Āvaraṇa

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Key Term	āvaraṇa
Topic Variation	obscurations
Hover Popup Choices	obscurations; defilements
In Tibetan Script	སྒྲིབ་པ་
Wylie Tibetan Transliteration	sgrib pa
Devanagari Sanskrit Script	आवरण
Romanized Sanskrit	āvaraṇa
Tibetan Phonetic Rendering	drip pa
English Standard	obscurations
Richard Barron's English Term	obscuration
Jeffrey Hopkin's English Term	obstruction
Dan Martin's English Term	obscurations; veils
Gyurme Dorje's English Term	obscuration
Term Type	Noun
Source Language	Sanskrit
Basic Meaning	Literally, that which obscures or conceals. They are often listed as a set of two obscurations (sgrib gnyis): the afflictive emotional obscurations (Skt. kleśāvaraṇa, Tib. nyon mongs pa'i sgrib pa) and the cognitive obscurations (Skt. jñeyāvaraṇa, Tib. shes bya'i sgrib pa). By removing the first, one becomes free of suffering, and by removing the second, one becomes omniscient.
Has the Sense of	See also adventitious stains (āgantukamala)
Related Terms	āgantukamala
Definitions
Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism	See page 83: In Sanskrit and Pāli, “obstruction,” “obstacle,” or “hindrance.” In Mahāyāna literature, two types of āvaraṇa are commonly described: “obstructions that are the afflictions,” or “afflictive obstructions” (kleśāvaraṇa), and cognitive or noetic obstructions, viz., “obstructions to omniscience” (jñeyāvaraṇa). Śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas can be freed from the afflictive obstructions, but only bodhisattvas are able to free themselves from the cognitive obstructions. In the Yogācāra system, the cognitive obstructions result from fundamental misapprehensions about the nature of reality.
Rangjung Yeshe's English Term	Obscurations. The veils that covers one's direct perception of the nature of mind. In the general Buddhist teachings several types are mentions: the obscuration of karma preventing one from entering the path of enlightenment, the obscuration of disturbing emotions preventing progress along the path, the obscuration of habitual tendencies preventing the vanishing of confusion, and the final obscuration of dualistic knowledge preventing the full attainment of buddhahood. The two veils of disturbing emotions and dualistic perception that cover one's buddha nature.

Literally, that which obscures or conceals. Often listed as a set of two obscurations (sgrib gnyis): the afflictive emotional obscurations (Skt. kleśāvaraṇa, Tib. nyon mongs pa'i sgrib pa) and the cognitive obscurations (Skt. jñeyāvaraṇa, Tib. shes bya'i sgrib pa). By removing the first, one becomes free of suffering, and by removing the second, one becomes omniscient.

Literally, that which obscures or conceals. Often listed as a set of two obscurations (sgrib gnyis): the afflictive emotional obscurations (Skt. kleśāvaraṇa, Tib. nyon mongs pa'i sgrib pa) and the cognitive obscurations (Skt. jñeyāvaraṇa, Tib. shes bya'i sgrib pa). By removing the first, one becomes free of suffering, and by removing the second, one becomes omniscient.

Often referred to as poisons, these are a class of disturbing or disruptive emotional states that when aroused negatively affect or taint the mind.

Mental stains that are not inherent to the nature of the mind but are temporarily present as the residue of past actions or habitual tendencies. It is sometimes iterated as adventitious defilements (Skt. āgantukakleśa, Tib. glo bur gyi nyon mongs), which references the fickle and temporary nature of disturbing emotions that lack an ultimately established basis for existence.

Mahāyāna, or the Great Vehicle, refers to the system of Buddhist thought and practice which developed around the beginning of Common Era, focusing on the pursuit of the state of full enlightenment of the Buddha through the realization of the wisdom of emptiness and the cultivation of compassion.

Often referred to as poisons, these are a class of disturbing or disruptive emotional states that when aroused negatively affect or taint the mind.

Along with Madhyamaka, it was one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Asaṅga and Vasubandhu around the fourth century CE, many of its central tenets have roots in the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra and the so-called third turning of the dharma wheel (see tridharmacakrapravartana).

Commonly found in Dzogchen and Mahāmudrā literature, this term denotes the true, natural state of mind as it is. Often used in these traditions as a synonym for buddha-nature.

Often referred to as poisons, these are a class of disturbing or disruptive emotional states that when aroused negatively affect or taint the mind.