September 9, 2024 at 2:19 pm
#51885
Keymaster
Yes. The video provides a glimpse into Buddha’s teachings. Even though a video cannot explain the fundamentals, it provides some insights.
1. “Sexual urge” is built into our physical body as well as the human psyche.
- In the same way, the sweetness of honey or the appealing smell of a rose is also built into our physical body and the human psyche in general.
- However, those are “distorted perceptions (saññā)” that get incorporated into our mental and physical bodies via Paticca Samuppada.
- For those who have not read them, I have discussed that for about a year. See the posts after 8/5/23 in “New / Revised Posts.”
2. The deeper aspect of Buddha’s teachings is that we can overcome those “distorted saññā.”
- First, one must understand how it arises “naturally” via Paticca Samuppada.
3. The Buddha called saññā a mirage in the “Pheṇapiṇḍūpama Sutta (SN 22.95).”
- When a thirsty animal sees the mirage of a “body of water” ahead on a hot Summer day, that is a “distorted saññā” arising in its mind. It is tempted by it, runs toward it, and ultimately may die of exhaustion. A human may get that same wrong perception. But a human is capable of disregarding it by logical thinking.
- “Sexual urge” or the “sweetness of honey” are also mirages. However, unlike the “distorted saññā” of a “body of water” on a hot Summer day, the sexual urge is not easy to dismiss.
- It is extremely hard to overcome that “built-in mirage” because we have all cultivated it through countless lives. The best way to overcome it is to understand how it gets “built-in” to our physical and mental bodies via Paticca Samuppada.
- Finalizing that analysis could take a few more months, but I can vouch that “distorted saññā” can be overcome.
4. That “distorted saññā” cannot be removed (at least while living day-to-day life), but one can stop being tempted by it.
- Furthermore, that distorted saññā “goes underground” (or stays hidden) when one gets to samadhi and experiences the “sappabhāsa citta” or the “bright mind.” I have not yet discussed the “sappabhāsa citta,” but that is the closest we can get to the “pabhassara citta” or the “suffering-free mind” until we attain the Arahant stage.
5. On a practical level, we know that sex is not essential for healthy living. Buddhist monks practice celibacy (they have taken a vow to abstain from sex), and I am confident that they are much healthier than average people.
- Of course, 99+% of them practice celibacy without even having heard of the concept of “distorted saññā.” They do that with faith.
- When one can see that it is made up by our own minds, it becomes much easier to disregard it.