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Generally, all these mental afflictions arise from the three basic poisons of mind—attachment, anger, and delusion. Delusion is the foundation of the other two and of all our afflictions; and, in the context of Mahayana Buddhist thought, delusion refers to our mistaken notion of grasping at the real existence of things and events. So it is through the eradication of delusion—which lies at the root of all afflictions—that we strive to bring about an end to suffering and thereby attain true liberation (moksha in Sanskrit).
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Dalai Lama XIV (An Introduction to Buddhism (Core Teachings of Dalai Lama Book 1))