<p>Curiously on page 66 (page 87 of the PDF) of <em>How Buddhism Began – The conditioned genesis of the early teachings</em>, the author suggests that the "three poisons" are the result of people misinterpreting (i.e. taking literally) a metaphor that the Buddha used.</p>

<p>I don't know (maybe didn't understand) but maybe that's reflected in the comments below <a href="https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/4060/254">this answer</a>, where Andrei (whose tradition is I think Tibetan Buddhism, compared with yuttadhammo's Theravada) ascribes more importance to <em>three</em> poisons e.g. by including aversion as one of the causes of suffering in the second noble truth (that's maybe also visible in Buddho's answer to this question).</p>

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2015-06-26T06:37:29.990Z
2015-06-26T06:45:41.007Z
2017-04-13T12:51:05.990Z
ChrisW
<p>The <strong>three poisons</strong> (<em>Sanskrit: triviṣa; Tibetan: dug gsum</em>) or the <strong>three unwholesome roots</strong> (<em>Sanskrit: akuśala-mūla; Pāli: akusala-mūla</em>), in Buddhism, refer to the <strong>three root kleshas</strong> of <strong><em>ignorance, attachment, and aversion</em></strong>. These three poisons are considered to be the <strong>cause of suffering</strong> (<em>Sanskrit: dukkha</em>).</p>

<p>Source: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_poisons_(Buddhism)" rel="nofollow">Three poisons (Buddhism) - Wikipedia</a></p>

<p>They are commonly circumvented by contemplating on the three characteristics or marks of all existence - <em>anicca, anatta</em> and <em>dukkha</em>. See <a href="http://www.buddhanet.net/vmed_8.htm" rel="nofollow">this talk</a> in the Burmese vipassana tradition.</p>

<p>See also, <a href="http://www.buddhanet.net/vmed_8.htm" rel="nofollow">kleshas</a></p>

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2015-06-26T04:14:29.163Z
2015-06-26T04:14:29.163Z
Buddho
<p>You will often hear reference to the three poisons in Buddhism, What are they referring to exactly when they talk about the three poisons? </p>

<tibetan-buddhism>
What are the three poisons?
# What are the three poisons?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-06-26)

You will often hear reference to the three poisons in Buddhism, What are they referring to exactly when they talk about the three poisons?

**Tags:** tibetan-buddhism


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2015-06-26. Score: 3

The **three poisons** (*Sanskrit: triviṣa; Tibetan: dug gsum*) or the **three unwholesome roots** (*Sanskrit: akuśala-mūla; Pāli: akusala-mūla*), in Buddhism, refer to the **three root kleshas** of ***ignorance, attachment, and aversion***. These three poisons are considered to be the **cause of suffering** (*Sanskrit: dukkha*).

Source: [Three poisons (Buddhism) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_poisons_(Buddhism))

They are commonly circumvented by contemplating on the three characteristics or marks of all existence - *anicca, anatta* and *dukkha*. See [this talk](http://www.buddhanet.net/vmed_8.htm) in the Burmese vipassana tradition.

See also, [kleshas](http://www.buddhanet.net/vmed_8.htm)


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### Answer by username_1 on 2015-06-26. Score: 0

Curiously on page 66 (page 87 of the PDF) of *How Buddhism Began – The conditioned genesis of the early teachings*, the author suggests that the "three poisons" are the result of people misinterpreting (i.e. taking literally) a metaphor that the Buddha used.

I don't know (maybe didn't understand) but maybe that's reflected in the comments below [this answer](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/4060/254), where Andrei (whose tradition is I think Tibetan Buddhism, compared with yuttadhammo's Theravada) ascribes more importance to *three* poisons e.g. by including aversion as one of the causes of suffering in the second noble truth (that's maybe also visible in username_2's answer to this question).


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