Kleshas — Sources of Suffering
The kleshas describe the fundamental distortions that give rise to suffering. They are errors of identification, not moral failings.
The kleshas operate at the level of perception.
Avidya (अविद्या)
Ignorance. Mistaking the impermanent for the permanent. Mistaking the constructed for the essential.
Avidya is the root condition from which all other kleshas arise.
It is not lack of information. It is mis-seeing.
Asmita (अस्मिता)
Egoism. Identification of awareness with the instruments of perception.
Asmita is the collapse of “observer” into “observed.”
The sense of “I am this.”
Raga (राग)
Attachment. Grasping toward what is perceived as pleasant.
Raga narrows attention and binds future action.
Dvesha (द्वेष)
Aversion. Resistance to what is perceived as unpleasant.
Dvesha fractures attention and produces reactivity.
Abhinivesha (अभिनिवेश)
Clinging to life. Fear of dissolution, loss, or non-being.
Abhinivesha persists even in the wise.
This is the most subtle klesha.
Structure
The kleshas are not independent.
Avidya → Asmita → Raga / Dvesha → Abhinivesha
They form a cascade, not a checklist.
Notes on Use
- Kleshas explain why suffering persists
- They are addressed through practice, not argument
- Reduction of kleshas is gradual and asymptotic
Freedom is not the absence of sensation, but the absence of mis-identification.