defilements

Defilements are mental states or dispositions that taint the mind, distort perception, and hinder ethical conduct and spiritual progress. The term is used in various Indian religious and philosophical traditions to denote conditions that pollute awareness and lead to unskillful actions, suffering, and cycles of rebirth. Defilements can be described as internal obstacles rather than mere external dirt, and they are often addressed through cultivation of opposite qualities such as mindfulness, wisdom, and virtue.

In Buddhist thought, defilements (often called kilesa or klesa) are central to understanding the path to liberation. The most cited defilements are the three poisons: greed or attachment (lobha), hatred or aversion (dosa), and delusion or ignorance (moha). These root afflictions give rise to other unwholesome mental states—such as doubt, conceit, envy, restlessness, and sloth—that complicate discernment and reinforce the cycle of suffering. Practices such as ethical restraint, meditation, and study aim to recognize and uproot defilements, gradually replacing them with wholesome qualities like generosity, compassion, and wisdom.

Other traditions, including certain Hindu and Jain frameworks, distinguish between moral defilement and ritual impurity, acknowledging both inner dispositions and external conditions that contaminate purity concepts. Across these contexts, defilements are viewed as obstacles to spiritual clarity, and their management involves disciplined practice, self-inquiry, and ethical living.

See also: kilesa, impurity, purification, mindfulness.