Defilements The untrained mind is prey to many mental states (defilements) that sully its natural radiance. These include the various forms of greed, jealousy, anger, hatred and animosity, dullness and agitation, complacency, confusion, arrogance, contempt and conceit, and blind attachment to views and beliefs. Fortunately, none of these mental states is ‘hard-wired’ into the mind; every one may be eliminated through practice of the Eightfold Path. These negative, harmful mental states are called “kilesa” in the Pali language, usually rendered in English as “defilements” In this [FAQ about Buddhism] the term “toxic mental states” has been preferred to “defilement”. The […]