The Buddhist term kilesa (Pali; Sanskrit: kleśa or klesha) is typically translated as "defilement" or "poison". In early Buddhist texts the kilesas generally referred to mental states which temporarily cloud the mind and manifest in unskillful actions. Over time the kilesas, and in particular the "Three Poisons" of greed, hatred, and delusion, came to be seen as the very roots of samsaric existence.