In addition to meditation practice, there are also the antidotes or alternatives to the three poisons.  

The Buddha has given us the antidote for every defilement; the method whereby we eliminate unwholesome mental attitudes and replace them with virtuous, wholesome attitudes which benefit ourselves and others.

Therefore, the entire aim of spiritual practice is to gradually subdue the poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion by cultivating the alternative mental factors that are directly opposed to them.  

These antidotes are called the three wholesome roots: non-greed, non-hatred, and non-delusion.  

To antidote and overcome greed, we learn to cultivate selflessness, generosity, detachment, and contentment. 

If we are experiencing greed, strong desire, or attachment and we want to let it go, we can contemplate the impermanence or the disadvantages of the objects of our desire.

We can practice giving away those things we would most like to hold onto.

We can also practice acts of selfless service and charity, offering care and assistance to others in any way we can, free of all desire for recognition or compensation.

In truth, there is no objection to enjoying and sharing the beauty, pleasures, and objects of this material world. The problems associated with greed and attachment only arise when we mistakenly believe and act as if the source of our happiness is outside of us.  

To antidote and overcome hatred, we learn to cultivate loving-kindness, compassion, patience, and forgiveness. 

When we react to unpleasant feelings, circumstances, or people, with hatred, anger, or aversion, we can use these sublime antidotes to counteract the poisons.

Here we learn to openly embrace the entire spectrum of our experiences without hatred or aversion.

Just as we practice meeting unpleasant experiences in the outer world with patience, kindness, forgiveness, and compassion, we must also practice meeting our own unpleasant feelings in the same way.

Our feelings of loneliness, hurt, doubt, fear, insecurity, inadequacy, depression, and so forth, all require our openness and loving-kindness.

Our challenge in spiritual practice is to soften our habitual defenses, open our heart, and let go of hatred, aversion, and denial.

In this way, we can meet and embrace ourselves, others, and all inner and outer experiences with great compassion and wisdom.  

To antidote and overcome delusion, we cultivate wisdom, insight, and right understanding. 

Learning to experience reality exactly as it is, without the distortions of our self-centered desires, fears, and expectations, we free ourselves from delusion.

Deeply sensing and acting in harmony with the interdependent, impermanent, and ever-changing nature of this world—realizing that all living beings are inseparably related and that lasting happiness does not come from anything external—we free ourselves from delusion.

As we develop a clear understanding of karma, knowing the positive, wholesome actions that bring happiness and the negative, unwholesome actions that bring suffering, we cultivate the wisdom, insight, and right understanding that free us from delusion.  


By studying the Dharma and applying the teachings properly in our lives, we will gradually wear away even the most stubborn habitual behaviors, fully liberating ourselves from stress, unhappiness, and suffering.

The Buddha calls this the “taintless liberation of the mind.” When the three poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion have finally been extinguished, the sublime peace, wisdom, unity, and bliss of Nirvana shine forth as our essential nature. 

Source: Used with permission from https://sourcepointglobaloutreach.org/what-we-offer/