The Light Of Dhamma
Volume IX
Pariyatti
What is the root of demerit?
Greed (lobha) is a root of demerit; Anger (dosa) is a root of demerit; Delusion (moha) is a root of demerit. Therefore, the three kinds of demeritorious actions are due to greed, or to anger, or to delusion. These three roots are like three great currents of force, for they are sweeping each one of us down along the road to misery, just as the swift current of a river will carry with it all the logs which have fallen into it.
The light of the Dhamma IX (1)