kha na ma tho ba

hidden/ unacknowledged flaw/ evil [RB]

misdeed, wrongdoing, evil action, unwholesome deed, sin, nonvirtue, fault, not confessed [lit. "unmentionable," not come out of the mouth], moral corruption; innate flaw/ evil; moral evil, non-virtue, perverted actions, evil transgression. Syn nyes ltung, sdig pa [RY]

misdeed, sin, non-virtue, fault, wrongdoing, evil action, unwholesome deed, that which is not confessed, not come out of the mouth/uplifted, moral corruption; [IW]

not confessed [JV]

Unwholesome DKC

Discussion

There are two types of unwholesome actions are negative actions: included unwholesome and inherently unwholesome. Included unwholesome actions are such as drinking or so forth: they are not necessarily non-virtue themselves, but they often lead to non-virtue. Many of these are forbidden for the fully renounced but allowed for lay people.

As kha na ma tho ba is broader in scope than mi dge ba or sdig pa, it should be translated by a word that is similarly broad in scope in English. The English word unwholesome seems to match kha na ma tho ba. For example, drinking is considered unwholesome in English and kha na ma tho ba in Tibetan, but not necessarily sdig pa or a sin, evil action or misdeed in either language. The suggestion of "innate flaw" seems somehow counter to the fact that all flaws are fleeting stains. DKC