Itivuttaka 88
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: “Monks, there are these three inside stains, inside enemies, inside foes, inside murderers, inside adversaries. Which three? Greed is an inside stain, inside enemy, inside foe, inside murderer, inside adversary. Aversion is an inside stain.… Delusion is an inside stain, inside enemy, inside foe, inside murderer, inside adversary. These are the three inside stains, inside enemies, inside foes, inside murderers, inside adversaries.”
Greed causes harm.
Greed provokes the mind.
People don’t realize it
as a danger born from within.
A person, when greedy,
doesn’t know his own welfare;
when greedy,
doesn’t see Dhamma.
Overcome with greed,
he’s in the dark, blind.
But when one, abandoning greed,
feels no greed
for what would merit greed,
greed gets shed from him–
like a drop of water
off a lotus leaf.
Aversion causes harm.
Aversion provokes the mind.
People don’t realize it
as a danger born from within.
A person, when aversive,
doesn’t know his own welfare;
when aversive,
doesn’t see Dhamma.
Overcome with aversion
he’s in the dark, blind.
But when one, abandoning aversion,
feels no aversion
for what would merit aversion,
aversion drops away from him–
like a palm leaf from its stem.
Delusion causes harm.
Delusion provokes the mind.
People don’t realize it
as a danger born from within.
A person, when deluded,
doesn’t know his own welfare;
when deluded,
doesn’t see Dhamma.
Overcome with delusion
he’s in the dark, blind.
But when one, abandoning delusion,
feels no delusion
for what would merit delusion,
he disperses all delusion–
as the rising of the sun, the dark.
See also: MN 5
