➥ āsava:

• for āsava (singular):
  • perceptual obscuration
• for āsavā (plural):
  • perceptually obscuring states
• for kāmāsava:
  • perceptual obscuration due to pursuing sensuous pleasure
• for bhavāsava:
  • perceptual obscuration due to pursuing individual existence
• for avijjāsava:
  • perceptual obscuration due to uninsightfulness into reality
• for sāsava:
  • associated with perceptually obscuring states
• for khīṇāsava:
  • one whose āsavas are destroyed
• āsavā: perceptually obscuring states
• āsavānaṁ: perceptually obscuring states
• sāsavo: perceptually obscuring states
• sāsavaṁ: associated with perceptually obscuring states
• āsavesu: perceptually obscuring states

Singular forms of āsava commonly indicate the uncountable noun (‘perceptual obscuration’). Plural forms indicate the countable noun (‘perceptually obscuring states’).

On translating ‘āsava’

• The PED says āsavas ‘intoxicate the mind, bemuddle it, befoozle it, so that it cannot rise to higher things’ but it admits the ‘difficulty of translating the term.’
• Horner says āsava has ‘always been a problem to translators’ (MLS.1.xxiii). She calls it ‘canker’ because ‘I have come on no other translation that seems preferable,’ and by which she means ‘anything that frets, corrodes, corrupts, or consumes slowly and secretly.’
• Mrs. Rhys Davids also accepts ‘canker.’ She says that in canker ‘we lose the liquid meaning, the permeation, as of ink on blotting-paper, and which is kept in view in “intoxicants,” “drugs,” “floods,” “poisons”’ (GS.3.ix).

But because āsavas are defiling (saṅkilesikā), they are sometimes called ‘taints.’ And sometimes the word is left untranslated, for example by Norman (in The Group of Discourses), by Malalasekera (in The Buddhist Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names) and even by the Pāli dictionaries themselves. For example, the DOP renderings are:

• āsavakkhaya: ‘destruction of the āsavas’
• āsavakhīṇa: ‘with āsavas destroyed; free of the āsavas’
• āsavaṭṭhānīya, being a basis or cause of the āsavas
• anāsava: ‘free of the āsavas’
• sāsava: ‘connected with the āsavas’

Primary sense: outflow and intoxicating product

The ‘liquid meaning’ is supported by the primary sense of āsava, which is found as an alternative reading in certain Pāli editions, namely ‘discharge from a sore.’ This is illustrated in the following passage, where the PTS and VRI alternative reading for assandati (to ooze) is āsavaṁ deti (to ‘give an outflow’):

• When a sore is beaten with a stick or shard, it oozes (or, ‘gives an outflow’) all the more.

duṭṭhārukā kaṭṭhena vā kaṭhalena vā ghaṭṭitā bhiyyosomattāya assandati (āsavaṁ deti). (AN i 127)

However, āsava has another primary sense, namely ‘intoxicating product’ which can be seen in the definition of alcoholic spirits (merayo), as follows:

• Alcoholic spirits means the intoxicating product of flowers, fruits, honey, sugar’

Merayo nāma pupphāsavo phalāsavo madhvāsavo guḷāsavo. (Vin.4.110)

T.W. Rhys Davids was unaware of this definition when in 1899 he said:

• ’Unfortunately, the word āsava has not been yet found in its concrete, primary, sense; unless indeed Buddhaghosa's statement (at Asl. 48) that well seasoned spirituous liquors were called āsavā be taken literally. It is therefore impossible to be sure what is the simile that underlies the use of the word in its secondary, ethical sense. Perhaps after all it is the idea of overwhelming intoxication, and not of flood or taint or ooze, that we ought to consider’ (Dialogues.1.92 n.3).

When the Buddha was conversing with bhikkhus over the body of the inebriated venerable Sāgata, he asked them:

• But would one have deranged perception (visaññi assā) if one drunk only that which may be drunk?”

Api nu kho bhikkhave taṁ pātabbaṁ yaṁ pivitvā visaññi assā ti. (Vin.4.110)

If āsava is the basis of alcoholic deranged perception, the same term was likely used in reference to the spiritual defilements that are the bases of the mental derangement that we will call ‘perceptual obscuration,’ concerning which the Buddha said:

• Those beings are hard to find in the world who can claim to be free of mental illness even for a moment except the one whose āsavas are destroyed.

Te bhikkhave sattā dullabhā lokasmiṁ ye cetasikena rogena muhuttampi ārogyaṁ paṭijānanti aññatra khīṇāsavehi. (AN ii 143)

The obscuring nature of āsavas

In this Glossary āsavas are called ‘perceptually obscuring states’ (plural) or perceptual obscuration (singular) because of the obscuring role they play in perception, and which is illustrated in paṭiccasamuppāda, as follows:

• With the origination of perceptual obscuration comes the origination of uninsightfulness into reality

āsavasamudayā avijjāsamudayo. (MN i 46-56)

The obscuring role of āsavas is also described in terms of sammūḷho, like this:

• It is through the non-abandonment of perceptually obscuring states that one is undiscerning of reality

Āsavānaṁ hi aggivessana appahānā sammūḷho hoti. (MN i 250)

• It is through the abandonment of perceptually obscuring states that one is discerning of reality.

Āsavānaṁ hi aggivessana pahānā asammūḷho hoti. (MN i 250)

Singulars and plurals

In the scriptures, āsava moves freely between singulars and plurals. For example, the Sammādiṭṭhi Sutta (MN i 55) asks:

• And what is perceptual obscuration? What is the origin of perceptual obscuration?

Katamo panāvuso āsavo? Katamo āsavasamudayo?

The answer is:

• There are these three states of perceptual obscuration:

Tayo’me āvuso āsavā

1) perceptual obscuration due to pursuing sensuous pleasure

kāmāsavo

2) perceptual obscuration due to pursuing individual existence

bhavāsavo

3) perceptual obscuration due to uninsightfulness into reality

avijjāsavo.

Horner stays true to the singular/plural, but the result is awkward, and her translation stumbles in the opening questions, which involve an uncountable noun, not a countable noun:

• ‘And what, your reverences, is a canker? What the uprising of a canker?.’.. Your reverences, there are these three cankers: the canker of sense-pleasures, the canker of becoming, the canker of ignorance.’

Bodhi deals with the problem by pluralising:

• ‘And what are the taints? What is the origin of the taints? There are these three taints: the taint of sensuous desire, the taint of being, and the taint of ignorance.’

But Pāli grammars do not support pluralising. This counts against most renderings of āsava because they are unuseable without it, including: ‘intoxicants,’ ‘drugs,’ ‘floods,’ ‘poisons.’

How many āsavas?

In the scriptures there are two categories of āsavas:

• 1) A broad, undefined category which includes a wide range of defilements. The pañca nīvaraṇā are practically part of this category. This category of āsavas are gradually worn down from stream-entry onwards. We will discuss these points in due course.
• 2) A narrow, well-defined category which is clearly differentiated from the pañca nīvaraṇā and occurs in the scriptures only in relation to arahantship. In this narrow, well-defined category there are three āsavas: kāmāsavo bhavāsavo and avijjāsavo. Diṭṭhāsavo is controversial. It occurs just once in the scriptures (at AN iv 179), and in a note to this passage (NDB n.1649) Bodhi says the word occurs only in the Sinhala edition, not the Roman or Burmese editions. Furthermore, elsewhere in the Sinhala edition, parallel passages make no reference to diṭṭhāsavo. Thus the occurrence at AN iv 179 is likely interpolative. Hence, like Bodhi, we discount it.

The connective in kāmāsavo, bhavāsavo, and avijjāsavo

The terms kāmāsavo bhavāsavo and avijjāsavo are commonly translated with the connective ‘of.’ For example, Bodhi says ‘the taint of sensuality,’ ‘the taint of existence’ and ‘the taint of ignorance.’ But the scriptures say the connective is paccayā ‘due to.’ For example, in the Vappa Sutta (AN ii 196-7) the Buddha divides āsavas into two groups:

• 1) āsavas which arise due to harmful conduct of body, speech, or mind (kāya… vacī… manosamārambhapaccayā uppajjanti āsavā) and which do not exist in one who abstains from such endeavours (kāya… vacī… manosamārambhā paṭiviratassa evaṁsa te āsavā vighātapariḷāhā na honti).
• 2) āsavas which arise due to avijjā (avijjāpaccayā uppajjanti āsavā) and when avijjā vanishes and vijjā arises (avijjāvirāgā vijjuppādā), those vexatious and anguishing āsavas do not exist in him (evaṁsa te āsavā vighātapariḷāhā na honti).

Translating kāmāsavo, bhavāsavo, and avijjāsavo

The twofold division of the Vappa Sutta should be compared to the usual threefold division (DN iii 216), namely:

• 1) kāmāsavo
• 2) bhavāsavo
• 3) avijjāsavo

Here, avijjāsavo corresponds to avijjāpaccayā uppajjanti āsavā, and kāmāsavo and bhavāsavo would then necessarily correspond to kāya… vacī… manosamārambhapaccayā uppajjanti āsavā because the division is comprehensive. There are no āsavas outside this twofold division. We infer from this that:

• avijjāsavo means the āsavo that arises due to avijjā.
• kāmāsavo means the āsavo that arises due to endeavour by body, speech, or mind in relation to sensuous pleasure, which we will call ‘the āsava due to pursuing sensuous pleasure.’
• bhavāsavo means the āsavo that arises due to endeavour by body, speech, or mind in relation to states of individual existence, which we will call ‘the āsava due to pursuing individual existence.’

Because we render āsava as ‘perceptual obscuration,’ these become:

• avijjāsavo: perceptual obscuration due to avijjā.
• kāmāsavo: perceptual obscuration due to pursuing sensuous pleasure.’
• bhavāsavo: perceptual obscuration due to pursuing individual existence.

Here the sources of āsavas are not themselves āsavas. Thus avijjāsava does not mean the āsava of avijjā but the āsava due to avijjā; and so on. This is in accordance with paṭiccasamuppāda which says āsava is due to avijjā (avijjāsamudayā āsavasamudayo (MN i 55).

We also see that āsavas are either paccayā uppajjanti āsavā (‘āsavas due to’) or samārambhapaccayā uppajjanti āsavā (‘āsavas due to pursuing’) the former occurring with avijjā the latter with acts of body, speech, and mind (kāya… vacī… mano).

Translating āsavā plural

In the cases above, āsava is in the singular case, indicating a state of perceptual obscuration (singular) due to some condition. But in the Nissāraṇīya Sutta (AN iii 245) the āsavas are paccayā uppajjanti āsavā indicating perceptually obscuring states (plural) due to some condition. We have seen above that, when not associated with avijjā, āsavas are samārambhapaccayā uppajjanti āsavā, i.e. ‘perceptually obscuring states that arise due to pursuing.’ But in relation to mental factors like ill will or maliciousness, to have these states is to pursue them. Therefore we will refer to ‘perceptually obscuring states that arise due to ill will or maliciousness’ rather than ‘perceptually obscuring states that arise due to pursuing ill will or maliciousness.’ Accordingly, the Nissāraṇīya Sutta can be translated as follows:

• kāmapaccayā uppajjanti āsavā: perceptually obscuring states that arise due to pursuing sensuous pleasure
• vyāpādapaccayā uppajjanti āsavā: perceptually obscuring states that arise due to ill will
• vihesāpaccayā uppajjanti āsavā: perceptually obscuring states that arise due to maliciousness
• rūpapaccayā uppajjanti āsavā: perceptually obscuring states that arise due to pursuing refined material states of awareness
• sakkāyapaccayā uppajjanti āsavā: perceptually obscuring states that arise due to pursuing personal identity.

Potaliya Sutta: paccayā uppajjanti āsavā

The Potaliya Sutta (MN i 361) is another sutta where the connective is paccayā uppajjanti. It says that ‘whereas vexatious and anguishing perceptually obscuring states would arise due to killing, there are no vexatious and anguishing perceptually obscuring states in abstaining from it.’

The same is said of stealing, lying, malicious speech, rapacious greed (giddhilobho), spiteful scolding (nindāroso), angry despair (kodhūpāyāso) and arrogance (atimāno). Here the words ‘pursuing’ is again redundant. To kill is to pursue killing. To be arrogant is to pursue arrogance.

Ārabhati Sutta: ārambhajā āsavā

The Ārabhati Sutta (AN iii 165) says āsavas are ‘born of.’ For example, if someone kills and is conscience-stricken, he should be advised that perceptually obscuring states born of killing are found in him (ārambhajā āsavā saṁvijjanti), and perceptually obscuring states born of an uneasy conscience are developing (vippaṭisārajā āsavā pavaḍḍhanti). But to say that āsavas are ‘born of’ certain conditions is the same as saying they are ‘due to’ those conditions, which is our preferred phrasing.

How pursuit leads to āsavas

The way that pursuit leads to āsavas can be seen throughout the scriptures. For example:

1) There is the quality of loveliness. Much improper contemplation in that regard is a condition that nourishes both the arising of unarisen sensuous hankering, and the increase and expansion of arisen sensuous hankering.

Atthi bhikkhave subhanimittaṁ. Tattha ayoniso manasikārabahulīkāro ayamāhāro anuppannassa vā kāmacchandassa uppādāya uppannassa vā kāmacchandassa bhiyyobhāvāya vepullāya. (SN v 105)

2) And what are the issues that should not be contemplated that he contemplates?

Katame ca bhikkhave dhammā na manasikaraṇīyā ye dhamme manasikaroti?

… Whatever issues that, when he contemplates them:

… unarisen perceptual obscuration due to pursuing sensuous pleasure arises, and arisen perceptual obscuration due to pursuing sensuous pleasure increases

anuppanno vā kāmāsavo uppajjati uppanno vā kāmāsavo pavaḍḍhati

… unarisen perceptual obscuration due to pursuing individual existence arises, and arisen perceptual obscuration due to pursuing individual existence increases

anuppanno vā bhavāsavo uppajjati uppanno vā bhavāsavo pavaḍḍhati

… unarisen perceptual obscuration due to uninsightfulness into reality arises, and arisen perceptual obscuration due to uninsightfulness into reality increases.

anuppanno vā avijjāsavo uppajjati uppanno vā avijjāsavo pavaḍḍhati. (MN i 7)

3) In this regard a bhikkhu, properly reflecting, abides with the faculty of sight restrained through restraint [of grasping, through mindfulness]. The vexatious and anguishing perceptually obscuring states that would arise if he were to abide with the faculty of sight unrestrained through unrestraint [of grasping, through mindfulness] do not arise for him when he abides with the faculty of sight restrained through restraint [of grasping, through mindfulness].

Idha bhikkhave bhikkhu paṭisaṅkhā yoniso cakkhundriyasaṁvarasaṁvuto viharati. Yaṁ hi'ssa bhikkhave cakkhundriyasaṁvaraṁ asaṁvutassa viharato uppajjeyyuṁ āsavā vighātapariḷāhā cakkhundriyasaṁvarasaṁvutassa viharato evaṁsa te āsavā vighātapariḷāhā na honti. (MN i 9)

Sāsavo: ‘associated with perceptually obscuring states’

Sometimes the scriptures use the term sāsavo, which we render as ‘associated with perceptually obscuring states.’ For example, the Sāsava Sutta (AN v 242) says the factors of the wrong tenfold path are ‘associated with perceptually obscuring states.’

…

micchādiṭṭhi… micchāvimutti. Ayaṁ vuccati bhikkhave sāsavo dhammo

Whereas right factors are ‘free of perceptually obscuring states’

sammādiṭṭhi… sammāvimutti. Ayaṁ vuccati bhikkhave anāsavo dhammo ti.

The Sāsavadhamma Sutta (AN v 275) defines the issue in terms of acts, not path factors. It says that although unrighteous acts, like killing, are ‘associated with perceptually obscuring states’ (sāsavo dhammo) righteous acts, like refraining from killing, are not (anāsavo dhammo).

Here, unrighteous acts include stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, malicious speech, harsh speech, frivolous speech, greed (abhijjhā), ill will (vyāpādo), and wrong view [of reality] (micchādiṭṭhi).

Sabbāsava Sutta: examples of āsavas

We will now give specific examples of āsavas. The Sabbāsava Sutta (MN i 9) lists the first three ties to individual existence (saṁyojanāni):

• the view of personal identity

sakkāyadiṭṭhi

• doubt [about the excellence of the teaching]

vicikicchā

• adherence to observances and practices

sīlabbataparāmāso

It says when the noble disciple reflects on the four noble truths these ties to individual existence are abandoned, and calls them ‘perceptually obscuring states to be abandoned by seeing’ (i.e. by seeing the four noble truths).

These three ties are therefore āsavas, perceptually obscuring states.

Chabbisodhana Sutta: examples of āsavas

The Chabbisodhana Sutta (MN iii 32) says an arahant may be asked in what way he knows and sees with regard to the six senses and their objects, that through being without grasping his mind is liberated [from perceptually obscuring states] (imesu chasu ajjhattikabāhiresu āyatanesu anupādāya āsavehi cittaṁ vimuttan ti).

He would reply that through the destruction, fading away, ending, giving up, and relinquishment (khayā virāgā nirodhā cāgā paṭinissaggā) of

• fondness (chando),
• attachment (rāgo),
• spiritually fettering delight (nandi),
• craving (taṇhā),
• clinging and grasping (upayupādānā),
• obstinate adherence, stubborn attachment, and identification (cetaso adhiṭṭhānābhinivesānusayā)

regarding the visual sense, visible objects, etc (cakkhusmiṁ āvuso rūpe cakkhuviññāṇe cakkhuviññāṇaviññātabbesu dhammesu) he knows that his mind is liberated [from perceptually obscuring states] (vimuttaṁ me cittan ti pajānāmi).

Thus fondness, attachment etc are āsavas, perceptually obscuring states.

Dutiya Bhikkhu Sutta: examples of āsavas

The Dutiya Bhikkhu Sutta (SN v 8) equates destruction of perceptually obscuring states to the elimination of rāga, dosa, and moha:

• The elimination of attachment, hatred, and undiscernment of reality: the destruction of perceptually obscuring states is spoken of in that way.

rāgavinayo dosavinayo mohavinayo ti āsavānaṁ khayo tena vuccatī ti.

Thus rāga, dosa, and moha are āsavas, perceptually obscuring states.

Sabbāsava and Kuṇḍaliya Suttas: examples of āsavas

Some examples of āsavas can be derived from comparison of texts. For example, the Sabbāsava Sutta says

‘vexatious and anguishing āsavas would arise if one were to abide with an uncontrolled faculty of sight.

cakkhundriyasaṁvaraṁ asaṁvutassa viharato uppajjeyyuṁ āsavā vighātapariḷāhā. (MN i 9)

The Kuṇḍaliya Sutta (SN v 73) explains what those āsavas are. It says if there is restraint of the sense faculties [from grasping, through mindfulness] (indriyasaṁvaro) one does not long for (nābhijjhati) or get excited by (nābhihaṁsati) or become attached to (na rāgaṁ janeti) delightful objects, nor become disconcerted by (na maṅku hoti), daunted (apatitthinacitto), dejected (adīnamanaso) or unbenevolent (avyāpannacetaso) regarding objectionable objects.

Longing, excitement, and attachment are therefore āsavas, perceptually obscuring states. And so are disconcertedness, dauntedness, dejectedness, and ill will (‘unbenevolence’).

Devadattavipatti and Dutiyalokadhamma Suttas: examples of āsavas

The Devadattavipatti Sutta (AN iv 161) says a bhikkhu should abide continuously mastering (abhibhuyya abhibhuyya vihareyya) the eight worldly conditions (acquisition, loss, prestige, imprestige etc), otherwise vexatious and anguishing āsavas will arise (uppajjeyyuṁ āsavā vighātapariḷāhā).

The Dutiyalokadhamma Sutta (AN iv 157) explains what those āsavas are. It says that instead of reflecting on the nature of the eight worldly conditions (so ca kho anicco dukkho vipariṇāmadhammo ti), the ignorant Everyman welcomes (anurujjhati) what he likes and rejects (paṭivirujjhati) what he dislikes.

Therefore welcoming and rejecting are āsavas, perceptually obscuring states.

Sampasādaniya Sutta: examples of āsavas

The Sampasādaniya Sutta (DN iii 112) says the nine psychic powers, for example multiplying one’s body, are associated with perceptually obscuring states and with attachment (iddhi yā sāsavā saupadhikā). The association of sāsavā and saupadhikā suggests the two words are associated in meaning, and that attachment (upadhi) is therefore an āsava, a perceptually obscuring state.

Jatukaṇṇī Sutta: examples of āsavas

The Jatukaṇṇī Sutta says:

• For one completely free of greed for immaterial-factors-and-bodily-form, brahman, there are no āsavas by reason of which he would go into the power of death.

Sabbaso nāmarūpasmiṁ vītagedhassa brāhmaṇa
Āsavāssa na vijjanti yehi maccuvasaṁ vaje ti. (Snp 1100)

Greed (gedha) is therefore an āsava, a perceptually obscuring state.

Mahācattārīsaka Sutta: examples of āsavas

The Mahācattārīsaka Sutta (MN iii 72) says the eightfold path is twofold: one aspect is ‘associated with perceptually obscuring states, that is meritorious and results in attachment’ (sāsavo puññabhāgiyo upadhivepakko), the other aspect is not (ariyo anāsavo). The meaning āsava here is to be found in the word upadhivepakkā, ‘result in attachment.’

If āsavas ‘result in attachment,’ then they are represented by taṇhā because ‘when there is taṇhā, upadhi arises’ (taṇhāya sati upadhi hoti SN ii 108). Therefore, as we have already noted above, taṇhā is an āsava, a perceptually obscuring state.

Āsavakkhaya Sutta: examples of āsavas

The Āsavakkhaya Sutta says:

‘Bhikkhus, I declare that the destruction of the āsavas is for one who knows and sees, not for one who does not know and see. Knowing and seeing what are the āsavas destroyed?

Jānato ahaṁ bhikkhave passato āsavānaṁ khayaṁ vadāmi no ajānato no apassato. Kiñca bhikkhave jānato kiṁpassato āsavānaṁ khayo hoti

• This is suffering: knowing and seeing this [according to reality] the āsavas are destroyed.

idaṁ dukkhan ti bhikkhave jānato passato āsavānaṁ khayo hoti

• ‘This is the origin of suffering’: knowing and seeing this [according to reality] the āsavas are destroyed.

ayaṁ dukkhasamudayo ti jānato passato āsavānaṁ khayo hoti

• ‘This is the ending of suffering’: knowing and seeing this [according to reality] the āsavas are destroyed.

ayaṁ dukkhanirodhoti jānato passato āsavānaṁ khayo hoti

• ‘This is the practice leading to the ending of suffering’: knowing and seeing this [according to reality] the āsavas are destroyed.

ayaṁ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā ti jānato passato āsavānaṁ khayo hoti. (SN v 434)

But knowing and seeing the four noble truths involves the ending of the second noble truth, which must therefore be the āsavas that are destroyed. Therefore the elements of the second noble truth are āsavas.

The full formula of the second noble truth is:

• It is this craving that leads to renewed states of individual existence, accompanied by spiritually fettering delight and attachment, taking delight in this and that, namely craving for sensuous pleasure, craving for states of individual existence, and craving for the cessation of states of individual existence.

yāyaṁ taṇhā ponobhavikā nandirāgasahagatā tatra tatrābhinandinī seyyathīdaṁ kāmataṇhā bhavataṇhā vibhavataṇhā.

This formula centres on three elements: taṇhā, nandi, and rāga. Therefore, as we have already noted, these three are āsavas, perceptually obscuring states.

Freeing oneself of āsavas: Dutiyahāliddikāni Sutta

Many suttas explain how to free oneself of the āsavas using the word vimutti, which means ‘liberation from the āsavas.’ For example, the Dutiyahāliddikāni Sutta (SN iii 13) says vimutti comes from the destruction or relinquishment of nine āsavas:

• Through the destruction, fading away, ending, giving up, and relinquishment of fondness, attachment, spiritually fettering delight, craving, clinging, grasping, obstinate adherence, stubborn attachment, and identification one’s mind is said to be liberated [from perceptually obscuring states]

yo chando yo rāgo yā nandi yā taṇhā ye upayupādānā cetaso adhiṭṭhānābhinivesānusayā tesaṁ khayā virāgā nirodhā cāgā paṭinissaggā… cittaṁ suvimuttan ti vuccati. (SN iii 13)

Freeing oneself of āsavas: Santatara Sutta

The Santatara Sutta (Iti 62) says one is liberated from the āsavas by attaining the ending of perception and sense impression (saññāvedayitanirodhadhātu) which in this quote is called simply nirodha:

• Those who profoundly understand the refined material states of awareness and are not stuck in the immaterial states of awareness, with the ending [of originated phenomena], they are liberated [from perceptually obscuring states].

ye ca rūpe pariññāya arūpesu asaṇṭhitā
nirodhe ye vimuccanti. (Iti 62)

Freeing oneself of āsavas: Pārileyyaka Sutta

The Pārileyyaka Sutta says the āsavas are immediately destroyed when one sees that the components of one’s identity are unlasting, originated, and dependently arisen:

• The ignorant Everyman considers bodily form to be the [absolute] Selfhood

rūpaṁ attato samanupassati

… That considering is an originated phenomenon

yā kho pana sā bhikkhave samanupassanā saṅkhāro so

… What is the basis, origin, object of genesis and production of that originated phenomenon?

So pana saṅkhāro kinnidāno kiṁsamudayo kiñjātiko kimpabhavoti

… When the ignorant Everyman is affected by sense impression born of sensation and uninsightfulness into reality, craving arises.

avijjāsamphassajena bhikkhave vedayitena phuṭṭhassa assutavato puthujjanassa uppannā taṇhā

… That originated phenomenon is born from that

tatojo so saṅkhāro

… That originated phenomenon, that craving, that sense impression, that sensation, that uninsightfulness into reality is unlasting, originated, dependently arisen.

sopi kho saṅkhāro… taṇhā… vedanā… phasso… avijjā aniccā saṅkhatā paṭiccasamuppannā.

… When one knows and sees this, there is the immediate destruction of perceptually obscuring states

anantarā āsavānaṁ khayo hoti. (SN iii 96)

Freeing oneself of āsavas: Sabbāsava Sutta

Given the wide-ranging nature of perceptually obscuring states it is no wonder that they must be overcome by a range of different methods. This is the subject of the Sabbāsava Sutta, which says perceptually obscuring states are abandoned in seven ways:

1) Contemplating issues that should be contemplated and not contemplating issues that should not be contemplated

(Sutavā ariyasāvako) ye dhammā na manasikaraṇīyā te dhamme na manasikaroti ye dhammā manasikaraṇīyā te dhamme manasikaroti.

2) Abiding with the faculty of sight… faculty of mental cognisance restrained through restraint [of grasping, through mindfulness].

bhikkhu paṭisaṅkhā yoniso cakkhundriyasaṁvarasaṁvuto… manindriyasaṁvarasaṁvuto viharati

3) Using the robe, almsfood, abode, therapeutic requisites, properly reflecting.

bhikkhu paṭisaṅkhā yoniso cīvaraṁ… gilānapaccayabhesajjaparikkhāraṁ paṭisevati

4) Enduring cold, heat… Enduring bodily sense impressions that are unpleasant, acute, sharp, piercing, displeasing, objectionable, and life-threatening.

bhikkhu paṭisaṅkhā yoniso khamo hoti… uppannānaṁ sārīrikānaṁ vedanānaṁ dukkhānaṁ tibbānaṁ kharānaṁ kaṭukānaṁ asātānaṁ amanāpānaṁ pāṇaharānaṁ adhivāsakajātiko hoti.

5) Avoiding wild elephants and horses… and unsuitable seats, unsuitable alms resorts, and unvirtuous friends that would make one’s knowledgeable companions in the religious life suspect one of unvirtuous ways of conduct

bhikkhu paṭisaṅkhā yoniso caṇḍaṁ hatthiṁ parivajjeti… Yathārūpe anāsane nisinnaṁ yathārūpe agocare carantaṁ yathārūpe pāpake mitte bhajantaṁ viññū sabrahmacārī pāpakesu ṭhānesu okappeyyuṁ.

6) Not tolerating arisen sensuous, unbenevolent or malicious thoughts.

bhikkhu paṭisaṅkhā yoniso uppannaṁ kāmavitakkaṁ… vyāpādavitakkaṁ… vihiṁsāvitakkaṁ nādhivāseti

7) Developing the enlightenment factor of mindfulness… the enlightenment factor of detached awareness.

bhikkhu paṭisaṅkhā yoniso satisambojjhaṅgaṁ… upekkhā sambojjhaṅgaṁ bhāveti. (MN i 7)

Destruction of āsavas starts at stream-entry

Although āsavakkhaya is prominently associated with arahantship, āsavas are in fact destroyed from stream-entry onwards. The three types of individuals who are at least stream-enterers but not arahants are called kāyasakkhī, diṭṭhappatto, and saddhāvimutto. The Kīṭāgiri Sutta (MN i 438) says that for each of these individuals some of his perceptually obscuring states are destroyed (ekacce āsavā parikkhīṇā honti). But before stream-entry, no perceptually obscuring states are destroyed (āsavā aparikkhīṇā honti, MN i 479). We will show below that these āsavas are otherwise known as saṁyojanāni i.e. ties to individual existence.

Destruction of āsavas: gradual process

Although many suttas say the āsavas are destroyed just before arahantship, the Uposatha Sutta (SN iii 155) says destroying the āsavas is a more gradual process. The sutta compares the wearing away of āsavas to the wearing away of an adze handle. It says when a carpenter looks at the handle of his adze, he sees the impressions of his fingers and his thumb, but he does not know how much of the handle wore away that day, or how much on previous days. He only knows that when the handle is worn away, that it has worn away.

Likewise, when a bhikkhu abides devoted to spiritual development, no such knowledge occurs to him that so much of his āsavas were destroyed that day, or so much on previous days, yet when they are destroyed, the knowledge occurs to him that they have been destroyed (ettakaṁ vata me ajja āsavānaṁ khīṇaṁ ettakaṁ hiyyo ettakaṁ pare ti. Atha khvassa khīṇe khīṇaṁtveva ñāṇaṁ hoti). According to this, destroying the āsavas is a gradual, barely perceptible process.

Pañca nīvaraṇā: not āsavas

The Upakkilesa Sutta says that to overcome the āsavas one must first suppress the pañca nīvaraṇā:

• When one’s mind is free of these five defilements, it is pliable and workable and radiant, not brittle, but is properly collected for the destruction of perceptually obscuring states.

Yato ca kho bhikkhave cittaṁ imehi pañcahi upakkilesehi vippamuttaṁ hoti taṁ hoti cittaṁ mudu ca kammaniyañca pabhassarañca na ca pabhaṅgu sammāsamādhīyati āsavānaṁ khayāya. (AN iii 16-17)

This implies that the pañca nīvaraṇā are different from āsavas.

Pañca nīvaraṇā: are practically āsavas

But the nīvaraṇas and āsavas have much in common, and although differentiating them is technically justifed, it is problematic to do so, because of their similarlty. For example:

1) Both are defiling and weakening of penetrative discernment:

• Him I call undiscerning of reality, Aggivessana, who has not abandoned perceptually obscuring states that are defiling… For it is through the non-abandonment of perceptually obscuring states that one is undiscerning of reality.

Yassa kassaci aggivessana ye āsavā saṅkilesikā… appahīnā tamahaṁ sammūḷho ti vadāmi. Āsavānaṁ hi aggivessana appahānā sammūḷho hoti. (MN i 250)

• Sensuous hankering (and each of the nīvaraṇas) is a spiritual obstruction, a spiritual hindrance, a spiritual defilement, a weakener of penetrative discernment.

kāmacchando āvaraṇo nīvaraṇo cetaso upakkileso paññāya dubbalīkaraṇo. (SN v 95)

2) Both nīvaraṇas and āsavas are productive of avijjā:

• With the origination of perceptual obscuration comes the origination of uninsightfulness into reality

āsavasamudayā avijjāsamudayo. (MN i 46-56)

• What is the condition that nourishes uninsightfulness into reality? The five hindrances, one should reply.

ko cāhāro avijjāya? Pañca nīvaraṇā tissa vacanīyaṁ. (AN v 116)

3) In our analysis above, certain factors found to be āsavas are also nīvaraṇas. For example, the first of the nīvaraṇas is kāmacchanda; and we have shown above that chanda is an āsava. The fifth of the nīvaraṇas is vicikicchā, which we have shown above is also an āsava.

4) The other three nīvaraṇas are linked to āsava via vimutta. We have shown in the Vimutta section that vimutta means ‘liberated from āsavas.’ The third and fourth of the nīvaraṇas are thīnamiddhaṁ and uddhacca kukkucca. These are treated like āsavas in this quote:

• My mind is [temporarily] liberated [from perceptually obscuring states]. I have abolished lethargy and torpor and thoroughly dispelled restlessness and anxiety. My energy is aroused. I pay attention as a matter of vital concern, not sluggishly.

cittañca me suvimuttaṁ thīnamiddhañca me susamūhataṁ. Uddhacca kukkuccañca me suppaṭivinītaṁ. Āraddhañca me viriyaṁ aṭṭhikatvā manasikaromi no ca līnan ti. (SN v 76-7)

The second nīvaraṇa is ill will, and this is shown to be an āsava via cetovimutta:

• If the liberation [from perceptually obscuring states] through [unlimited] goodwill is developed and cultivated, it is impossible, out of the question, that ill will would plague your mind.

Aṭṭhānametaṁ āvuso anavakāso yaṁ mettāya cetovimuttiyā bhāvitāya bahulīkatāya… atha ca panassa vyāpādo cittaṁ pariyādāya ṭhassatī ti. (DN iii 248)

Temporary and unshakeable liberation from āsava

That āsavas once destroyed do not return is proven by the stream-enterer’s situation. Some of his āsavas are destroyed (ekacce āsavā parikkhīṇā honti MN i 438) and the rest will certainly follow because he does not take an eighth [human] existence even if very negligently applied [to the practice] (kiñcāpi te honti bhusaṁ pamattā na te bhavaṁ aṭṭhamamādiyanti). This, therefore, is a feature of some āsavas: once destroyed, they do not return, even in succeeding lives.

But other āsavas are liable to return. This is implied in these two quotes, because cetovimutti means liberation from the āsavas:

1) To whatever extent there are unlimited liberations from perceptually obscuring states, the unshakeable liberation [from perceptually obscuring states] is declared the chief among them.

yāvatā kho bhante appamāṇā cetovimuttiyo akuppā tāsaṁ cetovimutti aggamakkhāyati. (SN iv 297)

If some liberations from perceptually obscuring states are ‘unshakeable,’ then others are shakeable i.e. some āsavas are liable to return.

2) Then Venerable Godhika, abiding diligently, vigorously, and resolutely applied [to the practice] attained temporary liberation [from perceptually obscuring states]. But then Venerable Godhika fell away from that temporary liberation [from perceptually obscuring states].

Atha kho āyasmā godhiko appamatto ātāpī pahitatto viharanto sāmayikaṁ cetovimuttiṁ phusi. Atha kho āyasmā godhiko tāya sāmayikāya cetovimuttiyā parihāyi. (SN i 120)

So, some āsavas are liable to return. These quotes therefore show that liberation from the āsavas is not necessarily unshakeable. The same point is seen in the Sabbāsava Sutta, which describes various modes of behaviour in which āsavas might arise, and if these modes of behaviour are avoided, then those āsavas do not exist. For example:

• In this regard a bhikkhu, properly reflecting, does not tolerate an arisen sensuous thought. He abandons it, dispels it, puts an end to it, eradicates it.

Idha bhikkhave bhikkhu paṭisaṅkhā yoniso uppannaṁ kāmavitakkaṁ nādhivāseti pajahati vinodeti vyantīkaroti. Anabhāvaṁ gameti.

… The vexatious and anguishing āsavas that would arise if he were not to dispel these things do not arise for him when he dispels them.

Yaṁ hissa bhikkhave avinodayato uppajjeyyuṁ āsavā vighātapariḷāhā. Vinodayato evaṁsa te āsavā vighātapariḷāhā na honti. (MN i 11)

According to this, āsavas may or may not arise according to the standard of one’s practice. So even if they disappear, they may later reappear.

This contradiction of reappearing versus non-reappearing āsavas stems from the two categories of āsavas mentioned above, firstly, the broad, undefined category which practically includes the pañca nīvaraṇā, and secondly, the narrow, well-defined category which does not. Āsavas that are liable to reappear belong to the former category, whereas it seems that āsavas which are removed permanently are otherwise called saṁyojanāni, i.e. the ties to individual existence. We have already seen that the first three such ties are specifically called āsavas. These and the other seven ties to individual existence fall into two groups, as follows:

1) There are these five ties to individual existence in the low plane of existence

Pañcimāni bhikkhave orambhāgiyāni saṁyojanāni. Katamāni pañca:

• view of personal identity

sakkāyadiṭṭhi

• doubt [about the excellence of the teaching]

vicikicchā

• adherence to observances and practices

sīlabbataparāmāso

• sensuous hankering

kāmacchando

• ill will

vyāpādo. (SN v 61-62)

2) There are these five ties to individual existence in the middle and high planes of existence. What five?

pañcimāni bhikkhave uddhambhāgiyāni saṁyojanāni. katamāni pañca?

• attachment to the refined material states of awareness

rūparāgo

• attachment to immaterial states of awareness

arūparāgo

• self-centredness

māno

• vanity

uddhaccaṁ

• uninsightfulness into reality

avijjā. (SN v 61-62)

Āsavas and rebirth

That āsavas play an important role in rebirth is evident in these quotes:

1) Perceptually obscuring states that are defiling, and which lead to renewed states of individual existence, suffering, unpleasant karmic consequences, and future birth, old age, and death;

ye āsavā saṅkilesikā ponobhavikā sadarā dukkhavipākā āyatiṁ jātijarāmaraṇīyā. (MN i 250)

2) ‘Those perceptually obscuring states through which I might have become a deva… a heavenly musician… a deity… a human being have been abandoned by me, chopped down at the root, completely and irreversibly destroyed.’

Yesaṁ kho ahaṁ brāhmaṇa āsavānaṁ appahīṇattā devo… gandhabbo… yakkho… manusso bhaveyyaṁ te me āsavā pahīṇā ucchinnamūlā tālāvatthukatā anabhāvakatā āyatiṁ anuppādadhammā. (AN ii 38)

3) What is the variety in perceptually obscuring states?

Katamā ca bhikkhave āsavānaṁ vemattatā

… There are perceptually obscuring states leading to hell, to the animal realm, to the realm of ghosts, to the human realm, and to the heavenly realms.

atthi bhikkhave āsavā nirayagāminiyā… tiracchānayonigāminiyā… pettivisayagāminiyā… manussalokagāminiyā… devalokagāminiyā… ayaṁ vuccati bhikkhave āsavānaṁ vemattatā. (AN iii 414)

Āsavas and unpleasant karmic consequences

Āsavas lead to renewed states of individual existence, suffering, unpleasant karmic consequences (āsavā saṅkilesikā ponobhavikā sadarā dukkhavipākā MN i 250). This can be illustrated with the following quotes concerning taṇhā, which we have said above is an āsava.

• The more such beings pursue sensuous pleasure the more their craving for sensuous pleasure increases and the more they are tormented by sensuous passion

Yathā yathā kho māgandiya sattā kāmesu avītarāgā kāmataṇhāhi khajjamānā kāmapariḷāhena pariḍayhamānā kāme paṭisevanti tathā tathā tesaṁ sattānaṁ kāmataṇhā ceva pavaḍḍhati kāmapariḷāhena ca pariḍayhanti. . (MN i 507-8)

• For one who abides attached, tethered [to individual existence], undiscerning of reality, contemplating sweetness, the five grasped aggregates are heaped up in the future. Craving that leads to renewed states of individual existence, accompanied by spiritually fettering delight and attachment, taking delight in this and that, grows.

Tassa sārattassa saṁyuttassa sammūḷhassa assādānupassino viharato āyatiṁ pañcupādānakkhandhā upacayaṁ gacchanti. Taṇhā cassa ponobhavikā nandirāgasahagatā tatra tatrābhinandinī sā cassa pavaḍḍhati.

… One’s physical and psychological sufferings, torments, and anguishes increase.

Tassa kāyikāpi darathā pavaḍḍhanti cetasikāpi darathā pavaḍḍhanti kayikāpi santāpā pavaḍḍhanti cetasikāpi santāpā pavaḍḍhanti kāyikāpi pariḷāhā pavaḍḍhanti cetasikāpi pariḷāhā pavaḍḍhanti

… One experiences physical and psychological unpleasantness

so kāyadukkhampi cetodukkhampi paṭisaṁvedeti. (MN iii 287)

➥ āsavā: (main article see: āsava)

Illustration: āsavā, perceptually obscuring states

In seeing a visible object with mindfulness muddled, focusing on the agreeable aspect, one experiences it with a mind of attachment and persists in cleaving to it.

Rūpaṁ disvā sati muṭṭhā piyaṁ nimittaṁ manasikaroto
Sārattacitto vedeti tañca ajjhosa tiṭṭhati

The perceptually obscuring states develop, the origin of individual existence, leading to renewed states of individual existence.

Tassa vaḍḍhanti āsavā bhavamūlā bhavagāmino ti. (Tha 98; SN iv 76)

And what are the perceptually obscuring states to be abandoned by enduring?

Katame ca bhikkhave āsavā adhivāsanā pahātabbā?

In this regard a bhikkhu, properly reflecting, endures cold, heat, hunger, and thirst; the touch of horseflies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, and snakes. He endures ill-spoken, unwelcome words and arisen bodily sense impressions that are unpleasant, acute, sharp, piercing, displeasing, objectionable, and life-threatening.

Idha bhikkhave bhikkhu paṭisaṅkhā yoniso khamo hoti sītassa uṇhassa jighacchāya pipāsāya ḍaṁsamakasavātātapasiriṁsapasamphassānaṁ duruttānaṁ durāgatānaṁ vacanapathānaṁ uppannānaṁ sārīrikānaṁ vedanānaṁ dukkhānaṁ tibbānaṁ kharānaṁ kaṭukānaṁ asātānaṁ amanāpānaṁ pāṇaharānaṁ adhivāsakajātiko hoti.

The vexatious and anguishing perceptually obscuring states that would arise if he were not to endure these things do not arise for him when he endures them.

Yaṁ hissa bhikkhave anadhivāsayato uppajjeyyuṁ āsavā vighātapariḷāhā adhivāsayato evaṁsa te āsavā vighātapariḷāhā na honti.

These are called the perceptually obscuring states to be abandoned by enduring.

Ime vuccanti bhikkhave āsavā adhivāsanā pahātabbā. (MN i 10)

➥ āsavānaṁ: (main article see: āsava)

Illustration: āsavānaṁ, perceptually obscuring states

This, bhikkhu, is a designation for the Untroubled: the elimination of attachment, hatred, and undiscernment of reality.

Nibbānadhātuyā kho etaṁ bhikkhu adhivacanaṁ rāgavinayo dosavinayo mohavinayoti.

The destruction of perceptually obscuring states is spoken of in that way.

Āsavānaṁ khayo tena vuccatī ti. (SN v 8)

Five things developed and cultivated lead to the destruction of perceptually obscuring states:

āsavānaṁ khayāya saṁvattanti

In this regard a bhikkhu is one who

• abides contemplating the unloveliness of the body

asubhānupassī kāye viharati.

• perceives the loathsome nature of digestion.

āhāre paṭikkūlasaññī.

• perceives disgust for the whole world [of phenomena].

sabbaloke anabhiratasaññī.

• contemplates the unlastingness of all originated phenomena.

sabbasaṅkhāresu aniccānupassī.

• and for whom the perception of [the ever-present possibility of] death is well-established within himself.

maraṇasaññā kho panassa ajjhattaṁ sūpaṭṭhitā hoti. (AN iii 83)

➥ sāsavo: (main article see: āsava)

Illustration: sāsavo, perceptually obscuring states

One thing to be profoundly understood: sensation associated with perceptually obscuring states is productive of grasping.

Katamo eko dhammo pariññeyyo? Phasso sāsavo upādāniyo. (DN iii 272)

➥ sāsavaṁ: (main article see: āsava)

Illustration: sāsavaṁ, associated with perceptually obscuring states

Whatever bodily form there is, past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or sublime, far or near,

yaṁ kiñci bhikkhave rūpaṁ atītānāgatapaccuppannaṁ ajjhattaṁ vā bahiddhā vā oḷārikaṁ vā sukhumaṁ vā hīnaṁ vā paṇītaṁ vā yaṁ dūre santike vā

associated with perceptually obscuring states

sāsavaṁ

and productive of grasping

upādāniyaṁ

this is called the aggregate of grasped bodily form

ayaṁ vuccati rūpūpādānakkhandho. (SN iii 47)

➥ āsavesu: (main article see: āsava)

Illustration: āsavesu, perceptually obscuring states

And what is diligence [in the practice]?

Katamo ca bhikkhave appamādo

In this regard a bhikkhu protects the mind against perceptually obscuring states and against states associated with perceptually obscuring states.

Idha bhikkhave bhikkhu cittaṁ rakkhati āsavesu ca sāsavesu ca dhammesu. (SN v 232)