Asava

This article is about the Buddhist philosophical term. For the philosophical term in Jainism, see Asrava.

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Āsava is a Pali term (Sanskrit: Āśrava) that is used in Buddhist scripture, philosophy, and psychology. The glossary of the Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy defines āsava/āśrava as:

inflow, influx, influence; mental bias or canker, cankers that keep one bound to the world of samsāra; used particularly in Jainism and Buddhism.

According to De Silva:

The āsavas which are mentioned frequently are kāmāsava, bhavāsava, diṭṭhāsava and avijjāsava. Horner translates these as the cankers of sense-pleasure, becoming, false views and ignorance. The word canker suggests something that corrodes or corrupts slowly. These figurative meanings perhaps describe facets of the concept of āsava: kept long in storage, oozing out, taint, corroding, etc.

Radhakrishnan states that the word "asava" appears in the Dhammapada, an important Buddhist scripture, in verses 93, 226, 253, 292, and 293. Verse 226 (chapter 17, verse 6) reads

6. sadā jāgaramānānam, ahorattānusikkhinam
    nibbāṇam adhimuttānam, atthaṁ gacchanti āsavā 226

Rhys Davids & Stede (1921–25) state in part that "Freedom from the 'Āsavas' constitutes Arahantship."

Bibliography

• De Silva, Padmasiri (2000). An introduction to Buddhist psychology. Rowman & Littefield. ISBN 978-0-7425-0857-6.