, an inner foe, an inner enemy, an inner murderer, an inner
antagonist.
Greed is a cause of harm,
Unrest of mind it brings
This danger that has grown within,
Blind folk
are unaware of it.
A greedy person cannot see the facts,
Nor can he
understand the Dhamma.
When greed has overpowered him,
In complete
darkness he is plunged.
But he who does not crave and can forsake
This greed
and what incites to greed,
From him quickly greed glides off
Like water
from a lotus leaf.
Hate is a cause of harm,
Unrest of
mind it brings.
This danger that has grown within,
Blind folk
are unaware of it.
A hater cannot see the facts,
Nor can he
understand the Dhamma.
When hate has overpowered him,
In complete
darkness he is plunged.
But he who does not hate and can forsake
This hatred
and what incites to hate,
From him quickly hatred falls off
As from a
palm tree falls the ripened fruit.
Delusion is a cause of harm,
Unrest of
mind it brings.
This danger that has grown within,
Blind folk
are unaware of it.
He who is deluded cannot see the facts,
Nor can he
understand the Dhamma.
If a man is in delusion's grip,
In complete
darkness he is plunged.
But he who has shed delusion's veil
Is undeluded
where confusion reigns;
He fully scatters all delusion,
just as the
sun dispels the night.
Itivuttaka 88
Comment
Greed, hatred and delusion strong enough to lead to sub-human rebirths
are abandoned by the first path, that of stream-entry. Sensual desire and
hatred, in their coarse forms, are abandoned by the second path (of once-return),
and in their subtle forms, by the third path (of non-return). All remaining
greed and delusion, along with their associated defilements, are abandoned
by the fourth path - that of Arahatship.
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Contents|
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