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Forty-two levels of ignorance

From Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia
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forty-two levels of ignorance
四十二品の無明 (Jpn shijunihon-no-mumyo )

    Also, forty-two levels of illusion. There are two versions of this concept.

(1) The specific illusions associated with each of the final forty-two stages of bodhisattva practice, from the ten stages of security through the highest stage of perfect enlightenment. After eliminating all those illusions, one attains perfect enlightenment as a Buddha.

(2) The forty-two levels of illusion into which T'ient'ai (538-597) divided the third of the three categories of illusion, "illusions about the true nature of existence." They are kinds of ignorance concerning the true nature of life—illusions that prevent bodhisattvas from attaining enlightenment. The last and most deeply rooted of the forty-two is called fundamental darkness or fundamental ignorance. According to T'ient'ai, one attains enlightenment by eradicating these successive levels of ignorance or illusions and finally freeing oneself from fundamental darkness.

Source

www.sgilibrary.org