adventitious

[befriend]

i was reading the sutta the removal of distracting thoughts and was wondering when it says "when an adventitious thought that is unwholesome arises one should replace it with a skillfull one. my question is what if someone was thinking lustful thoughts earlier in the day on purpose (not adventitious) then when they sit down to meditate the lust that was thought of earlier makes lust pop up, is it still adventitious?

[befriend]

adventitious means accidental.

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

The meaning here is: "happening as a result of external factors" — not by chance.

Oxford Dictionary

Its not by chance that lustful thoughts appear when they are cultivated intentionally.

[befriend]

Hi Bhante,
it doesnt say not chance it says or chance. "happening as a result of an external factor or chance rather than design or inherent nature"

would that make it impossible to switch an unwholesome state with a wholesome one in this scenario?
apacayana,
Befriend

[befriend]

i mean what if you purposely thought lustful thoughts in the morning then at night because of that line of thinking the lustful thoughts came up.

[Hickersonia]

i mean what if you purposely thought lustful thoughts in the morning then at night because of that line of thinking the lustful thoughts came up.

I'm thinking that, if you purposely think lustfully at any time whatsoever, you are inviting it into your mind. When it comes in and it pees all over your furniture to the point where the smell is noteworthy even hours later (that night), I don't think there is anything accidental about that. I'd just call that kamma...

[Cittasanto]

i mean what if you purposely thought lustful thoughts in the morning then at night because of that line of thinking the lustful thoughts came up.

Dhammapada verse 1 & 2 spring to mind here.
these thoughts came about through design through promoting such thoughts.

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

Though it may seem that many things happen by chance, because we don't know the causes, nothing happens without a cause. That's not fatalism either, but conditionality. When past kamma bears fruit, we can react to it in different ways — making fresh wholesome or unwholesome kamma that will bear fruit in the future. If it was not possible to change our destiny by modifying our present kamma, then the Buddha would not have bothered to teach the Dhamma.

If we think lustful thoughts it is the unwholesome mental kamma of covetousness (abhijjhā), and that has consequences. Old habits die hard, so the more that we follow unskilful thoughts, the more vulnerable we are to following unskilful speech and action when conditions conspire to make it likely.

The Sutta in question gives methods how to replace unwholesome reflections with wholesome ones.

A certain monk was in the habit of contemplating bones in the cemetery. One day, while walking for alms, he met a woman on the road who had left the house, having quarrelled with her husband. On seeing the monk, she entertained wicked thoughts, and laughed. The monk looked up, but instead of seeing a beautiful woman and being overpowered by lust, all he saw was a skeleton walking along the road. He then gained Arahantship. What do you think would have happened if the monk was in the habit of entertaining lustful fantasies?

[manas]

Sadhu, Bhante, that was such an inspiring and helpful post.

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

Enlightenment is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.



The first 1 % is not too difficult.

[manas]

Enlightenment is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.



The first 1 % is not too difficult.

Then I will try harder not just to feel inspired by the Dhamma, but to more consistently put it into practice, even if this seems to grate sometimes.

Thank you for your advice Bhante.

[bodom]

The Buddha says that whatever thoughts one frequently cultivates and ponders upon will become the basis of ones mind. So, if your cultivating thoughts of lust, naturally they are going to arise later on more often than not.