Experience of "Truth" and the Three Poisons

This thread is meant to be very experiential as opposed to intellectual.

When I study the ego, I go far beyond what Buddhism termed "The Three Poisons" but for this topic they will serve as a fantastic introduction.

Truth isn't fact. Truth is experience. I can read a thousand books, watch many videos of survival techniques, and have some idea of what to do if I am ever lost in the wilderness. A gentleman could simply practice building shelters, starting fires, making traps and tools, tracking, thousands of times, in different climates and weather conditions. Which one of us do you want to be with you when you are lost? The guy who "knows" or the guy who has "experience?"

This example isn't so clear.

When someone asks "What is the Truth?" I give them an explanation, that will simply fall on top of another explanation they have heard or otherwise came to. An explanation, or a definition is not the Truth. I can describe to you what a view looked like from atop a large tree in the amazon. Yet, not matter how great a poet I may be, I'll never be able to transport you to the level of Truth. You'll just get an idea of what it might have been like, but that thought will never do justice to the experience.

Still, this is not so clear.

If you went to a desert tribe, and tried to describe snow to them, it would not be clear. Even if you showed them a video, it wouldn't fully get them to understand what snow is. Only the experience of it can convey that Truth.

That one is better, but it's still not obvious.

Ok, let's try an experiment. I encourage you to actually try this rather than skip through and read.

What is "Hatred" if there is no particular experience to hate? Sit, and just feel a bit. If you're not projecting hatred on yourself or anything else, what does Hatred feel like? Sit and feel it. Give it a moment or two to unfold.








What did it feel like? Did you feel something like an aggressive "pushing?" There would be destructiveness if there was something to destroy. But there is a real feeling that you don't want to just let things be.

If you did the exercise, that was Truth. What I said about hatred makes a bit more sense now. But before you experienced it in this way, it wasn't so clear. The feeling was always obscured by the circumstances that made you aware of it. The explanation wasn't the Truth, but what you experienced was. Everything I say may be a lie, but what you just lived was real. The reality of my words to not invalidate or validate your experience.




Ok, let's do this experiment with "Greed." What is greed before there was money, before there was a person to be greedy, or some product or service to want more of? Feel "What is greed?" without any sense of what you may want more of.






Did you do it? Did you notice the feeling that something is missing, you're unsatisfied, regardless of what you do?



One more time. Let's consider "Ignorance." I mean Ignorance not in the sense of something you don't know yet, but in the sense of not wanting to know, not wanting to experience. Ignorance in the sense you want to ignore something, if there were something to ignore. What is ignorance, with no specific experience to be ignorant of?





Do you fee it? The wish not to "see?" The sense that you know already? The wanting to move on?

These three states are the Three Poisons, spoken of by the Buddha, these are the Three Poisons consumed by the blue-throated Shiva. You could say they are building blocks for the egoic experience. You've experienced them. You don't know all there is to know about them, but your experience revealed some kind of Truth. However these states are expressed in the world, that's not as important.

So what is the solution to the three poisons?

Hatred, Compassion. Not the new-buddhist loving-kindness, but the genuine, wanting to discover, wanting to understand the experience. Instead of the pushing away, there is move of a wanting to feel.

Greed, Gratitude. Not gratitude for something. But simply gratitude, a state of being satisfied with existence. A state of appreciation of being fulfilled.

Ignorance, Humility. Humble enough to not knowing, yet still wanting to discover. This one is a bit more abstract.

To really understand, you must take the time and feel it.

To really begin to dissolve the Three Poisons, yo need to be aware of them. Pick one, and sit, and observe, and feel that state of being. Be conscious of it, you want to push away? Stay there. You want to take more? Just feel the power that drives you mad, that you want something, someone. What keeps you from being simply happy, while sitting there, starting at a dot on the floor, without thinking? Observe everything that tries to shake you. Observe that there are in fact things you want to ignore, don't think you should discover more of, think you know better anyway, are so sure of who and what you are. Observe this.

Take the time to observe these poisons, and their solutions. At one point, you will dissolve one to a greater or lesser degree. This isn't an easy process, but it's so simple.

If there is an experience of pain in your life just pay attention to it. See how you "naturally" want to get away from it, how you automatically want to do something else, and be distant from it. See how much you don't want to observe it as pure information, and gain insight from the experience. Just sit, and if you feel sadness in your guts, feel the pain in your body, and sit, observing the pain, rather than complaining about the situation. Breathe, for as long as it takes to dissolve the emotion. It could take many sessions, depending on quality of focus and density of experience.

After each session take the time to be happy for a minute or two, force a state of happiness. Especially if you don't wnat to. (If you want to ignore happiness.)

The more you dissolve the poisons, and contemplate their opposite virtues, the more profound will your experience of Truth become.

If you liked the brief commentary on the Three Poisons you may like what I mentioned on this thread: www.abovetopsecret.com...


Just a side note. In this thread these lines are not meant to be comprehensive teachings uncovering all the wisdom of the universe. They are meant to expose you t simplicity of being, and give you a way to uncover your own experience, regardless of if you "believe" the words someone says. Your experience is real, what I say can be bull#, and it doesn't matter, your experience is something I cannot fake, feel it, and if you find something wants to push away, or gets angry, observe it. If you find something becomes happy, observe it. Dissolve the powers inside that force you to respond emotionally to words on a forum, or face to face.

I enjoyed this post. you made some valid points on perspective and experience. Truth is experience for sure. Thanks for the thought provoking questions.

reply to post by Shneal


It's a pleasure.

reply to post by TheGreySwordsman


Outstanding post. Thank you for sharing your insight.

In the past, during these inward observation sessions, I have felt a huge 'section' of myself slide down and leave my body, and I have felt a sense of relief, but it usually leaves me very drained for a couple of days afterwards.

My awareness is fixed on the observer during these physical reactions, but the drained part of the process concerns me. Could you perhaps shed any light on this issue? Have you ever felt physically exhausted after this kind of introspection, and do you have any tips to combat it?

Again, thank you for a great post

reply to post by redreemer


Not just a draining, sometimes, you may even feel "emotionally sore." from this process. Or it may not be at an emotional level. Just like if your muscles hurt from training. It's body building. It's a skill. You can learn to resolve a great quantity of suffering quickly. At first, for some, it may take an hour to resolve the pain of an argument, or an incident of road rage. But with practice, that hour gets shortened to minutes.

I am at the point that a few years ago I guided a relative in the experience of death, and I mourned everything on my end within the passing of a few breathes, in order to resolve the wisdom.

What I suggest is, build your skills on moment to moment, day to day issues if discomfort, disagreement, upset. You'll become more efficient. I went to an extreme so now it is extremely rare when I will feel tired or sore, unless I crack through a dream that I was unwittingly clutching on to, and experience a heartbreak, but even there, being drained is rare.

For people who are pretty sexually active, or who have a history of drug use, or if you have experienced a lot of trauma in your life, being drained, passing out, feeling involuntary twitches, etc is common. Observe any muscular recations or pains that come.

To soothe yourself, you can sit as the observer, being aware that you are aware for awhile. I also suggest being your threshold by contemplating joy or love, for 15 minutes a day, working to an hour a day for a month. You will overwhelm yourself and experience an extreme level experience. But if your notice too great of a reaction that you cannot manage, be humble, have compassion for yourself, and work on your system to heal it. Observe the body, the mind, the heart, whatever reacts.

That should answer a bit beyond the scope of your question, and give other readers some ideas of what else to do with this experience. "What is love before people existed to label the experience?"

Observe.