Corruptions Part 1
The Kleshas hold a certain power over our behavior depending on a few key factors. Ignorance, being not just the first Klesha but the source of the other four, is where we need to set our sights when dealing with the kleshas. It's not as if we can neglect the other four but if we focus on Avidya we'll have a fighting chance of weakening all of the Kleshas effects.
First, what do we mean by ignorance? I like to break ignorance down into two categories. There's Material Ignorance, which is simply "lack of knowledge" and there's Spiritual Ignorance, which is "having forgotten our connectedness to all things".
Today we'll just look at Material Ignorance as it is the type of ignorance that causes the most disruption in our lives and relationships. Material Ignorance, despite it's prevalence, is the lesser of the two.
To overcome the effects of Material Ignorance is not as simple as it may see. We would think that gaining more knowledge would be the path to loosen material ignorance's grip on our psyche but that is but one small action we can take albeit important and fulfilling. The path to overcoming material ignorance is cultivating the ability to accept change and refining your virtues of humility, respect and understanding. Here's an example, yesterday I had to pick Lorraine up from school. She's a 10 year old going on 15 if you get my meaning. She asked that I not embarrass her so of course I walked into the class and announced, "Hi, I'm Lorraine's dad!". Pretty innocuous to me but it was devastating to her. We could talk about the ego's role in this scenario but it was my inability to put myself in her shoes that forced my actions and, of course, the consequences that followed. If I had just respected her wishes I would have had an easier evening. My inability to understand her perspective got me into some trouble although it did provide an opportunity for a good lesson as well as an opportunity for me to learn. And that is the other key to wrangling in Material Ignorance, Humility. Having an ability to accept your mistakes and take actions to correct them can be profoundly effective in releasing Avidya.
