| Translations of raga | |
|---|---|
| English | greed, sensuality, desire, attachment or excitement for sensory objects, lust, sexual desire, passion |
| Sanskrit | राग (rāga) |
| Pali | රාග (rāga) |
| Burmese | လောဘ (ရာဂ) |
| Chinese | 貪 (T) / 贪 (S) |
| Japanese | 貪 (Rōmaji: ton) |
| Khmer | រាគៈ, រាគ, លោភៈ, លោភ (UNGEGN: Réakeăk, Réak, Loŭpheăk, Loŭp) |
| Korean | 탐 (RR: tam) |
| Tibetan | འདོད་ཆགས་ (Wylie: ‘dod chags; THL: döchak) |
| Thai | ราคะ (RTGS: rakha) |
| Vietnamese | Tham 貪 |
| Glossary of Buddhism | |
Raga (Sanskrit: राग, IAST: rāga; Pali rāga; Tibetan: 'dod chags) is a Buddhist and Hindu concept of character affliction or poison referring to any form of "greed, sensuality, lust, desire" or "attachment to a sensory object".[1][2][3] Raga is represented in the Buddhist artwork (Sanskrit: bhāvacakra) as the bird or rooster. In Hinduism, it is one of the five Kleshas or poisons that afflict the soul. In Buddhism, Raga is identified in the following contexts:[4]
Rāga literally means 'color or hue' in Sanskrit. In Buddhist texts as a form of blemish, personal impurity or fundamental character affliction.[5][6] The term Raga also refers to a melodic mode in Indian music.
As a Buddhist philosophical concept, the term refers to 'greed, sensuality, desire' or 'attachment to a sensory object'.[1] It includes any form of desire including sexual desire and sensual passion, as well as attachments to, excitement over and pleasure derived from objects of the senses.[5] Some scholars render it as 'craving'.[7]
Raga is one of three poisons and afflictions, also called the "threefold fires" in Buddhist Pali canon,[8] that prevents a being from reaching nirvana.[9][10] To extinguish all raga (greed, lust, desire, attachment) is one of the requirements of nirvana (liberation) in Buddhism.[8]
The Abhidharma-samuccaya states:
Raga is said to arise from the identification of the self as being separate from everything else.[11] This mis-perception or misunderstanding is referred to as avidya (ignorance).
