Translations of raga | |
---|---|
English | greed, sensuality, desire, attachment or excitement for sensory objects, lust, sexual desire, passion |
Sanskrit | राग (rāga) |
Pali | लोभ (lobha) |
Burmese | လောဘ (ရာဂ) |
Chinese | 貪 (T) / 贪 (S) |
Japanese | 貪 (rōmaji: ton) |
Khmer | រាគៈ , រាគ , លោភៈ , លោភ (UNGEGN: Reakeak, Reak, Lopheak, Lorp) |
Korean | 탐 (RR: tam) |
Tibetan | འདོད་ཆགས་ (Wylie: ‘dod chags; THL: döchak) |
Thai | ราคะ (RTGS: rakha) |
Glossary of Buddhism |
Raga (Sanskrit, also rāga; Pali lobha; Tibetan: 'dod chags) is a Buddhist concept of character affliction or poison referring to any form of "greed, sensuality, lust, desire" or "attachment to a sensory object".[1][2][3] Raga (lobha) is identified in the following contexts within the Buddhist teachings:[4]
Rāga literally means "color or hue" in Sanskrit, but appears in Buddhist texts as a form of blemish, personal impurity or fundamental character affliction.[5][6] As a philosophical concept, the term refers to "greed, sensuality, desire" or "attachment to a sensory object".[1] It includes any form of desire including sexual desire and sensual passion, as well as attachments to, excitement over and pleasure derived from objects of the senses.[5] Some scholars render it as "craving".[7]
Raga is one of three poisons and afflictions, also called the "threefold fires" in Buddhist Pali canon,[8] that prevents a being from reaching nirvana.[9][10] To extinguish all "Raga" (greed, lust, desire, attachment) is one of the requirements of nirvana (liberation) in Buddhism.[8]
The Abhidharma-samuccaya states:
Raga is said to arise from the identification of the self as being separate from everything else.[11] This mis-perception or misunderstanding is referred to as avidya (ignorance).