[gopinadh]

Namo Sugata 

I will look at one :-  my desire to smoke.(albeit luckily,  a mild and sporadic one). 

1. The desire seems to come up,  with two tinges.

• The very act of desiring itself gives a sense of pleasure
• There is also a hue of sorrow, of being in need. An ache.

2. The pleasure which seems to come from the very act of desiring, seems to consist of a peculiar kind of pleasure, of the type which we get when someone balms and dresses up a wound. A sense of self-infliction, giving oneself away, getting intoxicated, surrendering etc is involved. This somehow amplifies the Desire as well as the projected Pleasure.   (We seem to be more neurotic than we credit ourselves.)
3. The ache which comes with the Desire (second bullet from point 1  above ) is from the fact that I am vexed, stressed by it and I have to relieve it (by smoking).
4. There is also a sense of exhaustion after the desire is fulfilled(after I smoke). Like we get fatigued and grasp for air after a heavy lunch during which we gobble up everything. This exhaustion is like the desire “smoked” me and not the other way round. The cigarette seems to have haunted me and done with its job.
5. The actual pleasure during smoking seems to be “minute” and quickly fades away. The Desire though comes back.

Then Sirs , we have the following bouquet of words, phrases, ideas, key- words from dhamma,  which I can perhaps use as meditative tools to help me break free, kindle a light.  That is, If  I can see them , any one of them , as a fact of whats really taking place,  the next time the desire visits, I am able to end the desire, without conflict and psychological violence:

• I am the dog in the Gaddulla Sutta( Samyutta Nikhaya 22.99). The Pole I am leashed to  is the cigarette.
• Wound – each time the desire has its say, I willingly allow  the wound.
• Like a Nurse relieving the patient, moving him, laying him down, making him to sit and eat……. I relieve the desire. Nurse goes on relieving, I go on smoking. Sankhara Dukkha. Pilana, haunting. Like mosquitoes and flees swarming the Body(rupa-ruppati) , I am haunted, afflicted, vexed with this desire. An Ache.
• Subjugating myself is harayati(shameful, self-degrading), jigucchati( I stoop, there is no end to it).
• Dog chewing on bone, all its energy gets sapped, no meat, no satisfaction, man carrying fire in windy night, fire burns him. Desire consumes Me. The Desire never goes away, I have given birth to a ghost , a hole which never fills up – Anicca. Nicchata then is hungerless, nicchato-parinibbuto ti. 
• The Pleasure vanishes away. Of little taste and utility- Alpa Swada -Anityata (DhammaPada 186)
• As Life ends in Death, Meetings end in Sepration, Youthhood culminates in Old age, Health in Sickness…just like these-  All Ichha (wherever my heart lands- Heart-Make) ends in a pain, a Heart Break. – Anicca. Therefore by listening to this desire what am I saying? I am welcoming suffering not just to myself, but also as a HUMAN BEING. I fail/fall  both as an individual and also as a member of a collective.  

 

Can any of the above constitute a valid meditation? Not just to me.  Can these be observed by all,  who are standing like me. Are they potent? I would like to hear more, learn more.   

[Lal]

Yes. Your craving for smoking can easily be broken since it is not an addiction yet.

Regarding your statement, “The Pleasure vanishes away. Of little taste and utility- Alpa Swada -Anityata (Dhammapada 186).”

• Alpa Swada in Pāli is “appassada” or “appa” “assāda” where “appa” means “little” and “assāda” is (mind-made) pleasures.”
• That verse is discussed in “Dhammapada Verses 186 and 187.” 

In the “Dutiyayodhājīva Sutta (AN 5.76)” the Buddha says: “‘appassādā, āvuso, kāmā vuttā bhagavatā bahudukkhā bahupāyāsā, ādīnavo ettha bhiyyo” OR “‘Reverend, the Buddha says that sensual pleasures give little gratification and much suffering and distress, and they are all the more full of drawbacks.”

• While some people crave smoking, most people do not like the smell. Thus, it is mind-made, i.e., a basic example of “distorted  saññā.”
• See “Fooled by Distorted Saññā (Sañjānāti) – Origin of Attachment (Taṇhā)” and “Mūlapariyāya Sutta – The Root of All Things“
• You can contemplate the ādinava (health issues) of smoking and give it up. 
• That is an easy thing to give up compared to other cravings.

[gopinadh]

Pinnaduwage Sir Thanks a lot! Your energy and drive are something to be truly jealous of. If you were in India, I would be roaming about your house, to learn from you. And I would have  kept nagging  you a lot , because it’s a lot easier to nag in person than online.

By the way many Srilankan Cricketers seem to be  Pinnaduwage Sir? Aravinda de silva , the Mad Max of cricket, Hasaranga, Chaturanga De Silva……hmmmm.  

Anyway Sir, Venerable Waharaka Thera says,  in one of the videos with English subs, that the Lord had the power to quickly identify the technique most suitable for a person depending on his or her inclinations/strengths  (shradda, virya, sati, pragna). He used to preach to that person accordingly and they attained Magga Phala instantly. 

 For instance, Sanna Vipallasa Or Adinava( as elucidated by you as Health Issues), should be sufficient for those with high Pragna perhaps, to overcome the habit/desire. I do not have faith, nor wisdom , nor virya. But I can “sense”,  somehow as though as I have done it (known it) before.

Obviously , we cant expect everyone to get connected to everything, in toto.

However Is there a broad or a standard framework  prescribed by the Vaijja (the Great Doctor) for those who are willing to learn and work on it?  Not just  cigarette but breaking free of Sensual Pleasures as such?

From that template as a platform,  perhaps one can proceed, progress, internalize.

Of course I am not expecting any spoon feeding Sir (not that I will complain if provided), but a Standard Framework? Is it there Sir?   

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Yash RS

[Lal]

“However Is there a broad or a standard framework  prescribed by the Vaijja (the Great Doctor) for those who are willing to learn and work on it?  Not just  cigarette but breaking free of Sensual Pleasures as such?”

That is what I described in the comment above.

• The only way to get rid of “bad practices” (not only smoking but other cravings also) is to see their drawbacks.
• It helps a lot to understand that all those cravings are rooted in “distorted  saññā” i.e., those cravings are “mind-made.”
• It is necessary to understand the ideas described in “Fooled by Distorted Saññā (Sañjānāti) – Origin of Attachment (Taṇhā)” and “Mūlapariyāya Sutta – The Root of All Things“ and other posts.
• I don’t seem to be making that point clear. I am not sure what it would take to get this idea across. There are no other “easy ways out.”

1 user thanked author for this post.

Yash RS

[gopinadh]

Sirs, Good Evening…I would like to thank Ariyaratna Sir for the patient reply. Sir, I do not expect a easy way out, at the same time , I have to act now. Burning Burning……Anyway, Sir Pls comment Add, Improve

The Link to the sutta https://suttacentral.net/sn12.66/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=sidebyside&reference=none&notes=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin

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Yash RS

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