DiscoverSNSN 45–56SN 45SN 45.163

The Buddha teaches the bonds and that the noble eightfold path should be developed for their direct knowledge, complete understanding, finishing, and giving up.

SN 45.163 Defilements

“Tayome, bhikkhave, āsavā. Katame tayo? Kāmāsavo, bhavāsavo, avijjāsavo— ime kho, bhikkhave, tayo āsavā.

Imesaṁ kho, bhikkhave, tiṇṇannaṁ āsavānaṁ abhiññāya pariññāya parikkhayāya pahānāya …pe… ayaṁ ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo bhāvetabbo”ti.

Tatiyaṁ.

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

“Tayome, bhikkhave, āsavā.

“Mendicants, there are these three defilements.

Katame tayo?

What three?

Kāmāsavo, bhavāsavo, avijjāsavo—

The defilements of sensuality, desire to be reborn, and ignorance.

ime kho, bhikkhave, tayo āsavā.

These are the three defilements.

Imesaṁ kho, bhikkhave, tiṇṇannaṁ āsavānaṁ abhiññāya pariññāya parikkhayāya pahānāya …pe… ayaṁ ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo bhāvetabbo”ti.

The noble eightfold path should be developed for the direct knowledge, complete understanding, finishing, and giving up of these three defilements.”

Tatiyaṁ.

Topics & Qualities:

Delusion

Delusion

☁️ dark quality

A fundamental distortion of reality that sustains confusion, clouds discernment, and fuels further doubt.

Also known as: illusion, hallucination, misapprehension, distorted view
Pāli: moha, micchāñāṇa
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Desire

Desire

topic
💠 neutral quality

A wholesome motivation, interest, or objective that acts as the starting point for effort and application of will.

Also known as: aspiration, interest, wish, having an objective, intention, impulse
Pāli: chanda
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Direct knowledge

Direct knowledge

☀️ bright quality

A deep, firsthand realization or knowing that arises from personal experience, not from study or conceptual understanding; it is an immediate, unmediated apprehension of truth.

Also known as: experiential understanding, direct experience
Pāli: abhiñña
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Giving

Giving

topic
☀️ bright quality

The act of generosity, sharing, or offering to others without expecting anything in return. Giving is considered a foundational virtue in Buddhist practice, fostering selflessness and compassion.

Also known as: generosity, charity, donation, almsgiving, donating, philanthropy, providing with, gift with
Pāli: dāna
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Giving up

Giving up

☀️ bright quality

The mental quality of renunciation and release from attachment. It delights in simplicity and freedom rather than in sensual pleasure. Giving up is not loss but the joyful abandoning of burden, opening the way to peace and insight.

Also known as: renunciation, relinquishment, letting go, abandonment
Pāli: nekkhamma
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Ignorance

Ignorance

☁️ dark quality

A fundamental blindness to the true nature of reality. It is not merely a lack of information, but an active misperception that views the transient as permanent and the unsatisfactory as a source of happiness, thereby fueling the cycle of suffering.

Also known as: illusion of knowing, fundamental unawareness of the true nature of reality, misunderstanding of how things have come to be, not knowing the four noble truths
Pāli: avijjā
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Last updated on July 27, 2026

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