AnonOfIbid wrote:Dan74 wrote:What are you looking for in this thread, Anon?
Are you familiar with the notions of Socratic method for arriving at "truth" the "nature of reality," civil debate, intellectual discussion, where people engage you INTELLECTUALLY without wasting time determining your "motives," "agendas," "reasons," etc.... Is that so much to ask?
Interesting comparison, Anon. Socrates used to question people to show the absurdity of their views and step by step make them arrive at a predetermined conclusion. His conclusion.
I thought you had a genuine enquiry in your OP: "Can one "use" it non-harmfully?" My answer was "no." I gave my reasons.
You say:"CLINGING to, GRASPING for, CRAVING, DESIRING, etc... porn CAN BE harmful IF one acts on them." This makes no sense to me at all - why would anyone look at porn if they did not crave it, desire it, etc?
You ask: "What are you looking for in replying to this thread, Dan?" I am looking to share my view on this question and hope that it is of some use in this discussion for people who are interested in exploring it.
You also say that the second citation is too old. Does that mean that the research in it has since been debunked by new research?
As a practitioner, to me it is clear that however you use porn, it is unwholesome. This may not be a huge deal for some casual browsers or it may be a major problem for addicts. But it does no good to anyone. Can you give an example of a wholesome use of pornography that doesn't fan the flames of passion, but cools them? Maybe looking at naked sick and old people, lepers having sex? Is this what you have in mind?
AnonOfIbid wrote:TMingyur wrote: The object is the object of your mind. There is no other object that is accessible to you. The way you are perceiving is your mind. It is also volition that causes further effects....
This reminds me of George Berkeley.
Well, whether we believe the world is real and existing independently of our mind or not, our current mental states are causally connected to our future mental states. You think unwholesome thoughts now, you will likely think unwholesome thoughts later. This doesn't help liberation, it hinders it.
Looking into motivation is very important in a thread like this. Often people come with "Christian" guilt about these things or the post-modern embrace of all things taboo. Both are unhelpful. Rather it is worthwhile to examine mental states accompanying the action. Are they helpful, useful, cultivating the Paramis, conducive to practice, etc?