The pain-bearing obstructions are — ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and clinging to life.
In plain words: The five troubles that cause pain are ignorance, ego, attachment, aversion and clinging to life. The teacher says ignorance is the root of the other four.
These are the five pains, the fivefold tie that binds us down, of which ignorance is the cause and the other four its effects. It is the only cause of all our misery. What else can make us miserable? The nature of the Soul is eternal bliss. What can make it sorrowful except ignorance, hallucination, delusion? All pain of the Soul is simply delusion.
Namaste.
A calm guide to life, the mind and the old teachings.