The Fire of Sense-Desire ... !!!

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The Urge for Sensing Pleasure is an Obsessive Addiction!

Sense-Desire is the first, deepest and most common mental hindrance (Nivarana).The texts given below aim at illustrating how this obsessive and addictive urge forsensing only pleasure in the form of sights, sounds, smells, tastes and touches arise,cease, and is finally cured. The present-day dominance of the porno & entertainment industry speaks -in itself- clearly of this problems abundance among humans today...

First priority: Noticing Sense-Desire (kāma-chanda) -in itself- makes it fade away:Herein, Bhikkhus, when sense-desire is present in him the bhikkhu notes & understands:"There is sense-desire in me," and when sense-desire is absent, he notes & understands:"There is no sense-desire in me." He also understands how unarisen sense-desire arises.He understands how to leave behind any arisen sensual desire, and he understands how left sense-desire will not arise again in the future. MN 10

What is the feeding cause that makes Sense-Desire arise?There are attractive and alluring features and aspects of any object, frequently giving irrational & unwise attention to them, this is the feeding cause of the arising of unarisensense-desire, and the feeding cause of the increase and expansion of sense-desire that already has arisen. SN 46:51

What is the starving cause that makes Sense-Desire cease?There are disgusting and repulsive features and aspects of any object, frequently giving rational & wise attention to them, this is the starving cause of the non-arising of unarisensense-desire, and the starving cause of the decrease and shrinking of sense-desire that already has arisen. SN 46:51

Which medicine cures Sense-Desire, so that it does not re-arise again in the future?Six things leads to the gradual leaving behind of sense-desire:1. Learning how to meditate on ugly & disgusting objects.2. Frequent & intense meditation on disgusting objects.3. Guarding the sense doors.4. Moderation in eating.5. Noble friendship with one who knows how to quell sense-desire.6. Suitable conversation on the disadvantages of hedonism. Commentary to the Satipatthana Sutta

1. Learning how to meditate on disgusting objects.Meditation on disgusting objects produces repulsion towards attractive objects as a result. AN 5:36 The 32 inner organs of the body; A skin sac of bones with 9 oozing holes: Herein, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu reflects on just this body, confined within the skin and full ofmanifold ugly impurities from the soles upward and from the top of the hair downwards: "There is in this body: head-hair, body-hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, pleura, spleen, lungs, intestines, bowels, stomach, excrement, bile, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, lymph, spit, slime, snot, joint-fluid, urine and the brain in the skull." The 9 Corpse Contemplations:The Bhikkhu goes to a cemetery to see a corpse one day, two days, three days dead:Bloated, livid, putrid, rotting, stinking & festering, he applies it to this very body:'This body, too: Such is its nature, such is its future, such its unavoidable destiny'...He meditates as if he were seeing a corpse cast away in a cemetery, picked at by crows,vultures, & hawks, by dogs, hyenas, & various other animals ... a skeleton covered partlywith flesh & blood, connected with sinews ... a fleshless skeleton smeared with blood,connected with tendons ... a skeleton without meat as a chain of bones connected withtendons... as bones detached from their tendons, scattered in all directions; here a hand bone, there a foot bone, here a shinbone, there a thigh bone, here a hip bone, there a back bone, here a rib, there a chest bone, here a shoulder bone, there a neck bone, here a jaw bone, there a tooth, here a skull...the bones whitened, somewhat like the colour of sea-shells ... piled up, more than a year old ... crumbling into black powder. This is awareness focused on the body merely as a putrid & rotting form of matter... MN 10 As inspiration for this acquisition of the sign of disgust (asubha-nimitta) curing any lust have a collection of corpse pictures been deposited at the link below. It can only be viewed by adults > 18 years logged in with ID: http://asia.pg.photos./ph/clever_disgust/album?.dir=/f672Such memorized image of severe disgust is then directed to whenever greedy lust re-arise.If the memorized image is vivid then this urge of desire instantly vanish since disgust anddesire cannot co-exist in the mind. Even just noting the desire can cure it since such an advantageous awareness cannot occur in combination with detrimental thought of lust. Therefore, at the time of knowing the sense desire, that arose in the preceding moment, that sense desire no longer exists, but only the act of awareness knowing & noting it...

3. Guarding the sense doors:And how, Bhikkhus, does one guard the doors of the senses?Seeing a form with the eye, one does neither get caught by any of the general features,nor does one become obsessed with any particular detail of this captivating form...Hearing a sound with the ear, one does neither get caught by any of the common aspects,nor does one become infatuated with any specific detail of this sweet sound...Smelling a smell with the nose, one does neither get caught by any of the prevailing qualities,nor does one become as if possessed by any characteristic detail of this seducing smell...Tasting a taste with the tongue, one does neither get caught by any of the prevalent hallmarks,nor does one become as if gripped by any peculiar detail of this dazzling taste...Touching a thing with the body, one does neither get caught by any of the regular attributes,nor does one become as if fixated by any typical detail of this fascinating touch...Thinking a thought with the mind, one does neither get caught by any of the universal signs,nor does one become as if immersed in any distinct detail of this entrancing mental state...Since, if one leaves the sense ability of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body & mind uncontrolled,evil detrimental states of lust and discontent immediately invade and degrade the mind...Therefore does one practise & gain control of the senses, one guards the doors of the senses, one reins back the senses, one keeps the senses restrained and in check... SN 35:239

Friends, there are these forms recognizable by the eye, sounds recognizable by the ear, smellsrecognizable by the nose, tastes recognizable by the tongue, touches recognizable by the body,mental states recognizable by the mind, which are attractive & liked, wished, longed & urged for,desired and provocative of both lust & greed. If one welcomes them, enjoys them & thus remainsclinging to them, delight arises. With the arising of delight, friends, I tell you, there is also thearising of Suffering… However, if one does neither welcome, enjoy, nor cling to any of these senseobjects, delight ceases. With the ceasing of delight, friends, I tell you, there is also the ceasingof all longing, of all attachment, of all clinging, of all addiction, of all bondage, of all Suffering… MN 145

4. Moderation in eating:How is a Bhikkhu moderate in eating? In this, a Bhikkhu, reflecting rationally, eats food neitherfor the sake of entertainment, nor of infatuation, nor wishing for bodily beauty, but exclusivelyfor the support and maintenance of this body, for ending of discomfort, and for assisting thisNoble life, considering: In this way I will now end this old feeling, yet without arousing any newfeeling! Therefore will I remain healthy, blameless & in comfort... Exactly as one anoints an openwound, only for the purpose of making it heal, or just as one greases an axle only for the sake ofeasy transport of a heavy load, so does a Bhikkhu, who is moderated in eating, eat food while always meticulously reflecting rationally in this very way ... SN 35:239

5. Noble friendship with one who knows how to cure sense-desire.The entire holy life, Ananda, is Noble friendship, Noble companionship, and Noble association. Of any Bhikkhu, Ananda, who has a Noble friend, a Noble companion, a Noble associate, it is to be expected that he will cultivate, practice & complete the Noble 8-fold Way. SN 45:26. Suitable conversation on the disadvantages of hedonism.Some examples spoken by the Blessed Buddha:

If the mortal, longing for sensual pleasure, gets it, yes, then he is happy. But when thepleasures inevitably soon fade away, that person, longing, urging, desiring, is all shocked, as if shot with an arrow... Sutta Nipata IV, 1Death carries off the man while distracted by gathering flowers of sensual pleasures, exactly & even so as a great tsunami carries away a sleeping village. Dhammapada 47Sense objects give little satisfaction, but much urge, pain, panic and despair later. The danger prevailing in them is bigger than their joys. MN 14Disguised as joy, appearing as attractive, falsely promising only pleasure, but longing, frustration, & grief surprises and shocks the one not aware! Udana II - 8

With desire is the world tied & enchained. With the overcoming of desire is it freed.With the overcoming of sense-desire are all bonds cut through. SN 1:69

Sense-desire is like being in dept:There is a man who has acquired a debt and has become ruined. Now, if his creditors, whentelling him to pay back the debt, speak roughly to him or harass and beat him, he is unable toput up any resistance, but will accept it all. It is his debt that causes this feeble leniency.Similarly with a man filled with sense-desire for a certain person, he will, full of craving for that object of his desire, be attached to it. Even if spoken to roughly by that person, or evenharassed or beaten, he will tolerate it all...! His sense-desire causes that shy & frail weakness! It is in this way, that sense-desire is like being in debt.Absence of sense-desire is like freedom from dept:A man, having taken a loan, uses it for his business and comes to prosperity. He then thinks: "This debt is a cause of worry." He returns the loan together with the interest, and has theloan papers torn up. After that he needs neither send any letter to, nor bow to his creditors...And why? He is no longer in debt to them or dependent on them in any way.Similarly a bhikkhu thinks: "sense-desire is a cause of hindrance." He then cultivates the sixthings leading to its overcoming (see above), and removes the hindrance of sense-desire. Justas one who has freed himself of debt no longer feels fear or anxiety, when meeting his formercreditors, so one who has given up sense-desire is no longer attached and bound to the objectof his desire. Even if he sees divine forms, neither passions, nor lust will assail or dominate him.Therefore the Blessed One compared the elimination of sense-desire to freedom from debt.

Commentary on DN 2

A final shot at Hedonism: http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/Why_Not.htm

Blissful is being without passions in this world,Blissful is the overcoming of all sense-desires! Udana II, 1

 

 

 

 

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