1. The Mind (Citta) 心

All existence and phenomena are creations of our mind. Our hometowns, the mountains and the ocean, the stars and the moon, and even the space beyond the Milky Way Galaxy all reside in our mind.

 

2. Worldly Passions (Klesa) 煩悩

Those mental functions that cause one to be disturbed, confused, or to drive us to madness are called worldly passions, or illusions. The world of passions or illusions is brought forth from within our mind, not from anywhere else.

The Primary Worldly Passions (Mula-klesa) 根本煩悩

 

3. Craving (Raga) 貧

It is an impure mind that craves endlessly for earthly desires. “I want this.” “I want that.” We always want something more than or better than others have.

 

4. Hatred (Pratigha) 瞋

If a decision or outcome is not in one’s favor, whether it turns out to be good or bad, the person will raise his fist, get angry, and show a hateful expression.

 

5. Ignorance (Mudhaya) 痴

Without knowing the world, without knowing the mind of people, without knowing the nature of things, without knowing one’s situation, one speaks and acts foolishly.

 

6. Arrogance (Mana) 慢

In our vanity, we tend to think highly of ourselves and become conceited when comparing ourselves with others. We regard ourselves as superior to others. However, if we realize we are not, in fact, superior to another, then we feel unhappy.

 

i) Arrogance (Mana) 自慢

It is an inflated mind that thinks “I am superior”, when one compares himself with someone who has less wealth, is not as skillful, or is of a lesser social standing. It thinks, “we are equal” in relation to someone of equal standing.

 

ii) Exaggerated Arrogance (Atimabna) 過慢

It is an inflated mind that thinks, “I am superior “ when one compares himself with someone who has equal wealth, abilities, or social standing. It thinks, “ we are equal” in relation to someone who has superior abilities than he has.

 

iii) Outrageous Arrogance (Mana-Atimana) 慢過慢

It is an inflated mind that feels superior in relation to someone who, in reality, has far superior abilities than he has.

 

iv) Egotistic Arrogance (Asmi-Mana) 我慢

It is an inflated mind that clings obstinately to self and a false sense of superiority.

 

v) False Arrogance (Abhimana) 増上慢

It is an inflated mind that one shows off arrogantly by announcing that he has attained enlightenment while in reality he has not.

 

vi) Modest Arrogance (Unamana) 卑下慢

It is an inflated mind that thinks, “I am slightly inferior” when one compares himself with someone who is far superior to him.

 

vii) Distorted Arrogance (Mithya-mana) 邪慢

It is an inflated mind that feels arrogant and thinks, “I am virtuous”, while in reality he is not.

 

7. Doubt (Vicikitsa) 疑

It is a doubtful mind that questions the laws or rules to be followed by all beings, and doubts the sincerity of good conduct.

 

8. False Views (Drsti)
  悪見

A defiled mind is one that views things incorrectly, in an inverted manner. They view things from a one-sided perspective clouded by their likes and dislikes, and by twisting the facts for the sake of gain.

 

i) Heterodox Belief in Self  (Atma-drsti) 我見（薩迦耶見）

It is the erroneous belief that the self（composed of the temporal five skandhas）is real and permanent. With this ego-centered viewpoint, one distinguishes his body from that of others and his possessions from those of others.

 

ii) The Heresy of Holding Extreme Views (Antagraha-drsti) 辺見（辺執見）

It is an erroneous belief that one has an eternal soul or that death is the end of all existence. While holding this erroneous point of view, one sees things in a distorted manner by stubbornly clinging to their one sided perspective.

 

iii) False View of Heresy (Mithya-drsti) 邪見

It is the false view which negates the law of cause and effect that governs all situations and clings to his own erroneous beliefs.

 

iv)     Attachment to Heresy (Drsti-paramarsa) 見取見

It is an erroneous point of view that perceives false views as correct by stubbornly holding onto the inaccurate belief that his viewpoint and approach to life are correct.

 

v) Attachment to Practices and Observations of Heresy (Sila-vrata-paramarsa) 戒禁取見

It is an erroneous point of view that adheres to false precepts or useless disciplines that inflict pain upon one’s body.

       

The Secondary Worldly Passions (Upaklesa) 随煩悩

 

9. Anger (Krodha) 忿

It is a furious mind that is so enraged that one shakes with rage and tries to strike another with a stick.

 

10. Hostility (Upanahana) 恨

It is a grudging mind that bears resentment for any length of time against someone who has slandered or caused harm to him.

 

11. Vexation (Pradasa), 悩

It is an afflicted mind that snaps at someone with harsh words in a fit of rage against something said or done to him by others. It causes grief to others and pain to himself.

 

12. Concealment (Mraksa) 覆

It is a dishonest mind that conceals his rather unfavorable past or wrongdoings committed in fear of losing his honor or reputation.

 

13. Deception (Maya) 誑

It is a cunning mind that deceives others by asserting that he is a person of virtue while, in fact, he is not in the hope of gaining wealth and honor.

 

14. Harmful flattering (Sathya) 諂

It is a cringing mind that flatters fraudulently and deceives people using skillful means to hide his past and wrongdoings committed.

 

15. Vanity (Mada) 憍

It is an arrogant mind that becomes conceited and intoxicated with his victory or his success.

 

16. Harmfulness (Vihimsa) 害

It is a harmful mind that lacks compassion and injures other people or living beings and inflicts pain and suffering.

 

17. Envy (Irsyra) 嫉

It is a disturbed state of mind that feels envious of the success or prosperity of others, simply because he himself wants success or prosperity.

 

18. Stinginess (Matsarya) 慳

It is a grudging mind that clings to his assets such as wealth, knowledge, or skills and detests sharing them or is reluctant to part with them.

 

19. Shamelessness With Lack of Conscience (Ahri) 無慚

It is an imprudent mind that feels no shame in his heart after causing harm or doing wrong to others.

 

20. Shamelessness with No Social Conscience (Atrapa) 無愧

It is an audacious mind that feels no shame to society after committing a crime or acting immorally and continues his wrongdoing without any shame.

 

21. Lack of faith (Asraddhya) 不信

It is a doubtful mind that refuses to have faith in compassion, goodness or happiness and therefore neglects to do good.

 

22. Indolence (Kausidya) 懈怠  

It is a lazy mind that neglects to conduct virtuous deeds and pursue right conduct diligently.

 

23. Non-Diligence (Pramada) 放逸

It is an idle mind that commits impure actions one after another by neglecting good deeds and not preventing wrongdoings.

 

24. Torpid-Mindedness (Styana)
 惛沈

It is a low-spirited mind that feels as if one is drowning and has difficulty concentrating. It is a state of mind that prevents concentration and meditation.

 

25. Agitation and Restlessness (Uddhava) 掉挙

It is a noisy mind that feels agitated and non-tranquil and loses equanimity of mind. It is a state of mind that prevents vipasyana of Zen meditation (観).

 

26. Forgetting Basic Teachings of Buddhism (Musitasmrti) 失念

It is a foggy mind that cannot concentrate. One becomes forgetful and has delusional thinking.

 

27. Incorrect Understanding (Asamprajanya) 不正知

It is a confused mind that incorrectly understands things and loses sight of what he should be doing or not doing.

 

28. Distraction (Viksepa) 散乱

It is a wavering mind that feels distracted and cannot concentrate. It sways like treacherous waves in the ocean.

The Indeterminate Mental Factors (Aniyata) 不定

 

29. Sloth (Middha) 睡眠

It is a dimly-lit mind that feels drowsy and cannot see things clearly.  Sloth takes freedom of movement from one’s body. One goes to sleep when this mental factor arises; in this case it is good. It is a state of mind that prevents vipasyana of Zen meditation.

 

30. Remorse (Kaukrtya) 悪作

It is a remorseful mind that regrets everything, including not only bad actions but actions that should have occurred but did not. Because of this, it is also is called “regretting” (Kaukrtya) 悔.

 

31. Applied Thought (Vitarka) 尋 and Sustained Thought (Vicara) 伺

They are mental factors that infer everything by language, through which the mental utterance first occurs. The initial perceptions of the mind are formed as fragmented phrases or disjointed words. If the inference is done superficially, it is called applied thought. If it is done in depth, it is called sustained thought. Applied thought grasps the objects of mind by having one-pointed focusing; if you smell a flower and think “good”, this is applied thought. Sustained thought evaluates the grasped objects in detail; if you smell a flower and think  “this is a lavender”, this is sustained thought. The sixth consciousness conceptualizes all things through language then evaluates and judges them.

 

Ryokan Ara