Stupidity

Stupidity (Skt. moha; Tib. timuk; Wyl. gti mug) — a type of destructive emotion which sometimes replaces ignorance in the lists of destructive emotions. It is the main cause of being reborn in the animal realm, as well as the dominant emotional trait of that realm.

Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche writes:

While ignorance is simply the state of not knowing, stupidity is the state of mind that allows us to repeat the same thing over and over again despite its negative consequences. Stupidity shares a partnership with other disturbing emotions, for instance in the way we get burnt again and again by our own aggression or the way, when coupled with attachment, stupidity supports its addictions. The persistent indifference and murkiness of stupidity allow us to continually re-create our mistakes, even if they make us sick. (Light Comes Though (Shambhala: 2008), page 47)

Alternative Translations

• delusion
• dull indifference
• closed-mindedness
• mental opacity
• bewilderment
• confusion