Afflictions Are Released When Seen Clearly

When studying afflictions, we often begin with the thought that they must be eliminated. Yet if we merely push them away or refuse to look, it is difficult to understand what the mind is doing. We first need to see clearly what has arisen.

Greed colors what we see with the urge to possess more. Anger makes people and situations appear harsh. Delusion holds familiar thoughts as though they were facts. In those moments, we easily act according to the color added by the mind rather than the world as it is.

Imagine looking outside through three layers of colored glass. With a different color on each sheet, the same view appears completely different. Blaming the landscape does not remove the colors. We must notice which sheet is covering our sight and set them aside one by one.

Practice is the same. We do not hide the fact that anger has arisen. We honestly observe desire pulling the mind, and even look again at the thought that we are right. Awareness does not justify an affliction; it creates room not to be carried away by it.

An old habit may not disappear after being seen once. When the same state arises again, we notice it again and pause before it becomes speech or action. Precepts and wholesome living protect this pause, while wisdom illuminates what needs to be released.

We should not use the saying that affliction is wisdom as an excuse to follow affliction as it is. When we see its nature and movement correctly, wisdom opens without being captured by it. What matters is not hating affliction, but seeing it through clearly and releasing it.

Practice, therefore, is not merely waiting for awakening in the distant future. It is setting down one layer right where greed, anger, and delusion arise. As the colors covering the mind grow lighter, we can see people and situations more nearly as they are.