佛教禅学（Zen Buddhism）说，人有眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意六根，这六根可以让人获得正确的感受，也可以让人只察觉到幻象而内心不得安宁。幻象就是六尘：色、声、香、味、触、法。

用英语词汇可以表示如下：

eye（眼） ——> sight（色） conspicuous graphic optical

ear（耳） ——> hearing（声） auditory

nose（鼻） ——> smell（香） scent pungent

tongue（舌） ——>taste（味） savor insipid

body（身） ——> touch（触） tangible tactile

brain（意） ——> thinking（法） law rule

如果你的六根过分沉溺于幻象，比如：看不该看的东西，皮肤总是处于饥渴状态从而需要touch，总想食前方丈、满汉全席等等声色犬马之事，简而言之，管不住自己的“根”，即为六根不净。

现代社会被六根不净所充斥。就拿与sight相关的conspicuous（显眼的、引人注目的）来说。con-前缀，是together（大家、共同）的意思，spic/spec 是拉丁词根to look, to see的意思。所以conspicuous的意思是：大家都能看到的。下面是几个六根不净的例子：

1、Conspicuous consumption（炫耀性消费）。Conspicuous consumption is often used to describe the lavish spending intended to increase one's social prestige, a well-known aspect of American life. It is booming in China now.

2、Cocktail might stem from the pursuit of conspicuousness. （美国在上个世纪二十年代颁布《Prohibition Act》 禁酒令，从而使烈性酒的消费变成了财富和地位的炫耀，鸡尾酒大概是禁酒令的产物。因为，你家有酒喝是炫耀，我家几种不同色彩的酒混着喝岂不更扎眼。

3、Nowadays, seeking for conspicuousness is becoming prevalent in China. Some actors or actresses even dare to take the risk of losing fame to create sensational events to become conspicuous in the public. Here, I advise them of an easy way to reach their goals: for actors, It is assured that wearing a green hat is conspicuous in a crowd; for actresses, it is also assured that wearing a miniskirt with a large scarlet capital "A" printed makes them conspicuous.

这里，我并非嘲笑别人，因为鄙人六根也不净，尽管鄙人知道如何通过“六根”去获得正确的感受。鄙人是“可鄙视的人”的简称。