Sutta on methods of sense restraint?

Buddhist ethical conduct including the Five Precepts (Pañcasikkhāpada), and Eightfold Ethical Conduct (Aṭṭhasīla).
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Mindstar
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Re: Sutta on methods of sense restraint?

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SN Chapter I - 35 Saḷāyatanasaṃyutta Connected Discourses on the Six Sense Bases ( Bhikkhu Bodhi translation as far as I´m aware of)

http://www.palicanon.org/index.php/sutt ... ense-bases

Higher than lordship over all earth,
Higher than sojourning in heavens supreme,
Higher than empire over all the worlds,
Is Fruit of Entrance to the Dhamma Stream.
—Dhammapada
starter
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Re: Sutta on methods of sense restraint?

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starter wrote: It's a bit puzzling to me that some arahants, even the Buddha, reacted to the beautiful sights and uttered words like "how delightful ...". So faring with a dispassionate mind doesn't seem to mean that one should "just observes the things" and "Not react to their shape or form". It's my understanding that one can enjoy the beautiful things (without craving/clinging), but shouldn't connect them to "I" -- "I want it", "I don't want it", ... which is the so called "the proliferations of consciousness" or "the perceptions & categories of objectification"(papanca: a process of 'I-making' and 'my-making' ) to my understanding. It's not the sensual pleasures that we should renounce, but our desire/craving for them.

Please correct me if I'm wrong. Much metta,

Starter
"The passion for his resolves [in sensual pleasure] is a man's sensuality, not the beautiful sensual pleasures found in the world. The passion for his resolves is a man's sensuality. The beauties remain as they are in the world, while the wise, in this regard, subdue their desire." (from AN 6.63 Nibbedhika Sutta: Penetrative)

"Having directly known earth as earth, he does not conceive [“I am”] earth, he does not conceive [“I am”] in earth, he does not conceive [“I am”] apart from earth, he does not conceive earth as 'mine,' he does not delight in earth. Why is that? Because he has understood that delight is the root of suffering ..." (MN1)

I'm a bit confused now. According to MN1, Arahants do not delight in sense objects (probably do not even enjoy sense objects), but why they enjoyed the beauty of the nature and found it "delightful"? Is the translation of "delight" in "he does not delight in earth", "delight is the root of suffering" accurate? There's the opposite to delight (aversion), which is also the root of suffering, which is somehow not mentioned in MN1.

The correct understanding of the teaching is important in order to practice sense restraint correctly. Your input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and metta!
starter
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Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2010 9:56 pm

Re: Sutta on methods of sense restraint?

Post by starter »

Hello Mindstar,

Many thanks for recommending the link to me. It's very helpful.

This is the first time I came across http://www.palicanon.org/, which contains a complete set of Pali canon, with Ven. Bodhi's sutta translation freely available, which is very useful for sutta study and discussion. Thanks for the work of the contributors!

Much metta,

Starter
starter
Posts: 938
Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2010 9:56 pm

Re: Sutta on methods of sense restraint?

Post by starter »

The Buddha said:

“Whatever you know, above, below, and across the middle, dispel the
enjoyment of, and settling on, these things
, and consciousness,
and one will not remain in existence. Living in this way, mindful, and
heedful, the monk who lives on after giving up loved things, can,
being wise, give up birth, old age, grief, lamentation, and suffering
right here.”

Without rejoicing over feeling on the inside or outside - for he who
lives mindfully in this way, consciousness (paṭisandhiviññāṇaṁ: rebirth consciousness?) surely ceases.”

Having known the origin of nothingness, and that enjoyment is called
a fetter
, knowing deeply that it is so, and then having insight into
this: this is real knowledge for him, for the brahmin who is accomplished.”

From The Way to the Beyond, http://www.ancient-buddhist-texts.net/E ... Beyond.pdf]

I understand now that we can still have pleasant feelings* (e.g. toward the beauty of the nature), but we shouldn't enjoy/rejoice over/delight in such feelings and should remove the attachment to such feelings, as the Buddha taught:

“You must remove all attachment to craving, above, below, and across
the middle, for with whatever they are attached to in the world, with
just that Māra follows a man
. Therefore knowing this, the mindful
monk should not be attached to anything in the world, seeing that
with what is called attachment and clinging, these people are clinging
to the realm of Death.”

I also understand now why only delight, not aversion, was mentioned in MN 1 as the root of suffering. Aversion causes suffering, but not the root of suffering which keeps us in samsara.

Thanks and metta!
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