Avidyā

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Avidyā (Sanskrit: अविद्या) is a Sanskrit word used in Indian religions that can translate as ignorance, misconceptions, misunderstandings, or incorrect knowledge of the phenomenal world. It is used extensively in Vedic texts, including the Upanishads, and in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, to describe the workings of the mind, and is the opposite of vidya, correct and liberating knowledge. The Indian religions disagree on the nature of avidyā, with Hinduism considering a denial and misconceptions of Atman (soul, self) as a form of avidya, and Buddhism considering the denial and misconceptions of anatta (non-essence, non-self) as a form of avidya. In Buddhism, the term avidyā (Pali: 𑀅𑀯𑀺𑀚𑁆𑀚𑀸, romanized: avijjā; Tibetan transliteration: ma rigpa) commonly translates as "unseeing" or "ignorance," and refers to one's ignorance or misconceptions about the nature of reality - the impermanence and anattā doctrines in particular. It is the root cause of dukkha ("suffering, unsatisfactoriness")...

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