Ignorance, Afflictions, Karma And Liberation

by Khensur Jampa Tegchok Rinpoche

Reflecting on the suffering of sentient beings in the unfortunate realms helps us to develop an aversion to those rebirths and the wish to be free of them. This in turn inspires us to seek a refuge that can protect us from that suffering — the Three Jewels — and to devote effort to following the Buddha’s advice in order to avoid such rebirths. Furthermore, reflecting on the disadvantages of being born in cyclic existence in general under the control of afflictions and contaminated actions, we develop intense aversion to cyclic existence and turn to the Three Jewels of refuge to guide us from the state of uncontrolled and repeated rebirth to the state of either an arhat — a being who has attained liberation from cyclic existence — or a Buddha — one who has eradicated all defilements and seeks to benefit all beings most effectively.

Now, wandering in cyclic existence, being born again and again in the six realms, is not something that we have any choice about. It is not as if we make up our minds, “I think I will be born here this rebirth,” or “I want to be reborn in that family during this rebirth.” It doesn’t work like that. We are born in the various realms of cyclic existence as a result of karma. Due to destructive karma created in the past, we are born in the unfortunate realms; due to constructive karma we are born in the fortunate realms.

This karma was created by our afflictions — disturbing thoughts and emotions. Clearly, if we had a choice, we would be born as human beings life after life; we would not choose to be born in suffering abodes with unfortunate bodies. And if we were really wise, we would not be satisfied with a human rebirth at all but rather seek liberation from the round of existence altogether.

There are 84,000 afflictions described in the Buddhist scriptures. These can be summarised into the six root and twenty auxiliary afflictions. All of these can further be condensed into the three poisons: attachment, anger, and confusion. But the root of all afflictions and karma, the foundation upon which all of cyclic existence rests, the one cause of all rebirths, is self-grasping ignorance, also called the ignorance grasping at true existence. 

Thus, if we want to be free of all duhkha and rebirth in cyclic existence, we need to eradicate their root — ignorance. The way to do that is through the direct and non conceptual realisation of emptiness. This realisation can free us. Now we see the importance of learning, thinking, and meditating on emptiness. Our very well-being and happiness depend on this. 

The steps leading us to the direct realisation of emptiness must be cultivated gradually, over time. Through learning about emptiness, we get a general idea of the important points. By thinking about what we have learned, our understanding becomes more refined and accurate. When we meditate on emptiness, we first realise it conceptually and later non conceptually. As we become more familiar with emptiness, we gradually are able to harm and then eventually completely eliminate the self-grasping ignorance, the root of cyclic existence. In this way, we become free of duhkha altogether. If we want to remove a tree, we must do so by destroying its root. Just trimming the branches won’t achieve our purpose. In the same way, if we want to get rid of cyclic existence once and for all, we must eliminate its root, self-grasping ignorance. Once we eliminate that ignorance, all the afflicted thoughts and emotions derived from it — such as attachment, anger, jealousy, and pride — will also be eliminated. If we remove these afflictions, it is no longer possible to create karma motivated by them. Without afflictions and karma, rebirth in cyclic existence is no longer possible.

The entire structure on which our continued misery is built can be abolished by means of the wisdom realising the emptiness of inherent existence. It is vital to cultivate this wisdom because there is absolutely no other way of attaining liberation. It is very important to understand this; otherwise, we will have little interest in learning about emptiness and little energy to practice the teachings that lead to realising it. 

The state of freedom from cyclic existence is called liberation. We will also actualise true cessation and nirvana. What is the difference between these three? Liberation is posited from the viewpoint of being free from the duhkha of cyclic existence and unfortunate realms. True cessation is posited from the viewpoint of ceasing the causes that impel us to experience the duhkha of cyclic existence and unfortunate rebirths. Nirvana is posited from the viewpoint of having gone beyond the duhkha of samsara and unfortunate realms along with their causes. Nirvana is translated as “the state beyond sorrow,” sorrow referring to the afflicted thoughts and emotions as well as the duhkha of cyclic existence.

Having taken refuge and seen the disadvantages of cyclic existence, we cultivate admiration and appreciation for the state of liberation, which is free of duhkha, and the aspiration to attain that state. Such an attitude will naturally inspire us to practise Dharma, which is the means to eliminate duhkha. As we practise the Dharma, we will gradually become free from duhkha. In this way, the Dharma will truly protect us. The direct non conceptual realisation of emptiness is known as the “actual” refuge because it completely eliminates the root cyclic existence, the self-grasping ignorance. When the foundation of cyclic existence has been destroyed, everything that depends on that foundation — the afflictions and karma — also crumble.