Aversion, my friend, makes you blind, makes you sightless, makes you ignorant. It brings about the cessation of discernment, is conducive to trouble, and does not lead to Unbinding.
- from the Channa Sutta
You don't need a Buddha around to point out desire, it's obvious enough, but one thing I hadn't much realized before was aversion and the huge role it plays in my life. Basically, I'm just not very good at getting things done, especially when it's important!
Aversion seems very closely related to (and perhaps indistinguishable from) anger. At least, that's my take.
ReplyDeleteDo you mean in the way it manifests?
ReplyDeleteI took it as pretty much the opposite of craving/desire, like waiting for my alarm to go off in the morning, or when Fina's diaper is full of poop!
dictionary.com used the word "antipathy" in describing aversion, which sounds a lot like the opposite of sympathy or apathy! So, I can see how it starts pointing toward anger.
I tend to think of both aversion and anger as fear-based. Perhaps there's a link there? Fear of diaper poop may be one of the milder forms, admittedly :)
ReplyDelete