Friends:
The five Impurities block the Lucidity of Mind:
The Blessed Buddha once said:
There are five
impurities of gold impaired by which it becomes neither pliant
nor wieldy, it
lacks radiance, is weak & easily broken and cannot be formed...
What are
these five impurities? They are: Iron, copper, tin, lead and silver.
But if
the gold has been purified from these five impurities, then it will indeed
be
pliant and wieldy, radiant and firm, and can be formed well. Whatever
kind
of jewellery one wishes to
make from it, be it a diadem, earrings, a necklace or
a golden chain, it
will easily serve that purpose well.
Similarly, there are five impurities of
the mind impaired by which the mind is
neither pliant nor wieldy, it lacks
radiant lucidity and stability, and cannot
concentrate well upon the
eradication of the mental
fermentations (āsava).
What are these five impurities? They
are:
Sense-Desire,
Evil-Will,
Lethargy & Laziness,
Restlessness & Regret,
Doubt & Uncertainty...
But if the mind is freed of
these five mental impurities, then it will be plastic,
flexible, and wieldy,
will be of radiant lucidity and firm calm stability, and will
concentrate
well upon the elimination of the mental
fermentations. Whatever
supra-human state realizable by these higher
mental abilities one may pursue,
one will in each case be able to directly
experience it, as an eye-witness...
Source (edited extract):
The Numerical Sayings of the Buddha. Anguttara Nikaya.
The Book of Fives 23: Four deeds of Merit... [III: 16-7]
Comments:
The 4 mental
fermentations are wrong, false &
hidden assumptions associated with:
1: Sense-desire (kāmāsava).
Ex: "Sensing is only & always pleasant. Pain exists not!"
2: Desiring becoming into
new existence (bhavāsava): Ex: "All life is good, Death exists
not!"
3:
Wrong views (ditthāsava): Ex: "I am better, know better & what I think is
thus never wrong!"
4: Ignorance (avijjāsava):
Ex: "Suffering, craving, ending craving & the Noble Way exists
not!"
Bhikkhu Samahita, Sri
Lanka.
Friendship is the Greatest ...
Let there be Calm
& Free Bliss !!!
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