The five afflictions (klesha) that plague consciousness gain mechanical precision when mapped through Abhidharma's dependent origination, showing exactly how suffering arises and where intervention works.
Patanjali identifies the five kleshas (afflictions: ignorance, ego-sense, desire, aversion, clinging) as the root causes of suffering. Abhidharma psychology provides the mechanism: through pratityasamutpada (dependent origination), each klesa triggers a cascade of dharmic events that produce suffering. Ignorance conditions the formation of self-view; ego-sense generates attraction and repulsion; desire creates craving; aversion produces aversion-based actions; clinging binds consciousness to the samsaric cycle. By mapping each klesa onto Abhidharma's analysis of causation, practitioners see exactly where the chain can be broken. Patanjali's practices address specific kleshas (meditation counters ignorance, ethical restraint weakens ego-sense, concentration undermines grasping), and Abhidharma reveals why: each practice interrupts the dharmic conditions that perpetuate that particular affliction. This integration transforms abstract teachings on suffering into a practical, navigable psychology of change.
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