84,000 illnesses of the mind

[safron]

Nichiren Daishonin said

The second category is illness of the mind. These are the three poisons and the eighty-four thousand illnesses.


Is there a list of these 84,000 illnesses ?

Thank you



T HE illnesses of human beings may be divided into two general categories, the first of which is illness of the body. Physical diseases comprise one hundred and one disorders of the earth element, one hundred and one of the water element, one hundred and one of the fire element, and one hundred and one of the wind element, for a total of four hundred and four maladies.1 These illnesses can be cured with the medicines prescribed by skilled physicians such as Water Holder, Water Carrier,2 Jivaka, and Pien Ch’üeh.3

The second category is illness of the mind. These are the three poisons and the eighty-four thousand illnesses.4

[Wesley1982]

No kidding, I'm not suprised.

[safron]

I just got this book called " Understanding our mind" by Thich Nhat Hanh , who was a zen master. It caused me to remember that gosho passage, So i wondered if maybe the zen may know of this 84,000 illnesses of the mind. I wonder if a list actually exists or not.

[Wesley1982]

There are probably not that many - just many illnesses that go unnoticed.

[Astus]

The number "84,000" is only a figure of speech in Buddhism and it simply means many. As for the "illnesses of the mind" you can find the different abhidharma works that list the unwholesome dharmas, and another popular source in East Asian Buddhism is the Surangama Sutra's fifty skandha demons.

[Bonsai Doug]

The number "84,000" is only a figure of speech in Buddhism and it simply means many.

Agree. We see this often even in early non-Buddhist writings. In early Chinese literature we often come across the
term, "ten thousand things." It's simply a way to indicate an indefinite large number.

Another example:

Something mysteriously formed.
Born before heaven and earth.
In the silence and the void…
It is the mother of ten thousand things.
I do not know its name;
I call it Tao.
~ Tao Te Ching