Yes.
1. This is the same as cultivating Samma Sankappa and discarding miccha sankappa.
– It is also the same as cultivating the correct version of Anapana and Satipatthana meditations.
– P.S. It is also the same as cultivating punnabhi sankhara (punna kamma) and discarding apunnabhi sankhara (apunna kamma).
2. That is done at two levels:
– First is the mundane level (cultivating normal “good thoughts” like giving, helping others, etc., and abstaining from greedy, angry thoughts).
– The higher level is to see the fruitlessness and dangers in craving for worldly pleasures (kama raga).
3. Again that second level is also two-fold: First is “seeing” and the second is “getting rid of remaining wrong perceptions”. The first step involves learning/comprehending the fruitlessness/dangers in sensual pleasures and the second involves constantly contemplating on the drawbacks of sensory pleasures.
– #2 of the recent post, “Icchā, Taṇhā, Kāma – Root Causes of Suffering” discusses an analogy of an alcoholic.
