āvaraṇa

From Buddha-Nature
Sanskrit Noun

āvaraṇa

obscurations
आवरण
སྒྲིབ་པ་

Basic Meaning

Literally, that which obscures or conceals. Often listed as a set of two obscurations (sgrib gnyis): the afflictive emotional obscurations (Skt. kleśāvaraṇa, Tib. nyon mongs pa'i sgrib pa) and the cognitive obscurations (Skt. jñeyāvaraṇa, Tib. shes bya'i sgrib pa). By removing the first, one becomes free of suffering, and by removing the second, one becomes omniscient.

Term Variations
Key Term āvaraṇa
Topic Variation obscurations
Tibetan སྒྲིབ་པ་  ( drip pa)
Wylie Tibetan Transliteration sgrib pa  ( drip pa)
Devanagari Sanskrit आवरण
Romanized Sanskrit āvaraṇa
Buddha-nature Site Standard English obscurations
Richard Barron's English Term obscuration
Jeffrey Hopkin's English Term obstruction
Dan Martin's English Term obscurations, veils
Gyurme Dorje's English Term obscuration
Term Information
Source Language Sanskrit
Basic Meaning Literally, that which obscures or conceals. Often listed as a set of two obscurations (sgrib gnyis): the afflictive emotional obscurations (Skt. kleśāvaraṇa, Tib. nyon mongs pa'i sgrib pa) and the cognitive obscurations (Skt. jñeyāvaraṇa, Tib. shes bya'i sgrib pa). By removing the first, one becomes free of suffering, and by removing the second, one becomes omniscient.
Related Terms āgantukamala
Term Type Noun
Definitions
Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism See page 83: In Sanskrit and Pāli, “obstruction,” “obstacle,” or “hindrance.” In Mahāyāna literature, two types of āvaraṇa are commonly described: “obstructions that are the afflictions,” or “afflictive obstructions” (kleśāvaraṇa), and cognitive or noetic obstructions, viz., “obstructions to omniscience” (jñeyāvaraṇa). Śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas can be freed from the afflictive obstructions, but only bodhisattvas are able to free themselves from the cognitive obstructions. In the Yogācāra system, the cognitive obstructions result from fundamental misapprehensions about the nature of reality.