Antidotes
Using antidotes is a powerful way to overcome afflictive emotions. When feeling one of these afflictive emotions, use self-talk to move in an antidotal direction. When feeling anger, for example, tell yourself to be patient instead. This list of afflictions and their antidotes was developed with students in several classes, and the antidotes, in particular, are not meant to be exhaustive, but rather to be used as rafts to more peacefulness.
| Defilement | Definitions | Antidote |
| Abuse | A corrupt or evil act, practice, or custom | Compassion, humility, moral discipline |
| Aggression | A forceful action intended to result in domination of another | Equanimity, generosity |
| Ambition | Ardent desire for power or fame or status | Contentment, humility, modesty |
| Anger | Strong feeling of displeasure usually in opposition to someone or something | Patience, wisdom, tonglen, lovingkindness practice |
| Arrogance | An attitude of superiority | Humility, right speech, modesty |
| Avarice | Greed for money | Generosity |
| Baseness | Lack the higher moral sensibilities | Moral discipline, wisdom |
| Blasphemy | Irreverence toward the sacred | Right view, wisdom |
| Calculation | Cold heartless in planning to promote self-interest | No-self, wisdom, generosity, humility, modesty |
| Callousness | Being hardened to others feelings; feeling no kindness toward others | Lovingkindness, compassion, generosity |
| Capriciousness | Impulsiveness | Patience, discipline |
| Censoriousness | Given to blaming and condemning | Compassion, wisdom |
| Conceit | Exaggerated sense of self-importance | Humility, modesty, no-self |
| Conceitedness | Contrived sense of heightened self-worth | Humility, modesty, no-self |
| Contempt | Despising, lacking respect | Humility, modesty |
| Cruelty | Inflicting pain and being devoid of sensitivity and compassion | Lovingkindness, compassion |
| Cursing | Using profane language | Right speech, patience |
| Debasement | To lower another’s character in status or esteem | Honesty, moral discipline |
| Deception | To deliberately give a false impression | Right speech, honesty, discipline, wisdom |
| Delusion | Not understanding things as they really are | Wisdom |
| Derision | Using ridicule or scorn to show contempt | Right speech, praise |
| Desire for fame | Wanting recognition and acclaim | Impermanence, no-self, generosity |
| Dipsomania | An uncontrollable craving for alcohol, addiction | Right effort, strong determination, mindfulness, meditation |
| Discord | Active quarreling nature, causing disharmony | Right speech, patience, wisdom |
| Disrespectfulness | Lacking regard for a person or situation | Right speech, right view |
| Dissatisfaction | Not being pleased with a situation, wanting things to be other than what they are | Mindfulness, patience, intellectual scrutiny |
| Dogmatism | Arrogant assertiveness of a viewpoint | Emptiness, no-self |
| Dominance | Involves influence and control over others | Humility, modesty, giving, equanimity, compassion |
| Doubt | Uncertainty or mistrust | Intellectual scrutiny, curiosity and openness |
| Effrontery | Shamelessly bold | Regret and distaste |
| Egoism | Belief that self-interest is the motive behind all action | Modesty, humility, no self |
| Enviousness | Feeling resentful at another’s advantage and wanting to possess that same advantage | Generosity, patience |
| Envy | A painful or resentful awareness of someone having more than you | Generosity |
| Excessiveness | More than what is proper, needed or necessary; lacking simplicity | Modesty, humility |
| Faithlessness | Not true to what we know is right | Confidence, inquiry |
| Falseness | Deliberate deception, lying | Truthfulness, right speech |
| Fear | Future thinking about not getting what you do or don’t want | Wisdom, patience, acceptance, mindfulness |
| Fearlessness | Not being uncomfortable with unwise actions | Wisdom, regret and distaste |
| Furtiveness | Something negative done secretly, underhandedly, slyly | Honesty, transparence, openness |
| Gambling | To play a game of uncertain outcome for money | Disciple, charity, diligent effort |
| Garrulity | Pointless and annoyingly talkative | Right speech |
| Glee | Gloating, delighting in the suffering of others | Compassion |
| Gluttony | Greedy or excessive indulgence, usually in food or drink | Mindfulness, right intention |
| Greed | A selfish desire for more | Generosity |
| Grudge | To give or allow reluctantly or resentfully | Lovingkindness, forgiveness |
| Hard-heartedness | Lacking an empathetic or compassionate understanding | Lovingkindness and compassion |
| Hatred | Strong prejudiced hostility or animosity | Patience, humility, modesty, lovingkindness |
| Haughtiness | Blatantly or disdainfully proud | Humility, modesty |
| High-handedness | Showing no concern for the rights, concerns or feelings of others | Modesty, humility |
| Hostility | A deep seated, usually mutual, ill will; conflict, opposition or resistance | Patience, lovingkindness and compassion |
| Humiliation | To reduce to a lower position in one’s or another’s eyes | Praise, generosity |
| Hurt | To inflict physical or emotional pain | Lovingkindness |
| Hypocrisy | Making oneself appear to be what one is not or does not believe | Right speech, humility |
| Ignorance | Lack of understanding of things as they really are | Wisdom |
| Imperiousness | Acting of a superior rank, arrogant | Humility, modesty, confidence |
| Impudence | Lacking modesty, bold and cocky | Modesty, no self |
| Inattentiveness | Not heedful of the comfort of others | Mindfulness |
| Indifference | A lack of caring for another or the results of a situation | Lovingkindness, compassion |
| Ingratitude | Not appreciating a kindness received | Gratefulness; lovingkindness and compassion |
| Insatiability | Incapable of being satisfied | Generosity, discipline |
| Insidiousness | Waiting for a chance to pounce, setting things up to be harmful yet enticing | Fairness, honesty, sincerity |
| Intolerance | Unwillingness to accept or to grant understanding to others views | Patience, mindfulness, wisdom |
| Intransigence | Refusal to abandon an attitude or extreme position | Humility, modesty; understanding impermanence |
| Irresponsibility | Not feeling accountable for one’s conduct or obligations | Dependability, discipline |
| Jealousy | Hostility toward someone perceived to want something you have | Patience, generosity |
| Know-it-all | One who claims to know it all and who disdains advice | Modesty and humility, silence |
| Lecherousness | Inordinate interest or indulgence in sexual activity | Meditation on death, discipline, right effort, strong determination |
| Lying | To make an untrue statement with the intent to deceive | Right speech, truthfulness |
| Malignancy | Being evil in nature | Lovingkindness, compassion |
| Manipulation | To try to control or change by unfair means to serve one’s own purposes | Compassion |
| Masochism | Perverse pleasure in being subject to pain and humiliation | Respect; lovingkindness, compassion |
| Mercilessness | Lacking compassion for others | Lovingkindness, compassion |
| Negativity | Marked by contradictoriness | Mindfulness, wisdom |
| Obsession | A persistent preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling | Disciple, mindfulness |
| obstinacy | The state of being difficult to remedy or subdue, stubborn | Right view |
| Obstinacy | Being difficult to change one’s attitude | Lovingkindness, patience |
| Oppression | Unjust or cruel exercise of power over another | Humility, emptiness |
| Ostentatiousness | Conspicuous or pretentious display | Humility, modesty |
| Pessimism | An inclination to emphasize adverse aspect of a situation; as a doctrine, pessimism is a wrong very suggesting that evil overbalances good | Equanimity, patience, wisdom |
| Prejudice | An adverse preconceived judgment or opinion; an irrational attitude of hostility to another or a group | Generosity, wisdom, right view |
| Presumption | Assuming it is correct or true because it seems likely | No self, wisdom |
| Pride | Inordinate self-esteem | Generosity, humility, modesty |
| Quarrelsomeness | Disposed to argue in a petty way | Right speech |
| Rage | A violent uncontrollable display of anger | Patience, lovingkindness, compassion, equanimity, wisdom |
| Restlessness | Constant fidgeting or moving | Patience, physical discipline |
| Ridicule | To mock, make fun of | Right speech |
| Sadism | A perversion in which gratification is obtained by inflicting mental or physical pain | Moral rectitude, compassion, regret, distaste |
| Sarcasm | A sharp utterance meant to cut or give pain | Right speech, compassion, patience |
| Seducement | To lead astray with false promises or through persuasion | Truthfulness, generosity |
| Self-denial | A restraint of one’s own desires or interest with negative results | Honesty, understanding conditions |
| Self-hatred | Prejudiced hostility toward oneself | Lovingkindness, compassion |
| Sexual lust | Inordinate sexual desire | Discipline, meditation on death |
| Shamelessness | A painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by a perceived wrongdoing | Discipline, right view, no self |
| Sloth | Laziness | Discipline |
| Stinginess | Meanly not giving or spending | Generosity |
| Stubbornness | Unreasonable and unyielding | Humility, modesty, wisdom |
| Temper | Prone to sudden intense outbursts of anger | Patience, discipline |
| Torment | To inflict pain or anguish, torture | Compassion, lovingkindness, humility |
| Torpor | Lack of energy | Discipline |
| Unkindness | Doing something that is not pleasing, harmful, nasty | Lovingkindness |
| Vanity | Inflated pride in oneself or appearance | Humility and modesty, meditation on death |
| Vindictiveness | Disposed to seek revenge | Forgiveness, lovingkindness |
| Violence | Using force to injure or abuse | Walk off the battlefield; moral rectitude |
| Worry | Future thinking, to fret or become anxious about something or someone | Patience, abiding in conditions |