Moha - The characteristic of moha

When there is moha we live in darkness. It was the Buddha's great compassion which moved him to teach people Dhamma. Dhamma is the light which can dispel darkness. If we do not know Dhamma we are ignorant about the world, about ourselves; we are ignorant about good and ill deeds and their results; we are ignorant about the way to eradicate defilements.

 

The study of the Abhidhamma will help us to know more about the

characteristic of moha. The 'Atthasālinī' ( Book II, Part IX, Ch.1, 249) states

about moha:

        

 'Delusion' (moha) has the characteristic of blindness

or opposition to knowledge;

the essence of non-penetration

or the function of covering the intrinsic nature of the object;

the manifestation of being opposed to right conduct

or causing blindness;

the proximate cause of unwise attention;

and it should be regarded as the root of all akusala....

 

There are many degrees of moha. When we study Dhamma we become  less 

ignorant about realities; we understand more about paramattha Dhammas,

about kamma and vipāka. However, this does not mean that we can already

eradicate moha. Moha cannot be eradicated merely by thinking of the truth; it

can only be  eradicated by developing the wisdom which knows 'the world in

the ariyan sense' : eyesense, visible object, seeing-consciousness, earsense,

sound, hearing-consciousness, and all realities appearing through the six

doors.