Ignorance is the field of origin of the others named, whether they be dormant, extenuated, intercepted, or simple. Ignorance is the notion that the non-eternal, the impure, the evil, and that which is not soul are, severally, eternal, pure, good, and soul. Egoism is the identifying of the power that sees with the power of seeing. I.e., it is the confounding of the soul, which really sees, with the tool it uses to enable it to see, viz. Desire is the dwelling upon pleasure.
Aversion is the dwelling upon pain.
The tenacious wish for existence upon earth is inherent in all sentient beings, and continues through all incarnations, because it has self-reproductive power. It is felt as well by the wise as the unwise. The foregoing five afflictions, when subtle, are to be evaded by the production of an antagonistic mental state. When these afflictions modify the mind by pressing themselves upon the attention, they are to be got rid of by meditation. Such afflictions are the root of, and produce results, in both physical and mental actions or works, and they, being our merits or demerits, have their fruitage either in the visible state or in that which is unseen.