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Wylie | Tibetan

ignorance

  1. gti mug

    Biblical: mental darkness, ignorance: gti mug gis blo gros mun par gyur te/  ignorance has darkened their understanding (Eph. 4:18), sngar gyi gti mug gi 'dod pa la ma nyan cig do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance (1 Pet. 1:14), blun po gti mug can gyi kha 'gegs pa/  silence the ignorant talk of foolish men (1 Pet. 2:15).

    Buddhist: gti mug or ignorance, is defined simply as the belief that things are real (FLD 13) and thus it is a mental state that obstructs the ultimate knowledge of reality (TRI 107). It leads to non-virtuous actions that are the cause of rebirth and suffering: gti mug gis gsod pa ni/,,sems can bsad nas mchod sbyin byas na dge ba yin par bsams nas gsod pa lta bu red/  to kill on account of ignorance is, say, to kill with the thought that it is a virtue if, having killed a living creature, one makes of it a religious offering (TRC 243). Hence a goal of Bst. training is to remove ignorance sems pa'i yul na gti mug shul med bzos/  you must eliminate ignorance from your mind (KPU 2), thos pa de ni gti mug gi mun pa sel ba la sgron me lta bu yin/  learning [lit. hearing] is said to be like a lamp for clearing away the darkness of ignorance (TRC 166).

    Secular: In ordinary life there are said to be three causes of gti mug or ignorance: 1) sleepy (as in a sleepy student), 2) due to anger that inhibits learning, and 3) covetousness that inhibits learning Bsm. - the so-called gti mug gsum/  (AMD).

  2. shes pa/ 

    Biblical: to know, used in its negative form to indicate ignorance: khyed kyis kyang ma shes par de ltar byas pa ngas shes so/  I know that you acted in ignorance (Acts 3:17), kha cig gis dkon mchog mi shes pas/  there are some who are ignorant of God (1 Cor. 15:34), ngas ma shes ma dad par de ltar byas pa yin/  I acted in ignorance and unbelief (1 Tim. 1:13).

    Buddhist: mi shes pa/  is used more of ordinary ignorance rather than the metaphysical ignorance of gti mug . It is said to have four causes: 1) yul bskal pas mi shes pa/  distant location of the object; 2) dus bskal pas mi shes pa/  distance in time of the object; 3) ngo bo bskal pas mi shes pa/  subtle nature of the object; 4) zab cing mtha' yas pas mi shes pa/  profundity and vastness of the object (TRI 206). Its consequences are always negative: nang gi dgra dus kun tu blang dor gyi gnad gang yang mi shes pa'i rmo ngas pa'i dgra chen po de blang dor gyi gnad thos pa'i thos pa de nyid kyis 'joms par byed kyi red/  the inner enemy, the great enemy of ignorance of the points to cultivate and relinquish, is overcome by the learning which studies what is to be cultivated and avoided (TRC 167), mi shes pa mthong nas/  once one sees that one is ignorant (TRC 168), 'khor ba'i rtsa ba gcod tshul mi shes pa/  ignorance of the way of cutting the root of rebirth (TRC 289).

  3. rig pa/ 

    Biblical: to know, understand; used in its negative form like shes/  to indicate ignorance: dkon mchog gis ma rig pa'i dus la ma gzigs par/  in the past God overlooked such ignorance (Acts 17:30).

    Buddhist: ma rig pa/  ignorance, especially of the basic doctrines of Bsm: ma rig pa ni/,,las rgyu 'bras la sogs pa mi shes pa'i rmongs pa/  ignorance is the mental darkness that does not recognize the [truth of] karma or other Bst. doctrines (TRC 284), bdag 'dzin ma rig pa/  the ignorance that believes in a self, said to be the root of all non-virtue (TRC 285). In Bsm. it is one of the six root afflictions and one of the 12 links of internal dependent arising (KBT 34); as well as the source of all suffering: ston pa chen po rnams kyis rang gi rjes 'brangs slob ma rnams ma rig pas kun nas bslangs pa'i sdig spyod kyi lam las skyabs te dge ba'i lam bzang ston par mdzad pa yin/  the great teachers wanted to lead their followers away from the paths of negative deeds caused by ignorance and to introduce them to the paths of goodness (DLP 18). Ignorance is believed to contaminate even the most intimate relationships: spyir btang gi brtse sems de rigs ni ma rig pa dang /,,'dod sred/,,chags zhen 'di dag gi lhad zhugs pa zhig yin/  the usual love that one has for friends or family, which is alloyed with ignorance, desire, and attachment (DLP 14).

    Proverbs: dri ma'i tha shal ma rig pa/  ignorance is the worst of all faults (DMP 122).