Definition: Amoha is the wholesome mental factor (cetasika) that is the absence of delusion or ignorance (avijjā). In the Abhidhamma it is the third of the three wholesome roots (kusalamūla) — together with alobha and adosa — that make a citta wholesome (Dhs 46, 49). The canon explicitly equates amoha with paññā (wisdom) and sammādiṭṭhi (right view), treating it as the cognitive faculty of discernment.
Canonical usage
The Dhammasaṅgaṇī defines amoha with an exceptionally long list of synonyms in the analysis of the first wholesome consciousness (Dhs 46):
Dhs 46 (ds2.1.1:46.1–46.3)
Katamo tasmiṁ samaye amoho hoti? Yā tasmiṁ samaye paññā pajānanā vicayo pavicayo dhammavicayo sallakkhaṇā upalakkhaṇā paccupalakkhaṇā paṇḍiccaṁ kosallaṁ nepuññaṁ vebhabyā cintā upaparikkhā bhūrī medhā pariṇāyikā vipassanā sampajaññaṁ patodo paññā paññindriyaṁ paññābalaṁ paññāsatthaṁ paññāpāsādo paññāāloko paññāobhāso paññāpajjoto paññāratanaṁ amoho dhammavicayo sammādiṭṭhi amoho kusalamūlaṁ — ayaṁ tasmiṁ samaye amoho hoti.
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English (working translation, Dhs working ingest): "What at that time is non-delusion? The wisdom that at that time is understanding, search, research, searching the Dhamma, discernment, discrimination, differentiation, erudition, proficiency, subtlety, criticism, reflection, analysis, breadth, sagacity, leading, insight, awareness, a goad; wisdom, the faculty of wisdom, the power of wisdom, the sword of wisdom, the palace of wisdom, the light of wisdom, the radiance of wisdom, the lamp of wisdom, the jewel of wisdom, non-delusion, searching the Dhamma, right view, the wholesome root of non-delusion that is at that time — this is at that time non-delusion."
The same factor is given again under the heading sammādiṭṭhi (right view) — the canon explicitly identifies the two (Dhs 49):
Dhs 49 (ds2.1.1:49.1–49.3)
Katamā tasmiṁ samaye sammādiṭṭhi hoti? [synonyms as above] ... amoho dhammavicayo sammādiṭṭhi — ayaṁ tasmiṁ samaye sammādiṭṭhi hoti.
This identification ties amoha directly to the first factor of the noble eightfold path (pending) and the faculty of paññindriya.
Nuances and translation notes
- Amoha is the only one of the three roots that is defined by the Dhs using a massive "synonym-cluster" (including paññā, vipassanā, sampajañña, and dhammavicayo). This suggests that while alobha and adosa are primarily affective/volitional, amoha is primarily cognitive and intensive.
- Standard translators render amoha as "non-delusion". While literally accurate, the canonical definition makes it clear that it is synonymous with "wisdom" (paññā) in its active, discerning sense.
- In the Abhidhamma system, while all wholesome consciousness must have alobha and adosa, not all wholesome consciousness has amoha (it may be ñāṇa-vippayutta, "disconnected from knowledge").
Related concepts
- alobha — non-greed; the first wholesome root
- adosa — non-hatred; the second wholesome root
- panna — wisdom; the primary synonym for amoha
- kusala — the broader wholesome category
- cetasika — amoha is one of the wholesome mental factors
Related pages
- dhammasangani — the canonical text where amoha is analytically defined
- mental factors cetasika — the concept page that frames amoha within the wider set of cetasikas