Five Poisons, Five Wisdoms

“The five poisons are directly correlated with the five wisdoms. They are experienced differently, but their fundamental nature is the same. This is because they are all empty, with no ground and no root. This can be regarded as a nondual psychology. Once transformed through skillful means and wisdom, these negative forces become unobstructed expressions of the colorful play of phenomena and no longer bind our consciousness. The king of demons associated with hatred or anger is transformed by love into vajra wisdom. The yama raja, the lord of death epitomizing pride, is transformed through compassion into ratna wisdom. The rakshasi, the cannibal of desire, is transformed by joy into padma wisdom. The demon of jealousy is transformed by equanimity into karma wisdom. The shidré, or ghosts of the dead, which induce ignorance, awaken into bodhicitta, the enlightened mind. In the view of nonduality, poison and wisdom have the same essence.”

Excerpt From
Into the Haunted Ground
Anam Thubten