Avidyā (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: अविद्या;

Pāli Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

: अविज्जा, ''Avijjā''; Tibetan phonetic: ''ma rigpa'') in Buddhist literature is commonly translated as "ignorance". The concept refers to ignorance or misconceptions about the nature of metaphysical reality, in particular about the

impermanence Impermanence, also known as the philosophical problem of change, is a philosophical concept addressed in a variety of religions and philosophies. In Eastern philosophy it is notable for its role in the Buddhist three marks of existence. It is ...

and '' anatta'' doctrines about reality. It is the root cause of '' Dukkha'' (suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness), and asserted as the first link, in Buddhist phenomenology, of a process that leads to repeated birth. Avidyā is mentioned within the Buddhist teachings as ignorance or misunderstanding in various contexts: *

Four Noble Truths In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: ; pi, cattāri ariyasaccāni; "The four Arya satyas") are "the truths of the Noble Ones", the truths or realities for the "spiritually worthy ones". six_root_kleshas_within_the_Mahayana_Abhidharma_teachings *_One_of_the_ six_root_kleshas_within_the_Mahayana_Abhidharma_teachings *_One_of_the_Fetter_(Buddhism)">ten_fetters_in_the_Theravada_tradition_ *_Equivalent_to_Moha_(Buddhism).html" ;"title="Fetter_(Buddhism).html" ;"title="Mental factors (Buddhism)#Six root unwholesome factors">six root kleshas within the Mahayana Abhidharma teachings * One of the Fetter (Buddhism)">ten fetters in the Theravada tradition * Equivalent to Moha (Buddhism)">moha within the Theravada Abhidharma teachings Within the context of the twelve links of dependent origination, avidya is typically symbolized by a person who is blind or wearing a blindfold.

Etymology

''Avidyā'' is a Vedic Sanskrit word, and is a compound of ''a-'' prefix and ''vidya'', meaning "not vidya". The word ''vidya'' is derived from the Sanskrit root ''vid'', which means "to see, to knowingly-see, to know". Therefore, ''avidya'' means to "not see, not know". The ''vid*''-related terms appear extensively in the

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...

and other

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

. In Vedic literature, ''avidya'' refers to "ignorance, spiritual ignorance, illusion"; in early Buddhist texts, states Monier-Williams, it means "ignorance with non-existence". The word is derived from the

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...

root *''weid''-, meaning "to see" or "to know". It is a cognate with the Latin verb ''vidēre'' ("to see") and English ''wit''.

Overview

Avidya is explained in different ways or on different levels within different Buddhist teachings or traditions. On the most fundamental level, it is ignorance or misunderstanding of the nature of reality; more specifically about the nature of not-Self and dependent origination doctrines. ''Avidya'' is not lack of information, states Peter Harvey, but a "more deep seated misperception of reality". Gethin calls Avidya as 'positive misconception', not mere absence of knowledge. It is a key concept in Buddhism, wherein ''Avidya'' about the nature of reality, rather than sin, is considered the basic root of '' Dukkha''. Removal of this ''Avidya'' leads to overcoming of ''Dukkha''. While Avidyā found in Buddhism and other Indian philosophies is often translated as "ignorance", states Alex Wayman, this is a mistranslation because it means more than ignorance. He suggests the term "unwisdom" to be a better rendition. The term includes not only ignorance out of darkness, but also obscuration, misconceptions, mistaking illusion to be reality or impermanent to be permanent or suffering to be bliss or non-self to be self (delusions). Incorrect knowledge is another form of Avidya, states Wayman. In other contexts, avidya includes not knowing or not understanding the nature of phenomena as impermanent, the

, other Buddhist doctrines, or the path to end suffering. Sonam Rinchen states ''Avidya'' in the context of the twelve links, that "[Ignorance] is the opposite of the understanding that the person or other phenomena lack intrinsic existence. Those who are affected by this ignorance create actions which precipitate them into further worldly existence." Not understanding the

, or its implications, is also Avidya.Ajahn Sucitto (2010), Kindle Locations 1125-1132.

In Buddhist traditions

Avidya appears as a major item of discussion in two doctrines about the nature of reality, in various Buddhist traditions. One relates to the Anatta (Anatman) doctrine, that is ignorance or misconceptions about "Self", when in reality there is only non-Self according to Buddhism. The second relates to Anicca doctrine, that is ignorance or misconceptions about "permanence", when the nature of reality is impermanence.

Theravada

Bhikkhu Bodhi states that Avidya is an important part of the Theravada Abhidharma teachings about dependent arising about conditions that sustain the wheel of birth and death. One such condition is the karmic formations that arise from ignorance. In other words, states Bodhi, ignorance (avijja) obscures "perception of the true nature of things just as a cataract obscures perception of visible objects". In the Suttanta literature, this ignorance refers to the non-knowledge of the Four Noble Truths. In the Abhidharma literature, in addition to the Four Noble Truths, it is the non-knowledge of one's 'past pre-natal lives' and 'post-mortem future lives' and of dependent arising.A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma: The Abhidhammattha Sangaha
Bhikkhu Bodhi (2003), p. 295

Mahayana

The Mahayana tradition considers ignorance about the nature of reality and immemorial past lives to be a primordial force, which can only be broken through the insight of Emptiness ('' sunyata''). However, compared to other Buddhist traditions, states Jens Braarvig, Avidyā is not so much emphasized, instead the emphasis on "construing an illusory reality" based on conceptualization when the ultimate reality is Emptiness. Avidya is the greatest impurity and the primary cause of suffering, rebirth. The insight into Emptiness, state Garfield and Edelglass, that is the "lack of inherent nature of all phenomena, including the self, cuts the impurities", an insight into Emptiness yields full awakening.

Vajrayana

The Vajrayana tradition considers ignorance as fetters of bondage into samsara, and its teachings have focussed on a Tantric path under the guidance of a teacher, to remove ''Avidya'' and achieve liberation in a single lifetime. Avidyā is identified as the first of the twelve links of dependent origination (twelve nidanas)—a sequence of links that describe why a being reincarnates and remains bound within the samsara, a cycle of repeated births and deaths in six realms of existence. The twelve nidanas are an application of the Buddhist concept of

pratītyasamutpāda ''Pratītyasamutpāda'' (Sanskrit: प्रतीत्यसमुत्पाद, Pāli: ''paṭiccasamuppāda''), commonly translated as dependent origination, or dependent arising, is a key doctrine in Buddhism shared by all schools of ...

(dependent origination). This theory, presented in Samyutta Nikaya II.2–4 and

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II.55–63, asserts that rebirth, re-aging and re-death ultimately arise through a series of twelve links or ''nidanas'' ultimately rooted in Avidyā, and the twelfth step ''Jarāmaraṇa'' triggers the dependent origination of ''Avidyā'', recreating an unending cycle of dukkha (suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness).

Removing avidya

Avidya or ignorance can be eliminated directly by cultivating its opposite viz. Knowledge, wisdom and perception, where the above refer to the true knowledge and perception of reality. The various ways to remove Avidya is by learning from Guru/teacher who knows or from books and scriptures. Also Avidya can be removed through Meditation or more precisely practice of Dhyana and Yoga. Through practice of Dharma and righteousness Avidya gets removed. Unrighteous karma increases Ignorance while Ignorance perpetuates Adharma.

Notes

References

Sources

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Ajahn Sucitto Ajahn Sucitto (Bhikkhu Sucitto, born 4 November 1949) is a British-born Theravada Buddhist monk (''Ajahn'' is the Thai rendition of ''ācārya'', the Sanskrit word for 'spiritual teacher'). He was, between 1992 and 2014, the abbot of ''Cittav ...

(2010). ''Turning the Wheel of Truth: Commentary on the Buddha's First Teaching''. Shambhala. * Bhikkhu Bodhi (2003), ''A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma'', Pariyatti Publishing * Chogyam Trungpa (1972). ''"Karma and Rebirth: The Twelve Nidanas, by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche." Karma and the Twelve Nidanas, A Sourcebook for the Shambhala School of Buddhist Studies.'' Vajradhatu Publications. *

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

(1992). ''The Meaning of Life'', translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, Boston: Wisdom. *

Mingyur Rinpoche Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (Tibet: ཡོངས་དགེ་མི་འགྱུར་རིན་པོ་ཆེ། Wylie: yongs dge mi 'gyur rin po che) is a Tibetan teacher and master of the Karma Kagyu and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhis ...

(2007). ''The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness''. Harmony. Kindle Edition. * Sonam Rinchen (2006). ''How Karma Works: The Twelve Links of Dependent Arising'', Snow Lion.