Undefiled ignorances are one of the criteria by which Buddhas and Arhats are distinguished. According to preceding studies, Chinese and Japanese Buddhism tend to identify undefiled ignorances with hindrances to liberation. And this tendency seems to have begun from the descriptions in the Jushe lunji (倶舎論記).
This paper discusses the reason why Chinese and Japanese Buddhism tend to identify undefiled ignorances with hindrances to liberation.
