At the hub of the wheel of existence, tradition paints three animals chasing one another: a rooster, a snake, and a pig. They are the three poisons, the roots from which suffering grows:
- Raga — greed, grasping.
- Dvesha — hatred, aversion.
- Moha — delusion, confusion.
Their opposites are the cure: wisdom (paññā) for delusion, generosity (dāna) for greed, and loving-kindness (mettā) for hatred. This is why the heart's training matters as much as the mind's; the Brahmaviharas are its direct antidote.
Yoga maps almost the same ground with its five kleshas, the afflictions that cloud clear seeing. The terms differ, the territory rhymes.