Definition: Alobha is the wholesome mental factor (cetasika) that is the absence of greed. In the Abhidhamma it is one of the three wholesome roots (kusalamūla) — together with adosa and amoha — that make a citta wholesome (Dhs 44, 47). It is not merely a negation but a positive disposition of non-grasping that, in conduct, is expressed as generosity and renunciation.
Canonical usage
The Dhammasaṅgaṇī defines alobha by enumeration in the analysis of the first wholesome consciousness (Dhs 44):
Dhs 44 (ds2.1.1:44.1–44.3)
Katamo tasmiṁ samaye alobho hoti? Yo tasmiṁ samaye alobho alubbhanā alubbhitattaṁ asārāgo asārajjanā asārajjitattaṁ anabhijjhā alobho kusalamūlaṁ — ayaṁ tasmiṁ samaye alobho hoti.
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English (working translation, Dhs working ingest): "What at that time is non-greed? That non-greed, non-greediness, state of non-greed, non-lust, non-lusting, state of non-lusting, non-covetousness, the wholesome root of non-greed that is at that time — this is at that time non-greed."
The same factor is given again under the heading anabhijjhā (non-covetousness) — the canon explicitly identifies the two as the same dhamma (Dhs 47):
Dhs 47 (ds2.1.1:47.1–47.3)
Katamā tasmiṁ samaye anabhijjhā hoti? Yo tasmiṁ samaye alobho alubbhanā alubbhitattaṁ asārāgo asārajjanā asārajjitattaṁ anabhijjhā alobho kusalamūlaṁ — ayaṁ tasmiṁ samaye anabhijjhā hoti.
Nuances and translation notes
- The Dhammasaṅgaṇī defines alobha by stacked synonyms (alubbhanā, alubbhitattaṁ, asārāgo, anabhijjhā) rather than by giving a single English-style definition. The synonyms widen the term so it covers both the absence of grasping at sense objects and the absence of attached craving in subtler forms.
- Standard translators render alobha variously as "non-greed", "non-attachment", or "generosity". The first two are accurate to the literal sense; the third names the moral expression of the factor, which the suttas treat as inseparable from the inner state.
- Alobha should not be flattened into "indifference" — the factor is positive non-grasping, not affective coldness. Commentary tradition (Visuddhimagga, Atthasālinī) develops this point further; that material belongs in a later commentary-ingest pass.
Related concepts
- adosa — non-hatred; the second wholesome root, paired with alobha in the Dhs 44–46 triplet
- amoha — non-delusion; the third wholesome root
- kusala — the broader wholesome category that alobha helps constitute
- cetasika — alobha is one of the wholesome mental factors
Related pages
- dhammasangani — the canonical text where alobha is analytically defined
- mental factors cetasika — the concept page that frames alobha within the wider set of cetasikas