Buddhist Three Poisons (Error Sources)

Buddhism identifies three root kleshas (afflictions) distorting perception: Raga (greed/attachment — compulsive desire to acquire and hold), Dvesha (aversion/hatred — compulsive desire to avoid and destroy), and Moha (delusion/ignorance — fundamental misperception of reality). Depicted at the center of the Wheel of Life, each bites the other's tail in an endless cycle. Raga makes you overvalue what you desire. Dvesha makes you overreact to what you fear. Moha prevents seeing either distortion. The prescription: develop awareness so they no longer operate unconsciously.

When to use it

When making important decisions and wanting a quick diagnostic for common distortions. When someone advocates unusually strongly for or against something. When a pattern of poor decisions suggests systematic bias. When teaching critical thinking about emotional influences on judgment.

How it can help

The most parsimonious diagnostic for judgment errors. Before important decisions: (1) Is raga making me overvalue this opportunity? (2) Is dvesha making me reject something valuable from fear? (3) Is moha preventing me from seeing my own bias? Common startup errors map directly: pursuing markets from passion (raga) rather than opportunity, avoiding pivots from aversion to admitting error (dvesha), and not seeing either pattern (moha). Three categories cover what Western science catalogs as hundreds of biases.