three poisons [三毒] ( san-doku): Greed, anger, and foolishness. The fundamental evils inherent in life that give rise to human suffering. In The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom, the three poisons are regarded as the source of all illusions and earthly desires. The three poisons are so called because they pollute people’s lives and work to prevent them from turning their hearts and minds to goodness. The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra by T’ien-t’ai speaks of the three poisons as the underlying cause of the three calamities of famine, war, and pestilence, stating: “Because anger increases in intensity, armed strife occurs. Because greed increases in intensity, famine arises. Because foolishness increases in intensity, pestilence breaks out. And because these three calamities occur, earthly desires grow more numerous and powerful than ever, and false views increasingly flourish.” In the “Simile and Parable” (third) chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni says to Shāriputra, “He [the Thus Come One] is born into the threefold world, a burning house, rotten and old, in order to save living beings from the fires of birth, aging, sickness, and death, care, suffering, stupidity, misunderstanding, and the three poisons; to teach and convert them and enable them to attain supreme perfect enlightenment.”