พระอาจารย์อธิบายว่าความโลภ ความโกรธ ความหลง คืออุปสรรคหลักของชีวิต โดยมีความหลง (โมหะ) เป็นรากฐานที่ทำให้เกิดทั้งความโลภและความโกรธ อกุศลใช้ความดีใจและเสียใจในสิ่งที่ปรากฏเฉพาะหน้าชี้นำให้ตกหลุมพรางที่วางไว้ ทางแก้คือสัมมาทิฏฐิ ความเห็นถูกต้องตรงตามความเป็นจริงThe teacher explains that greed, anger, and delusion are the root obstacles of life, with delusion (moha) forming the foundation that gives rise to both greed and anger. The unwholesome side uses pleasure and displeasure toward whatever appears right in front of us to steer us into traps it has already set. The remedy is right view — seeing things correctly, exactly as they truly are.
Someone asked whether, if greed and anger decrease, the obstacles in life will decrease as well — and asked the teacher to explain delusion (moha) more deeply, since greed and anger were easier to understand but delusion still wasn't clear.
Greed, anger, and delusion are, without question, obstacles to life
The teacher confirmed that if greed and anger decrease, the obstacles in life will certainly decrease as well, because both greed and anger exist to harm oneself and others, creating hardship and difficulty, and planting time-bombs of misfortune along the timeline of one's life, both in the near and distant future.
What is delusion, and how is it the foundation of greed and anger?
The teacher explained that both nature and the neutral nature share one essential foundation: delusion. Delusion comes in two forms. The first is the neutral kind of infatuation — being absorbed in sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and senons — which causes no real harm but also produces no benefit, simply wasting one's limited time and resources. The second is the unwholesome kind of infatuation and wrong belief, which works through pleasure and displeasure: when we feel pleased with something, it steers us to want more, until greed arises; when we feel displeased, it steers us toward irritation, until anger arises — all made possible by covering up the truth, so that we see only the appealing side of something that is actually leading us into a trap. What looks like an opportunity for gain is, in fact, a trap set to cause pain and suffering later — like fastening the first button wrong, so every button after it goes wrong too.
The teacher added that for anything to trigger craving, it must be tempting enough — otherwise craving simply won't arise. Once craving arises, it leads to clinging: an insistence on following through with whatever one has been steered toward. All of this exists to draw in unwholesome energy to power the unwholesome system. The deeper one sinks into wrong belief, the more one gets pushed down into darker, heavier states. A small amount of wrong view may not yet be enough to trigger greed or anger, but as wrong belief accumulates, it becomes progressively easier for greed and anger to take hold.
Example: how buying lottery tickets is a form of delusion
The teacher gave lottery-playing as a clear example of wrong belief: the buyer doesn't know that every prize has already been assigned to its rightful owner. If they knew this truth, they wouldn't buy a ticket at all, since it isn't worth the cost. But because delusion conceals this truth, they keep buying, and the more they buy, the tighter the bond with the unwholesome side becomes. If not corrected in this life, the cycle only deepens in the next. Even someone born with the merit to be provided for materially can have that wealth channeled through the unwholesome system instead of one if they associate with it — creating the illusion of being lucky in this area, when in truth they are walking straight into a trap that has already been set.
The remedy: right view, seeing things exactly as they are
The teacher concluded that the heart of Buddhism is right view (sammā-diṭṭhi), the direct antidote to delusion. It depends on precepts, concentration, and wisdom, the orious action, and the ten perfections, all working to correct one's view until it matches reality, and to develop equanimity — holding the mind level, neither pleased nor displeased by whatever arises. Once the mind is settled and unshaken, the unwholesome side no longer has an opening to steer it toward greed or anger. As the Buddha taught: "Monks, you should know clearly the body, feelings, mind, and mental objects, in order to eliminate craving and aversion toward the world."