Pali moha Chinese 癡 | Sanskrit moha | |
English ignorance, bewilderment, confusion, stupidity, delusion Tibetan གཏི་མུག
(Wylie: gti mug;
THL: timuk) | ||
Moha (Sanskrit, Pali; Tibetan phonetic: timuk) is a Buddhist concept of character affliction or poison, and refers to "delusion, confusion, dullness". It is sometimes synonymous with "ignorance" (avidya).
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Moha, along with Raga (greed, sensual attachment) and Dvesha (aversion, hate) are unskillful roots that lead to Tanha (craving) in the Buddhist thought, which is part of the Twelve Nidanas that propel the wheel of life. It is symbolically present as the pig in the center of Tibetan bhavachakra drawings.
Moha is identified in the following contexts within the Buddhist teachings:
Etymology and meaning
Moha appears in the Vedic literature, and has roots in early Vedic word mogha which means "empty, unreal, vain, useless, foolish". The term, as well as the three defects concept appears in the ancient texts of Jainism and some schools of Hinduism such as Nyaya, in their respective discussion of the theory of rebirths.
The term means "delusion, confusion, dullness". The opposite of Moha is Prajna (insight, wisdom). Beliefs different from those considered as insights in Buddhism, are forms of delusions or Moha in Buddhism. Moha is one of the roots of evil, in the Buddhist belief.
Application
Within the Mahayana tradition, moha is classified as one of the three poisons, which are considered to be the root cause of suffering.
In the Mahayana tradition, moha is considered to be a subcategory of avidya. Whereas avidya is defined as a fundamental ignorance, moha is defined as an ignorance of cause and effect or of reality that accompanies only destructive states of mind or behavior. Moha is sometimes replaced by avidya in lists of the three poisons. In contemporary explanations of the three poisons, teachers are likely to emphasize the fundamental ignorance of avidya rather than moha.