When Insight Cuts the Root: Observing the Three Poisons in Real-Time

For ordinary people (puthujjana), delusion (moha) can persist as an underlying tendency, even when it is not presently active, whereas lust (lobha) and hatred (dosa) arise only under specific conditions. Therefore, even in states of deep concentration or calm where lust and hatred are not presently active, one may still perceive subtle bodily vibrations, movements, or flowing sensations. These sensations are not directly related to lust or hatred and should thus be understood as the arising and passing away of general phenomena (udayabbaya-ñāṇa), not the arising and passing of the three poisons (lobha, dosa, moha).

Even when lust and hatred are absent, the five aggregates (body and mind) still arise and pass away according to conditions—this is the impermanence of conditioned phenomena. However, when lust or hatred do arise, if one carefully observes the bodily reactions and sensations associated with them, one can directly discern the arising and passing of these unwholesome mental states—the insight into the arising and passing away of defilements (kilesa-udayabbaya-ñāṇa).

To do this, one must engage in six-sense-door practice, observing how the three poisons arise and cease through the six sense bases—eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. It is through this process that one can clearly discern the specific insight into the arising and passing of lust, hatred, and delusion.

One way to practice in a calm state is to recall a manageable difficult memory and observe the bodily sensations that arise in response. If this becomes overwhelming, stop and return to grounding in the present. Tension, contraction, heat, pain, or even fine electrical-like sensations may surface—when accompanied by lust, hatred, or delusion, these may be recognized as their physical expressions, and the core of the practice lies in watching them fade away.

Simply lying in a peaceful state and observing the general arising and passing of sensations may offer some insight. Such observation can support liberating insight, even when defilements are not presently active. In this practice, the focus is on clearly observing the arising and passing of defilements while they are active.

Thus, the practitioner may recall a manageable “difficult memory” or mindfully explore subtle stress or unease currently present in daily life to detect the fine movements of the three poisons and then, through careful observation, witness their dissolution. This is where the true insight into the arising and passing away of lust, hatred, and delusion begins.