Karmic effect of pornography

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HonestSeeker
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Karmic effect of pornography

Post by HonestSeeker »

Hello all,
I am hoping to have an honest answer to my question, I am usually doing a lot of metta practice and I help a lot of people and do a lot of good karma in daily life, But I do have problems though, I watch porn once a week. no matter how much I try to avoid this, I end up watching porn and playing stupid porn games on the internet, I don’t have any intention of harming anyone, and I keep trying to quit this bad habit by reading about how porn actors and actresses are being exploited so that I can develop compassion and stop doing this, but I end up watching porn regardless and it’s getting to a point where I’m just sick and tired and I’m probably making bad karma from this addiction. I sometimes feel like a cow being led to slaughter at the whims of the butcher of sensual desire. Please give me advice, I have tried noting that this is not myself and it is likely caused by previous actions in the past , yet it doesn’t help break the habit. Even 32 parts of the body meditation seems not helpful. Was hoping to get some advice from an experienced practitioner of dhamma
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cappuccino
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Re: Karmic effect of pornography

Post by cappuccino »

Porn is foul


Don’t try to avoid seeing this
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cappuccino
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Re: Karmic effect of pornography

Post by cappuccino »

You will try to be attracted by it


But you will more and more be disgusted


And less and less want to look
Alino
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Re: Karmic effect of pornography

Post by Alino »

Hello Dear Seeker :anjali:

Happy to see that you not abandoning your efforts!

I think the problem is that your environement is not clean from triggers. Try to eliminate all triggers. I wouldlike to suggest you unsubscribe from all "instagram girls" on your social medias, youtube channels with triggering girls, when you walk on the street watch on the floor before you, restrain your eyes from dangerous forms etc. Stop talking to girls you are attracted to, stop thinking about them. When you see dangerous thought arise - instantly apply Buddho (or repeating any other word or sentence) in order to remplace these unwholesome thoughts with wholesome ones.

Best sollution is to practice 8 precepts (to the degree you can), because sensual desire is something working as a whole, and by over-eating, over-sleeping, over-entertaining you can trigger your desire for po*n. I put an * because even a word can trigger unwholesome thoughts, so be careful what you are reading and how you are talking.

Clean and protect your environment as much you can. 🙏
We don't live Samsara, Samsara is living us...

"Form, feelings, perceptions, formations, consciousness - don't care about us, we don't exist for them"
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cappuccino
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Re: Karmic effect of pornography

Post by cappuccino »

You can’t repress


At least you should not try
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Re: Karmic effect of pornography

Post by Alino »

cappuccino wrote: Tue May 03, 2022 4:55 am You can’t repress


At least you should not try
You can't eliminate arising of sensual things until you are not Anagami. But you can not identify with them, you can not follow them, you can bear them. In order to not follow them, you need to create space around them. And to create security space around arising mental phenomenas you need to develop restraint and wisdom.

Like adhesive tape. While someone try to pull it off - its unpleasant, if we follow the movement of the pull the tape will stay glued to the skin with no space between, but if we patient with the unpleasantness and dont move, space will be created between the skin and adhesive tape, and with space there is no contact, with no contact there is no unpleasant feeling, no craving, no grasping... no suffering.

So no matter how the pull or the push of arisen greed or hatred is unpleasant - we should not follow it, by not following we create space between, by creating space we can contemplate these phenomenas, by contemplating them we can understand their nature, by understanding their nature we develop wisdom, by developing wisdom mind is liberated.
We don't live Samsara, Samsara is living us...

"Form, feelings, perceptions, formations, consciousness - don't care about us, we don't exist for them"
Ontheway
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Re: Karmic effect of pornography

Post by Ontheway »

Alino wrote: Tue May 03, 2022 6:30 am
cappuccino wrote: Tue May 03, 2022 4:55 am You can’t repress


At least you should not try
You can't eliminate arising of sensual things until you are not Anagami. But you can not identify with them, you can not follow them, you can bear them. In order to not follow them, you need to create space around them. And to create security space around arising mental phenomenas you need to develop restraint and wisdom.

Like adhesive tape. While someone try to pull it off - its unpleasant, if we follow the movement of the pull the tape will stay glued to the skin with no space between, but if we patient with the unpleasantness and dont move, space will be created between the skin and adhesive tape, and with space there is no contact, with no contact there is no unpleasant feeling, no craving, no grasping... no suffering.

So no matter how the pull or the push of arisen greed or hatred is unpleasant - we should not follow it, by not following we create space between, by creating space we can contemplate these phenomenas, by contemplating them we can understand their nature, by understanding their nature we develop wisdom, by developing wisdom mind is liberated.
I think Buddha once said that we need Jhanas to conquer sensual lust (couldn't remember which sutta though, need to research). I remember there was a simile....just like a wise person having known a more sublime happiness and enjoyment, would forsake a grosser and lower form of happiness naturally....like a grown up man, having known the joy of other entertainment suitable to grownups, would forsake the childish games naturally. In this case, the sublime happiness is Jhanic bliss while the lower form of happiness is sexual gratification.

By means of Jhanic attainment, it burns away five hindrances, which include kamaraga (sensual desires). And Anagami mastered the Jhanas and has no problem with Jhanic attainment at all, that's why Anagami eradicated Sensual desires. But Sotapanna and Sakadagami, though some may able to gain Jhanic attainment, but not mastery. Therefore, they are bound by sensual desires (though Sakadagami weakens the hindrance by great amount).

This explains why Sotapanna is still capable of marriage, making love and give birth too. For example, Lady Visākhā (a Sotapanna) had ten sons and ten daughters, each of whom had a similar number of children, and so on down to the fourth generation. Before her death, at the age of one hundred and twenty, she had eighty four thousand and twenty direct lineal descendants, all living. (But see Ud.viii.8, which speaks of the death of a grand daughter and of Visākhā's great grief; this evidently refers to Dattā).
Hiriottappasampannā,
sukkadhammasamāhitā;
Santo sappurisā loke,
devadhammāti vuccare.

https://suttacentral.net/ja6/en/chalmer ... ight=false
Alino
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Re: Karmic effect of pornography

Post by Alino »

Ontheway wrote: Tue May 03, 2022 7:36 am
I think Buddha once said that we need Jhanas to conquer sensual lust (couldn't remember which sutta though, need to research). I remember there was a simile....just like a wise person having known a more sublime happiness and enjoyment, would forsake a grosser and lower form of happiness naturally....like a grown up man, having known the joy of other entertainment suitable to grownups, would forsake the childish games naturally. In this case, the sublime happiness is Jhanic bliss while the lower form of happiness is sexual gratification.

By means of Jhanic attainment, it burns away five hindrances, which include kamaraga (sensual desires). And Anagami mastered the Jhanas and has no problem with Jhanic attainment at all, that's why Anagami eradicated Sensual desires. But Sotapanna and Sakadagami, though some may able to gain Jhanic attainment, but not mastery. Therefore, they are bound by sensual desires (though Sakadagami weakens the hindrance by great amount).

This explains why Sotapanna is still capable of marriage, making love and give birth too. For example, Lady Visākhā (a Sotapanna) had ten sons and ten daughters, each of whom had a similar number of children, and so on down to the fourth generation. Before her death, at the age of one hundred and twenty, she had eighty four thousand and twenty direct lineal descendants, all living. (But see Ud.viii.8, which speaks of the death of a grand daughter and of Visākhā's great grief; this evidently refers to Dattā).
Indeed !
You mean MN 14 i suppose 🙏

https://suttacentral.net/mn14/en/sujato ... ript=latin
We don't live Samsara, Samsara is living us...

"Form, feelings, perceptions, formations, consciousness - don't care about us, we don't exist for them"
HonestSeeker
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Re: Karmic effect of pornography

Post by HonestSeeker »

Do you have any tips on how to create the space, honestly this has become such a hindrance for me, I feel like I’m at a loss, I tried 32 parts of the body meditation, should I keep doing this one over and over until I beat this addiction? Thank you
Ontheway
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Re: Karmic effect of pornography

Post by Ontheway »

Maybe you should hang out with more likeable people. Talk to real women and befriend them. Better than being a simp to egirls or pornography.

Find out what is your purpose of life and work towards it. That will make you occupied and less time being alone in your room.
picture-41431-1629141223.jpg
Hiriottappasampannā,
sukkadhammasamāhitā;
Santo sappurisā loke,
devadhammāti vuccare.

https://suttacentral.net/ja6/en/chalmer ... ight=false
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retrofuturist
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Re: Karmic effect of pornography

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings,
Ontheway wrote: Tue May 03, 2022 12:42 pm Talk to real women and befriend them. Better than being a simp to egirls or pornography.
:clap:

Metta,
Paul. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
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cappuccino
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Re: Karmic effect of pornography

Post by cappuccino »

Ontheway wrote: Tue May 03, 2022 12:42 pm Maybe you should hang out with more likeable people. Talk to real women and befriend them.
Or I don’t know, be a Buddhist
HonestSeeker
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Re: Karmic effect of pornography

Post by HonestSeeker »

Yea I have real women in my life who are friends and I’m in a relationship, it’s just this porn addiction that is the problem, but it’s ok I guess I have to figure something out , not sure I will get answers from the internet, perhaps this is what I have to overcome in this life prior to progressing on the path.
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Ceisiwr
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Re: Karmic effect of pornography

Post by Ceisiwr »

HonestSeeker wrote: Tue May 03, 2022 2:04 pm Yea I have real women in my life who are friends and I’m in a relationship, it’s just this porn addiction that is the problem, but it’s ok I guess I have to figure something out , not sure I will get answers from the internet, perhaps this is what I have to overcome in this life prior to progressing on the path.
Are you viewing pornography less than you used to?
“Knowing that this body is just like foam,
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
HonestSeeker
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Re: Karmic effect of pornography

Post by HonestSeeker »

Yes but it’s still once a week and it bothers me since it’s as if my mind is so obsessed with it once a week
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