āsrāva

āsrāva, in Buddhist philosophy, the illusion that ceaselessly flows out from internal organs (i.e., five sense organs and the mind). To the unenlightened, every existence becomes the object of illusion or is inevitably accompanied by illusion. Such an existence is called sāsrava. Even if one leads a good life, it is still regarded as sāsrava, insofar as it leads to another existence in the world of transmigration. Through the effort of ridding oneself of āsrāva, one can attain anāsrāva (the Enlightenment), or freedom from the bond of illusion by undefiled wisdom.