KILESA IV : กิเลส IV (Diptych)

“KILESA IV : กิเลส IV” is one of a series of works with the title KILESA. It is a mixed media painting on white canvas, with scorched marks made by candle flame and lines in acrylic paint. The burning flame represents our own internal flame that distorts our perceptions and influences our actions while the coloured lines show how we grasp and cling to things we desire.

Kilesa (meaning ‘defilements’ in Pali*) signifies impurity or delusion. According to Buddhist psychology, the mind is fundamentally pure but it is defiled by unwholesome qualities that stand in the way of spiritual practice and obstruct wisdom. They are like little clouds that descend on the head and when you look through them you see everything in a different colour, blurred or distorted.

The major types of defilements are:
Lobha (desire or greed) that suddenly makes some things appear very desirable
Dosa (anger or hatred) that makes some things appear very wrong
Moha (ignorance or delusion) that causes confusion over the realities of a situation

When we feel anger, greed or delusion we experience turbulence inside of ourselves, as if there were a fire burning. Kilesa influences our minds and changes the way we think and act. The burning then manifests itself through verbal and/or physical expression. When Kilesa takes over us it lights a fire that becomes all-consuming and is difficult to extinguish.

*Pali is the language of the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism, which were written in Sri Lanka during the 1st century BC. Today Pāli is studied mainly by those who wish to read the original Buddhist scriptures, and is frequently chanted in rituals.