Three roots of evil nestled in every person: ignorance, greed, and anger. As soon as one of these roots touched the human mind, the gaze of that person became foggy and bleary, leaving him open to believing everything that nourished this evil.
See also: Celestials, Demons, and Mortals, Weredemons, Magical Crystal Bulbs.
Tradition, the primary religion of the world of ‘Takuan from Koto,’ is a syncretic blend of Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucian philosophy. According to the Tradition, within every individual from birth, there exist three vices:
The Abbot of Brocade Mountain, a temple monk named Soliang, spoke of these vices in his teachings: ‘Man lives in suffering. His desires are born from the roots of evil and tear him apart from within. Those who nourish their roots suffer more than others. They cannot be satisfied. Feeding them once only increases the hunger within.’
Ignorance confuses the mind of a person, leading them astray.
An ignorant person lives in a world of illusions and easily falls prey to delusions. People who do not know their true nature are arrogant, self-satisfied, excessively confident in their abilities, and, at the same time, vulnerable to flattery, readily believing whatever confirms their illusory world.
In the Tradition, ignorance is symbolised by a deep blue color.
According to Soliang’s commandments, sincere curiosity opposes ignorance.
Greed, avarice, and the desire for possession create an insatiable hunger within a person.
The desires of a greedy person dominate them, and they are unable to resist them. Greedy individuals seize any opportunity for gain, they are envious and miserly. Extortion, greediness, gluttony, and drunkenness are just some of the waves that continuously run through the mind of a greedy person.
In the Tradition, greed is represented by the colour red.
According to Soliang’s commandments, sincere humility opposes greed.
Anger and fury, easily taking hold of the human mind, give rise to hatred and disgust even towards what was once considered acceptable or good.
An angry person flares up at the slightest spark and destroys everything around them. People under the sway of their own anger see only the bad in others, oblivious to the good. They are driven by the desire to reshape everything according to their own desires, destroying anything that does not fit into their own framework.
In the Tradition, anger and fury are coloured green.
According to Soliang’s commandments, sincere service opposes anger.
The first mention of the roots of evil occurs in the first book when the Marten Ta-Guan reaches Heavens. There, she sneaks into a storage room and discovers demons locked in Yanwang’s magical bulbs. These demons are coloured according to the roots of evil.
The reader then learns that weredemons can possess people who have succumbed to their passions. This subsequently happens to many of the characters.
The science of the roots of evil is taught in monasteries, where our protagonist Takuan learns about his calling. He then sets off on a journey, and wherever he relies on his knowledge, success accompanies him. But when he becomes angry, arrogant, or greedy, retribution awaits him.
Finally, at the very end, the reader learns how humanity was given a chance at true salvation. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
In the present Buddhist philosophy, the roots of evil are referred to as the ‘three poisons’ or three fundamental defilements: moha (ignorance), raga (greed), and dvesha (hatred), which precisely correspond to the roots of the Tradition.
The three beneficial mental factors opposing the three poisons are amoha (absence of delusion) or prajna (wisdom), alobha (non-attachment) or dana (generosity), and advesha (absence of hatred) or metta (loving-kindness).
The inside of the closet was dim and dusty. Streaks of light passed in through cracks in the walls and bleakly illuminated tall cupboards where bulbs stood in rows. Some of the bulbs were covered with thick rags, through which only flickers of light were breaking through. But most bulbs didn’t need a cover, for their dark blue, deep green or burgundy glow was soft and subtle. The most dangerous demons were imprisoned in these bulbs, those who absorbed the true roots of evil: ignorance, anger and greed. Yanwang had spent many years clearing the Imperial Palace and its environs of an army of such demons.
The seeds of luck given to the people germinated in their minds. Demons could no longer fool their heads, but deep in the belly of every person, there still lingered the roots of evil: ignorance, anger, and greed. As soon as one of these roots latched onto someone’s weak seedling of good luck, a demon immediately took that person into his possession.