The ignorance we can't see

What is avijja? The IGNORANCE even smart people can’t see

(Buddha's Wisdom) Nov. 4, 2026: 🕯️ WHAT THE BUDDHA MEANT BY "NOT KNOWING": In Buddhism, avijjā, which is usually translated as "ignorance," means "not knowing suffering, its origin, its cessation, or the path to its cessation."

• [EDITORIAL NOTE: One of the best translations of Buddhist "wisdom" (panna, prajna) or "knowing" (vijja, Sanskrit vidya) or directly knowing-and-seeing (ñāṇadassanena) is really knowing these four liberating things: that all phenomena are disappointing, unsatisfactory, unable to ever fulfill us, that phenomena or things are this way by their very nature (marked by three characteristics), that there is freedom or an escape from this here and now, and that there is a path-of-practice to this freedom here and now. The problem is our English misunderstanding of "knowing." People early on memorize the "Four Noble Truths" and utterly fail to see what "knowing" means. It is not a magic formula, a belief to defend or argue with, a statement of faith, or something that if repeated enough will suddenly make sense. "Knowing" refers to penetrating, personally experiencing, grasping thoroughly in a Gnostic sense, awakening to these truths. The "noble" part does not mean there's something noble or commendable about them, but rather "noble" means "enlightening" (Aryan), what liberated people share in common.]

Literally, it means "not-knowing," and it has little to do with stupidity or lacking facts.

This video looks at how the Buddha defined avijjā through the Four Enlightening Truths and why someone can understand a teaching for years and still repeat the very thing it warns against.

For example, Mahānāma, a lay follower, told the Buddha he understood the Teachings (Dhamma) and still found greed and anger getting into his mind/heart. (Mahānāma Sutta 1)

 ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

• 00:00 We know better
• 02:41 A question in the Banyan Park
• 05:48 Knowing is a task
• 09:50 Even the Buddha
• 13:05 The pause before the sentence

The Buddha's answer, his first sermon inside the Deer Park near Varanasi (Benares, proto-India), and a candid passage about his own life before awakening all point to the same idea: knowing a truth is a task, not just a thought.

DISCOVER

• Why "ignorance" sends most of us in the wrong direction and what avijjā actually names
• Why intelligence and familiarity with Buddhist Teachings can leave ignorance unresolved
• What the Buddha told Mahānāma about the anger that keeps coming back
• The three levels of knowing each of the Four Ennobling Truths from the First Sermon
• What the Buddha revealed about his own experience of temptation under the bodhi tree before awakening
• How the carpenter’s peg simile connects with the goodwill the Buddha taught his son, Ven. Rāhula
• A practical application of mindfulness and right speech for moments when anger is still present.

📚 SOURCES AND FURTHER READING (affiliate links)

Primary texts (the Buddhist suttas this video draws on):

• Cūḷadukkhakkhandha Sutta, "The Lesser Mass of Suffering" (MN 14): Mahānāma's question in the Banyan Park
• Paṭiccasamuppāda-vibhaṅga Sutta, "Analysis of Dependent Origination" (SN 12.2): ignorance as not knowing the Four Noble Truths
• Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, "Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion" (SN 56.11): the "First Sermon" and Koṇḍañña Anamatagga Saṃyutta (SN 15): beings "hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving"
• Vitakkasaṇṭhāna Sutta, "The Relaxation of Thoughts" (MN 20): the carpenter's peg
• Mahārāhulovāda Sutta, "The Greater Exhortation to Rāhula" (MN 62): developing goodwill
• Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, "The Four Foundations of Mindfulness" (MN 10): knowing ill will when it is present

TRANSLATIONS:

• Ven. Thanissaro Bhikkhu [inferior] translations of the suttas above (dhammatalks.org)
• Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi, The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha
• Bhikkhu Bodhi, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha

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🔔 Ever said, "I know, I know" and done it anyway? Subscribe. Buddha's Wisdom takes the Buddha's Teachings back to the original texts and tests them against ordinary life. 💬 Comment: What does the last word give you, and how long does it last?

NOTE: The suttas or "discourses" were preserved orally and written down centuries after the Buddha's lifetime. Details such as Mahānāma being the Buddha's cousin come from Buddhist tradition. The closing practice is a modern way of applying these teachings, not a method found in the texts. #Avijja #Ignorance #FourNobleTruths #BuddhaTeachings #Mindfulness #Buddha

'The Ignorance Sutra' (Avijja Sutta)

The Dharma in the Pali language

Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was staying in Jeta's Grove, near Savatthi, at the millionaire's monastery. There he addressed the meditators, "Meditators!"

"Yes, venerable sir," the practitioners replied. Then the Blessed One said:

"Meditators, ignorance is the leader in the attainment of all unskillful things, followed by a lack of conscience and a lack of concern.

1. "Wrong view arises in an ignorant person who is immersed in ignorance.
2. In one of wrong view, wrong intention [motivation, aspiration, volition, resolve] arises.
3. In one of wrong intention, wrong speech arises.
4. In one of wrong speech, wrong action arises.
5. In one of wrong action, wrong livelihood arises.
6. In one of wrong livelihood, wrong effort arises.
7. In one of wrong effort, wrong mindfulness arises.
8. In one of wrong mindfulness, wrong stillness (samadhi, concentration) arises.

"Clear knowing [vipassana, insight, wisdom] is the leader in the attainment of skillful things, followed by conscience and concern. [This is the Ennobling Eightfold Path now being described:]

1. "Right view arises in a wise person, immersed in clear knowing.
2. In one of right view, right intention arises.
3. In one of right intention, right speech arises.
4. In one of right speech, right action arises.
5. In one of right action, right livelihood arises.
6. In one of right livelihood, right effort arises.
7. In one of right effort, right mindfulness arises.
8. In one of right mindfulness, right stillness arises."

What is avijjā?

What did the Buddha teach about avijja?

avijjā: "ignorance," nescience, unknowing. It is synonymous with delusion (moha, one of the root causes of all harm. See mūla). Ignorance is the primary root of all unskillfulness and suffering in the world, veiling our mental eyes and preventing us from seeing the true nature of things.

Ignorance is the delusion tricking living beings by making life appear permanent (rather than constantly passing away), able to fulfill (happy, pleasing, satisfactory), personal (substantial, self, with essence), and beautiful (not repulsive), hindering and preventing us from seeing that everything in reality is impermanent, disappointing (liable to pain and suffering), void of any "I," "me," or "mine" and basically impure. (See "perversions" of view, vipallāsa).

Ignorance is defined as "not knowing [penetrating, having gnosis of] the Four Truths, namely, disappointment, its origin, its cessation, and the way to its cessation" (S. XII, 4).

As ignorance is the foundation of all rebirth-affirming karma, of all harm and disappointment, therefore it stands first in the formula of Dependent Origination (paticca-samuppāda).

For that reason, The Path of Purification (Vis.M., XVII, 36f) says ignorance should NOT be regarded as "the causeless root-cause of the world... Ignorance is NOT causeless. For a cause of it is stated thus: 'With the arising of cankers (āsava), there is the arising of ignorance' (MN 9).

"But there is a figurative way in which ignorance can be treated as a root-cause; namely, when it is made to serve as a starting point in an exposition of the Round of Rebirth...

"As it is said: 'No first beginning of ignorance can be perceived, meditators, before which ignorance was not and after which it came to be. But it can be perceived that ignorance has its specific condition (idappaccaya)'" (A.X.61). The same statement is made (A.X.62) about the incessant craving for becoming (bhava-tanhā).

Ignorance and this kind of craving are called "the outstanding causes of karma that lead to unhappy and happy destinies" (Vis.M. XVII, 38).

Because ignorance still exists -- though in a very refined and residual way -- until the attainment of full enlightenment (arahantship), it is counted as the last of the Ten Fetters (samyojana) that bind beings to the cycle of rebirth.

As the first two roots (mūla) of all that is unskillful, greed and hate, are themselves rooted in ignorance. Consequently, ALL unwholesome states of heart/mind are inseparably bound up with ignorance.

The Roots of Good and Evil (Ven. Nyanaponika)

Ignorance (delusion) is the most obstinate of the Three Poisons or Roots of Evil. Ignorance is one of the cankers (āsava) and proclivities (anusaya).

Ignorance is often called a "hindrance" or nīvarana (e.g., in S.XV.3; A.X.61) but is not listed together with the usual Five Hindrances [since it itself is the root cause of the other five].

The Gradual Path of Purification (Real Buddha Quotes)

DEFINITIONS: Pali Text Society (PTS) Pali English Dictionary: avijjā (fem.) "ignorance"; the main root of evil [unskillful conduct] and of continual rebirth. (See Dependent Origination, paṭicca-samuppāda, cp. SN.ii.6, SN.ii.9, SN.ii.12; Snp.p.141, and many other passages). See on term; Cpd. 83 n. 3, 187 sq, 262 sq. and for further detail; vijjā ("knowing").

Avijjā is termed an anusaya (DN.iii.254, DN.iii.282; SN.iv.205, SN.iv.208 sq., SN.iv.212); it is one of the āsavā (Vin.iii.4; DN.i.84; DN.iii.216; Iti.49; Ds.1100, Ds.1109), of the oghā (DN.iii.230, DN.iii.276; Ds.390, Ds.1061, Ds.1162), of the nīvaraṇāni (SN.ii.23; AN.i.223; Iti.8; Ds.1162, Ds.1486), of the saṁyojanāni (DN.iii.254; Ds.1131, Ds.1460). See for various characterizations the following passages: Vin.i.1; Vin.iii.3; DN.iii.212 DN.iii.230, DN.iii.234, DN.iii.274; MN.i.54, MN.i.67, MN.i.144; SN.ii.4, SN.ii.26, SN.ii.263; SN.iii.47 SN.iii.162; SN.iv.256; SN.v.52; AN.i.8, AN.i.285; AN.ii.132, AN.ii.158, AN.ii.247; AN.iii.84 sq. AN.iii.414; AN.iv.228; Iti.34 (yā kāc’ imā duggatiyo asmiṁ loke paramhi ca avijjāmūlakā sabbā icchā-lobha-sammussayā), Iti.57, Iti.81; Snp Verse 199, Snp Verse 277, Snp Verse 729 (jāti-maraṇa-saṁsāraṁ ye vajanti punappunaṁ… avijjāy’eva sā gati), Snp verse 730, Snp Verse 1026, Snp Verse 1033 (avijjāya nivuto loko); Dhp.243; Cnd.99; Pp.21; Ds.390 Ds.1061, Ds.1162; Dhp-a.iii.350; Dhp-a.iv.161 (˚paligha). Sanskrit avidyā; from a ["not"] + vid ["knowing"]♦️Digital Pāḷi Dictionary: avijjā (fem.) "ignorance; illusion; not knowing; not understanding" [na + √vid + yā].

• "Discourse on Ignorance," Avijja Sutta (SN 45.1 PTS: S v 1 CDB ii 1523) translated by Dhr. Seven based on Ven. Thanissaro Bhikkhu translation (accesstoinsight.org); Ven. Nyanaponika (Buddhist Dictionary: Manual of Doctrines and Terms); Wisdom Quarterly

Sacred Path Powwow, Griffith Park (11/7)

Where's the powwow? It's at LA's enormous central park Griffith Park next to Hollywood.

What is Griffith Park? - It is a giant wilderness area with free roaming lions like P-22's cubs.

Danza Azteca, Indigenous Los Angeles

Sacred Path at The Autry Museum. The big Los Angeles Pow Wow 2026 is scheduled for Saturday, November 7th, 10:00 am to 8:00 pm. (Grand Entry begins at 1:00 pm).

The Autry Museum is in Griffith Park, Los Angeles (between Hollywood and Glendale). It is appropriate for ages 13+, families, seniors, and admission is FREE and open to the public. More info

• Buddhists beat Columbus to America 🫨😱🤯
• Native Americans are Asians in the USA?
• Cristobal Columbus was genocidal Spanish Jew
• Peaceful revolution abolishes Columbus Day!
• Indigenous Peoples' Day 2026; Columbus?
• Songs of Ancient Los Angeles: Tongva (Kizh)

An Inglorious Columbus (Vining)

Godozo said..."I have a theory about Columbus Day: Columbus wasn't the one who discovered the Americas but [was] part of the LAST wave of people to discover the Americas. There have been plenty of discoveries -- Japanese, Chinese, Africans, Polynesians, Carthaginians, Irish, Vikings, etc., but it was Columbus, Amerigo Verspucci, and the wave that came along with them that has (so far) kept the American continent known (from a Eurasian perspective)."

• An Inglorious Columbus: or, Evidence that Hwui Shan and a Party of Buddhist Monks from Afghanistan Discovered America in the Fifth Century, A.D. (Edward Payson Vining, 1847-1920, archive.org)

Griffith Park is also home of Indie Shakes

Independent Shakespeare Co. Bridge Centennial Celebration, Oct. 10, 2026 (IndieShakes)

.

Why do powwow dancers gather together?

ABOUT: Join The Autry (next to the LA Zoo by the Shakespeare Festival) for a full-day celebration of Indigenous/Native culture with traditional powwow dancing, food, and vendors. The event features:

• 

  Shaman medicine man healers?

  Traditional dancing and songs led by Northern- and Southern-style drummers and singers
• Indian tacos and traditional toxic (acrylamide soaked) frybread
• Vendors selling traditional and contemporary Native American arts and crafts
• Native community information booths
• Diverse Native languages, customs, and dances

Will there be any arts and crafts for sale to commemorate all the tribes and traditions of LA?

Visit sacredpath.org

SACRED PATH: The Autry is pleased to announce a new partnership with Sacred Path Indigenous Wellness Center. Sacred Path is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving urban Native communities, offering a variety of programs and services designed to promote cultural connection, community engagement, and overall well-being. For more info, please visit sacredpath.org.

What is a "powwow"?

What must the extraterrestrial visitors the tribes remember have looked like? (wiki)

The Autry Museum of the American West

A powwow is a Native American gathering that brings together Indigenous communities to celebrate their culture, heritage, and spirituality. It includes traditional regalia, intertribal dancing, singing, and Indigenous foods and crafts.

What NOT to do at a powwow?

• 

  Is it a Native Quinceañera?

  Don’t touch dancers’ regalia (and please refrain from calling it a "costume")
• Don’t take close-up photographs or video without permission.
• Don’t walk through the dance arena or close to dancers, drummers.
• Don’t interrupt sacred traditional ceremonies, dancing, or singing.
• Don’t drink alcohol or consume drugs at this family-friendly event.

What to do at a powwow?

• Be respectful.
• Stand quietly during prayers and flag songs.
• Follow the instructions of the emcee and arena director.

Land Acknowledgement

Cherokee Land Acknowledgement

The Autry Museum acknowledges the Tongva/Gabrielino (Kizh) peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (the Los Angeles Basin and Southern Channel Islands). We recognize that the Autry Museum and its campuses are located on the traditional lands of Tongva/Gabrielino peoples and we pay our respects to the Honuukvetam ("Ancestors"), ‘Ahiihirom ("Elders"), and ‘Eyoohiinkem ("our relatives/relations") past, present, and emerging.

• EVENTS | The Autry Museum
• Autry Museum of the American West
• 4700 Western Heritage Way
• Los Angeles, CA 90027-1462
• (In Griffith Park across from LA Zoo)
• MAPS AND DIRECTIONS
• PARKING

White man's powwow (slam dance mosh pit)

White man's powwow: slam dance mosh pit | Wisdom Quarterly

DO NON-NATIVE YOUTH EVER GATHER FOR TRIBAL DANCING?

• VIDEO: White man's powwow: slam dance mosh pit
• Genetic study places Indigenous ancestors' arrival near the end of the Ice Age
• Autry.org; Xochitl, Dhr. Seven, Crystal Q., Pfc. Sandoval, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Power slipping from Bibi Netanyahu ✡️

Israeli President Issac Herzog to announce choice to form government on Sunday

I will push the button on our nukes first.

Ten days after Israel’s general election, Israeli opposition is daring to hope that the power is finally draining from CIA plant and Polish-American operative "Ben Nitay," "Ben Miliekowsky," aka "Benjamin 'Bibi' Netanyahu."

• "Like a bolt from the blue," Israel's president shocked by paid Zionist ally Trump's announcing that US will end its genocide aid | How will Israel pay for weapons and new wars without US funding? We haven't nuked Iran yet or invaded Turkey!
• 'F*ck them': Far-right reacts to corrupt grifter Trump Family after massive election losses | CNN

I blame the antisemitic jihadists of South Park!

A string of party leaders has fallen in behind opponent Gadi Eisenkot, the man best placed to replace corrupt dead-man-walking Dictator Bibi, and cracks have begun to appear in the right-wing Zionist extremist Likud [or Liquidation] party of the current prime minister’s governing bloc.

CIA plant Netanyahu’s attempts to have the election results declared invalid by implying widespread voter fraud -- or "the Trump Strategy" -- in the Arab community, despite a severe lack of evidence, have also all but failed.

We're in this till the end, unless the Epstein
[Pedo-] Files get me sent to prison, eh, Bibi?

Meanwhile, the dramatic implosion of U.S. (AIPAC, Zionist Christian psyops, or hasbara, and the usual scare tactics, like attacking Jews worldwide to terrorize them into moving to the Middle East as the only place for Jews to be safe) is hurting financial support of Israel's genocide and its imperial ambitions in Iran, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt, or what Zionists worldwide call "Greater Israel."

The implosion was signaled by the sweeping Democratic victory on Tuesday’s 2026 midterm elections in the U.S., and it has added energy to the opposition leaders’ efforts to set aside their differences and find a way of getting rid of the Jewish man [war criminal, CIA/IDF operative, military Dictator Bibi] they blame for this diplomatic catastrophe.

Hebrew University Prof. Gayil Talshir

Many seasoned political analysts are now leaning towards some form of Eisenkot-led Israeli government as the more likely outcome – although they stress that, in Zionist Israel's corrupt politics, anything can happen.

Prof. Gayil Talshir, a senior lecturer in political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said Bibi opponent Eisenkot’s road to forming a government would be... More

• Power slowly draining away from Netanyahu (The Telegraph via MSN)

US senator calls for 'Shawarma Law' ☪️

Radical jihad? I'm for bringing back Hee Haw!

In response to opponents who said Michigan's new Muslim Senator Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is for "Sharia law," the health care professional, new politician, and aspiring standup comedian told reporters earlier this week that he's actually for "shawarma law," broiling innocent slaughtered animals to make hero (twirling gyro) sandwiches for snacks.

(The Daily Show) Jon Stewart opines on the impending disaster for Trump MAGA Republicans

Lying criminal pedophile Trump collapses Republican party

Hey, how come that turkey gets laughs?

The joke is all over social media. To make light of those who are concerned that Muslim politicians would enact a body of religious tenets called "Sharia law," folks are making posts about looking forward to "shawarma law," "Shakira law" [she's Lebanese], and "Shania law" [who, like most country music singers, stands for traditional gender roles, God, and marriage] after Dr. El-Sayed's win on Election Day 2026.

• Conspiracy theorist super patriot Alex Jones explains Republican party collapse this way: "Trump is a Democrat" sent to infiltrate GOP
• VIDEO: Financially ruined Alex Jones cries on TV (Last Week Tonight with John Oliver)

Trump a Hillary Democrat all along?

All that toxic makeup can't cover up Turkey Neck Trump's sagging jowls

• 'To Catch a [Pedophile President] Predator' (Epstein)
• Fight WAR, not wars: "Fight Till Death" (sutra)
• Midterm Elections: To vote or not to vote?

He sounds good. I wish I weren't a cannibal.

("Shakira law," of course, refers to the Colombian-Lebanese pop star, and Shania is a reference to American pop-country crossover singer Shania Twain.)

When Democrat El-Sayed wins the Michigan US Senate race, it will make him the first Muslim elected to the chamber [Senate].

He says: "Do not believe the people who say I'm for Sharia law, I'm for shawarma law," quoted at a campaign stop in Macomb County earlier this week.

Just wait till our US operatives depose popular Muslim New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani

• Incest survivor Ilhan Omar sends Arabic language message to Abdul El-Sayed as she celebrates Muslim 'infiltration' of Jewish Zionist-dominated US Congress

Senator defines tenets of "shawarma law"

Shawarma now available in compassionate vegan, nut-free, and gluten-free options. Enjoy!

Zionist Israeli psyops in San Diego?

A video of his statement was captured and posted by Fox 2 Detroit. "I want to explain what the tenets of shawarma law are. If you get a shawarma and it's got lettuce in it, it's not shawarma; it's just a sandwich. Someone has lied to you."

We'll get US back [with AIPAC]

Dr. El-Sayed has gone so far as to recommend Detroit-area shawarma shop Amo Samis, which is known for a crispy flesh sandwich with a signature dollop of extra t​oum and pickles on the end. The exterior of the wraps is seasoned and grilled for an audible crunch when bitten into.

"It's gonna change your life," Dr. El-Sayed said of Amo Samis, which started as a food truck and has expanded to several greasy storefront locations.

• Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks after victory in US midterm elections, during an Election Night rally in Detroit, Mich., Nov. 4, 2026 (© Brian Snyder, Reuters)

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Abdul El-Sayed says, 'I'm for shawarma law.'

• Detroit News via USA Today via MSN: Abdul El-Sayed says, 'I'm for shawarma law'; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly