The three poisons are the focus of verse 2 on the practice of a bodhisattva. Here’s Ken McLeod‘s translation:
Attraction to those close to you catches you in its currents;
Aversion to those who oppose you burns inside;
Indifference that ignores what needs to be done is a black hole.
Leave your homeland- that is the practice of a bodhisattva.
The three poisons show up often in Buddhist teaching. They are attachment, aversion, and indifference. (Other translations use greed, hatred, and ignorance.) They’re called poisons because they tend to knock us off center. When we’re too attached to someone or something, we start clinging. If we’re overly averse, we find our hearts filled with anger and hatred. And if we zone out or pay no attention, we live in ignorance. The Dalai Lama says that greed and hatred serve as the ministers of ignorance.
McLeod describes the three poisons in this way: “These basic patterns poison your life. You cannot just enjoy something- you have to have it. You cannot just meet a challenge-you have to oppose it. You cannot just relax- you have to check out.” I love how clearly he states how the three poisons point to the extreme versions of these human feelings. For example, it’s this unhealthy form of attachment that acts as poison. It’s when attachment becomes possession. It’s when aversion becomes aggression. And it’s when indifference leads us to apathy. So it’s not a wholesale rejection of these qualities: it’s a matter of context and degree.
Leaving Our Homeland
Upon inspection, we will likely realize that these three poisons show up most in the closest circles of our lives. In our families, our close relationships, at our workplace. And these patterns and habits can be deep, because they’re often the oldest and most used. This is why verse 2 says, “Leave your homeland.”
To leave your homeland doesn’t mean literally to leave your surroundings. It is an invitation to leave your patterns of behavior. This reminds me of the kind of language we use in Enneagram work. When we grow, we grow beyond our personality habits, and we find that we’ve got a lot more range than we thought. We have a “home base” so to speak. But that home base of reactions can really limit our growth.
Notice how the three poisons show up for you this week. See how they can knock you off center, and try finding a new path ahead.
