Three Poisons as the Root Causes of Illness

Purifying the Three Karmas: The Path Toward Liberation

By Chuan-Sung
Puzhen Monastery, Taichung, Taiwan.

Having worked in the medical field for many years, I have observed that the causes of many illnesses often remain elusive. Patients with the same diagnosis, treated by the same physician and prescribed the same medications, may nonetheless experience vastly different outcomes. Some individuals visit hospital after hospital, yet their long-standing symptoms remain unresolved. It was only after encountering the Buddha’s teachings and gaining an understanding of the three karmas—body, speech, and mind—rooted in the Three Poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance, that I gradually came to realize that human illness arises not only from physiological pathology, but also from these deeply embedded mental afflictions.

The Three Poisons resemble chronic toxins hidden within the depths of consciousness, silently eroding physical health, emotional stability, and interpersonal relationships over time.

The Fires of the Three Poisons Arise from the Mind

The Three Poisons constitute the fundamental roots of both physical and mental illness. Greed is like persistently elevated blood glucose stimulating the brain’s reward system, repeatedly triggering dopamine release and producing fleeting satisfaction. Over time, tolerance develops, leading to addictive behaviors, material craving, dietary imbalance, and eventually chronic disease. Anger, on the other hand, keeps individuals in a prolonged state of resentment and rage, disrupting autonomic nervous system regulation and contributing to hypertension, palpitations, depression, and irritability. Ignorance manifests as distorted understanding—misconceptions about illness that lead to maladaptive behaviors and views, such as denial of one’s condition, refusal to follow medical advice, blaming others, or trusting unverified folk remedies. These often result in unnecessary financial loss, adverse side effects, and ultimately entrapment in the vicious cycle of delusion, karma, and suffering.

As the Buddhist saying goes, “The blazing fires of the Three Poisons constantly burn all sentient beings.” Without fundamentally addressing these internal sources of illness, even the most advanced medications or treatments can offer only symptomatic relief rather than true healing.

Precepts, Concentration, and Wisdom: Purifying the Three Karmas

How, then, can we address illness at its root? Conventional medical systems primarily focus on acute intervention or symptomatic treatment. The Buddha’s teachings, however, offer not only preventive medicine but a truly radical therapy.

To counter greed, one cultivates precepts. Moral discipline functions much like lifestyle management, preventing harmful behaviors such as uncontrolled eating, substance addiction, excessive consumption, gambling, and obsessive pursuit of wealth.

To counter anger, one cultivates concentration. Meditation practices—including seated meditation and the practice of śamatha (calm-abiding) and vipaśyanā (insight meditation)—serve as powerful tools for emotional regulation and stress management. Repentance and cognitive reframing parallel psychotherapeutic processes, helping individuals transform anger, jealousy, resentment, and hatred into calmness and renewal.

At the core lies wisdom, the antidote to ignorance. Through a wisdom-based understanding of causality and the contemplative view of dependent origination and emptiness (pratītyasamutpāda–śūnyatā), one can reinterpret the formation of illness, life’s suffering, and interpersonal conflict. Wisdom dissolves delusion and guides one toward genuine liberation and holistic well-being.

Integrating Medicine and Dharma

A common proverb states, “Illness enters through the mouth; misfortune leaves through the mouth.” Many chronic diseases arise from indulgence in sensory pleasures, particularly dietary excess. In such cases, biomedical treatment must be complemented by wisdom-based guidance grounded in karmic causality, as well as moral discipline to correct harmful habits.

Similarly, modern psychosomatic conditions—such as insomnia, headaches, chest tightness, palpitations, depression, and social anxiety—often stem from an inability to process external stressors. Alongside medical evaluation and diagnostic testing, practices such as breath-counting meditation, contemplative reflection, and altruistic service can significantly improve these conditions.

For me, a life of wisdom represents integrated health of body, mind, and spirit. Wisdom does not mean worldly success or exceptional technical skill, but the ability to restrain desire without being enslaved by greed; to transform emotions without being wounded by anger; and to recognize truth without being misled by ignorance.

As a healthcare professional, I aspire to practice medicine with the heart of a healer while walking the path of the Bodhisattva—applying the Buddha’s teachings both in clinical practice and personal cultivation. This approach benefits not only patients, but also safeguards one’s own physical and mental well-being.

The Buddha as the Great Physician

The Buddha is revered as the Great Physician—one who understands the root causes of sentient beings’ suffering. The prescriptions He offers are wisdom, the therapeutic process is compassion, and the ultimate vision is liberation. I aspire to learn and embody this healing path, beginning with the purification of the Three Karmas and the eradication of the Three Poisons—healing not only the body, but also the mind, and walking together with all beings toward the path of wisdom and liberation.

Source: https://www.ctworld.org.tw/monthly/311/a03-05.htm

Translator: PI-Union Medical Science Ltd.