I want to talk about temptations today. I am sure you all heard the story about Buddha was visited by Mara just before he was enlightened. Mara is not some evil creature. Mara is the temptation in our hearts. Buddha knew it was temptation and ignored it so he was enlightened. We, on the other hand, do not recognize temptation.
We always say we are supposed to enjoy so if it feels good, it must be good for us. Not true. A lot of things feel good at the moment. For example, we all want to meditate on a daily basis. How many of us actually take the time to do it? We don’t because we prefer that last piece of news or show or sleep or game or what have you. One of the biggest obstacles for us is sensual desire. We have five senses and they are physical in nature. There is nothing wrong with enjoying what you see, what you taste, etc. The problem comes when we try to want what we are sensing. For example, if there is a beautiful flower, by all means, we should enjoy it. But if we want to take the flower from the plant, that is when we must stop.
Sensual desire actually also affects your meditation sessions. It is a sensual desire that wants to move this way or that way to be just a little bit more comfortable. Nothing wrong with being comfortable but if you are not, please don’t keep adjusting. When you start adjusting you lose concentration. If you actually do let go of that sensual desire to adjust, you will have a peaceful meditation session. The joy that comes from that meditation session far outlasts the sensual gratification from the physical world.
Let’s take the example of food. Say you love pizza. You begin to eat pizza from your favorite pizzeria. You are taking down a few slices. Now you are full. Can you continue? No. If you did, you will eventually throw up. You lose the pleasure of anything that lasts too long. So sensual gratification wants something else as soon as it is satisfied. It is a momentary enjoyment that does not last beyond that moment.
Buddha gave a few solutions to overcome this. The first solution is to let go of the want. If we recognize the sensual desire and decide to ignore it, we will have a lot more joyful time. For example, sitting in a position that may not be comfortable, will allow us the opportunity to learn about sensual desires. Because moving around to find a comfortable position is no different from people working 80 hour days or getting bored when there are no live sports on TV or looking for constant excitement. Once you get out of one situation the next one will start bothering you. Just like during meditation if we move our right leg when it bothers us, a few minutes later left leg will begin to bother us.
Another solution Buddha gave to keep sensual desires in check was moderation in eating. Stop eating after a certain time. In those days they used to start their day around 4 in the morning so he suggested stop eating afternoon. In our times, we should try and stop eating say latest by 6 pm. It allows us to control ourselves and also gives us intermittent fasting that is supposed to be good for our body.
Another solution was to not seeing the whole and seeing just the parts. What does that mean? Say you like someone and have a lust for that person. Instead of seeing the whole person, if you only see their hair or their teeth, the lust actually goes away. Similarly, if there is a luxury car you are drooling for, instead of seeing the car, if you only see the tires your desire will actually reduce.