The Ten Mental Defilements

Ven. Nyanatiloka, Buddhist Dictionary; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Mental defilements bring pain (Oh Teik Bin).

Kilesas (Sanskrit kleshas) is the Pali language term for the "defilements."

They are mind-defiling, stultifying, dissolute, corrupting, karmically unwholesome characteristics and hindrances to progress.

The Path of Purification (Vis.M. XXII, 49, 65) states, "There are ten defilements, so called because they are themselves defiled and because they defile the mental factors associated with them:

1. 

   Purification (urbandharma.org)

   greed (passion, lobha)
2. hatred (aversion, dosa)
3. delusion (confusion, moha)
4. conceit (māna)
5. speculative views (ditthi)
6. skeptical doubt (vicikicchā)
7. mental torpor (thīna)
8. restlessness (uddhacca)
9. shamelessness (ahirika)
10. lack of moral dread (anottappa)."

• For 1 through 3, see mūla; for 4, see māna; 5, see ditthi; 6-8, see nīvarana; 9 and 10, see ahirika-anottappa.

The ten are explained in the Collection of Dhammas or Dhammasangani (Dhs. 1229f) and enumerated in The Book of Analysis or Vibhanga (Vibh. XII).

No classification of the defilements or kilesas is found in the sutras (conventional discourses), though the term occurs quite often in them.

For the related term upak-kilesa ("impurities"), different lists are given (Appendix).