3 Root Poisons

The three root poisons are greed, hatered and ignorance. They are represented in the form of a Cockerel, a Snake and a Pig.

Greed- Greed is represented by the cockerel

Hatered- Represented by the snake

Ignorance- Represented by the pig

The three animals are in the center of the cycle of samsara, they are all chasing each other to show that they all feed off of each other

They are the root of all unenlightened actions. The aim of buddhists is to extinguish the 3 root poisons, which will lead to enlightenment.

A realistic outlook on the world- Suffering/Dukkha caused by three root poisons

The 3 root poisons all generate kamma which keeps us bound to samsara

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Greed

Greed is not only for physical things such as food but also craving permanence, love, power and material goods.

Represented by the cockerel

We constantly crave more and therfore we cause Dukkha as we want what we cannot have

Greed can also lead to hatred as we hate people when we do not get what we want.

Buddhist monks give up all material goods because they are ready to stop craving and overcome their attachment.

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Ignorant of the true nature of reality

Ignorance causes us to act in unskillful ways- we become greedy and act in hateful ways

Ignorance keeps us trapped in the wheel of samsara- birth, death and re-birth

Ignorance in the sense of lack of knowledge, ignorance of knowledge. Our ignorance about a true situation leads to continued suffering.

The oppisite of ignorance is wisdom, buddhists try to gain wisdom to escape suffering

Ignorance of impermanence causes us to suffer.

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Hatred=Anger

Represented by the Snake

Hatred causes Dukkha. The opposite of hatred is love and kindness.

Buddhists try to cultivate love and kindness, they meditate (vipassana).

"There is no fire like passion, No grip like hate, No net like delusion(ignorance), No river like craving (greed)." - Dhammapada 251

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