Māna
Māna is a Buddhist term that may be translated as "pride", "arrogance", or "conceit". It is defined as an inflated mind that makes whatever is suitable, such as wealth or learning, to be the foundation of pride. It creates the basis for disrespecting others and for the occurrence of suffering.
Māna is identified as:
- One of the five poisons within the Mahayana Buddhist tradition.
- One of the six root unwholesome mental factors within the Mahayana Abhidharma teachings
- One of the fourteen unwholesome mental factors within the Theravada Abhidhamma teachings
- One of the ten fetters in the Theravada tradition
Explanations
Theravada
Nina van Gorkom explains:The Atthasālinī gives the following definition of conceit:
Mahayana
The Abhidharma-samuccaya states:Herbert Guenther explains:
Alexander Berzin explains:
The Mahayana tradition identifies seven types of arrogance:Arrogance is a puffed-up mind that feels one is better than someone who has inferior qualities.Exaggerated arrogance is a puffed-up mind that feels one is better than one's peers.Outrageous arrogance is a puffed-up mind that feels one is better than someone superior to oneself in some quality.Egotistic arrogance is a puffed-up mind that thinks “me” while focusing on our own samsara-perpetuating aggregates.False or anticipatory arrogance or arrogance of showing off is a puffed-up mind that feels I have attained some quality that I have not actually attained or not yet attained; or thinking one has achievements when one has achieved nothing.Modest arrogance or arrogance of thinking small is a puffed-up mind that feels that I am just a little bit inferior compared to someone vastly superior to myself in some quality, but still superior to almost everyone else.Distorted arrogance or perverted arrogance is a puffed-up mind that feels that some deviant aspect that I have fallen to is a good quality that I have attained—for instance, being a good hunter.