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upakkilese

upakkilesa

masc acc pl of upakkilesa (noun); masc loc sg of upakkilesa (noun); nt acc pl of upakkilesa (noun); nt loc sg of upakkilesa (noun)

1. impurity; imperfection; flaw; blemish; corruption
2. in reference to MN128 Upakkilesasutta; lit. imperfection

Built from

• upa — prefix · up close, near
  Approach, proximity, closeness — things that lie alongside. Cognates: Greek hypo-, Latin sub-, English up. The defilements press near to meditation and virtue.
• kkilesa — stem · defilement, affliction
  From √klis- (to afflict, to trouble). Sanskrit kleśa carries the same sense of mental torment and impurity. Here the root captures the concrete image of something that causes distress and clings.

Analysis. upa- (up close, alongside) + kkilesa (defilement, from √klis- to afflict). The concrete image is defilement pressing close, clinging to the practice: impurities that adhere alongside the work of purification.

Etymology. kkilesa from √klis-, related to Sanskrit kleśa (affliction, torment). The prefix upa- (up close, near) combines with this root of affliction to create the sense of blemishes that attach themselves alongside or within spiritual development. Not cognate with English "close" or "cluster," but the spatial imagery of nearness and adhesion is native to Pali.

Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.

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