sku gsung thugs - Body, Speech, Mind

One way to classify mi dge ba bcu, the ten non-virtues, is by the classification of sku gsung thugs, body, speech, mind. This category system is used quite a lot in Buddhist literature and practice, and mentioned a lot in texts, so it's good to know.

sku is body, gsung is speech, and thugs is mind. All these three are honorific words compared with common words. The honorific words are reserved for parents, teachers, and spiritual/enlightened beings.

In the case of mi dge ba bcu, the first three non-virtues are related to body and body actions, the next four to speech, and the last three to mind. The levels of actions are also different, it's easier to control the body, harder the mind, and the most hard case is controlling the mind.