The Nature Of Defilement - Making Wrong

"It knows what's beneficial and what's not beneficial" – this is expressed of wisdom. There's a caveat to this.

A distinct nature of defilement is 'making wrong' – it operates in this dualism, defending what's deemed right and making wrong what's otherness. I may think this making wrong trait is not prominent in my space but it's much more serious than I think. I see them in the casual preferences, judgements, and comparisons – which accounts for my thought system!

I see this symptom too in the trying to make right my practice. And when I'm distressed over the outcome, it's there – preferring the practice to happen in a certain way. And of course, it's there when I "still prefer'' the wholesome states over the unwholesome.

I frequently mistaken this feature to be wisdom, thinking that's the discernment of what's beneficial and what's not. But what's more true is that I'm still pro what's beneficial and against what's unbeneficial.

It's there when I thought there was the right effort of thinking objectively – sneaky – letting me buy into my strategies of choosing the optimal choice! The motivation still is about hoping wisdom will resolve the defilements.

The "no right or wrong" does not mean I have to make myself from judgemental to non-judgemental. By the way, that's how the doing (making wrong) goes about trying to be neutral – it tries to be "right" by being non-judgmental or neutral – as such causing conflicts (wrongness) to its already thought system of judgements and preferences.

When there's understanding of why the meaning of wrongness arises – that a view is favoured – thus this defense causes a wrongness towards otherness. I still know the meanings of right or wrong but I'm no longer "making wrong" because it is such – when there's this that has to be – nature! Which describes non-doing too - not having to do anything to anything.

Understanding is about the pathway of how nature happens. As in this example – the making wrong. It's through recognising the different manifestations, that the pathways are understood. Vice-versa.

If you're interested in this understanding path, do join us at WISE. It offers varied programmes towards understanding mind traits.

In grace, 
Nancy Cheah
7 Jun 2022