What is "asava"

Āsava is a Pali term ( Sanskrit: Āśrava) that is used in Buddhist scripture, philosophy, and psychology, meaning "influx, canker." It refers to the mental defilements of sensual pleasures, craving for existence, and ignorance, which perpetuate samsara, the beginningless cycle of rebirth, dukkha, and dying again.

Asavas are also translated as "festering karmic predilections" and "karmic propensities" in Buddhism. The term is also common in Jainism literature, and sometimes appears equivalently as Asrava or Anhaya. However, Buddhism rejects the karma and asava theories of Jainism, and presents a different version instead.