Is it okay to read buddhist text while i am using the toilet, having a smoke?

Buddhist ethical conduct including the Five Precepts (Pañcasikkhāpada), and Eightfold Ethical Conduct (Aṭṭhasīla).
User avatar
No_Mind
Posts: 2211
Joined: Fri May 23, 2014 4:12 pm
Location: India

Re: Is it okay to read buddhist text while i am using the toilet, having a smoke?

Post by No_Mind »

malunkyaputta wrote: Thu Feb 22, 2018 10:03 am
No_Mind wrote: Thu Feb 15, 2018 11:58 am No looking at porn with -- same as above .. also make sure no suttas are open while watching porn on laptop .. or there is no desktop wall paper of Buddha
Hello my brother :)

I personally believe that consuming porn is not in accord with keeping the 3rd precept (avoiding sexual/sensual misconduct) - as it is taking advantage of someone else's pain/misery/suffering (the "actors") for your own pleasure...

I am no saint, though - I used to watch quite a lot :(
But that is my Khamma...

As of the current day - I am proud to be 4 months absolutely free of porn! :woohoo:

It would be wise for you to see (even just for the sake of it) - what happens if you stop...

Have a great day :)
I will let slide your starting to be preachy in your very first post. Beginner's error and what not.

I never said anywhere that I watch porn. I said those are the rules I abide by ..

I would never start a car with a baby alone in the back seat does not imply I own a car or have an offspring. Same way.

But I completely argue the premise that a single guy or girl cannot watch legal porn. Porn actresses in legal porn industry (production house very often incorporated as PLC) earn upto $6,000 per shoot with median income of $1,500. That is same as 330-1000 hours of flipping burgers (and earned in 6-7 hours). They certainly are not in pain or suffering.

As long as something is not addictive .. it is not bad (speaking of laity) .. alcohol in moderation, porn in moderation .. even marijuana in moderation. But if someone wants to maintain a no-porn, no-alcohol, no-weed lifestyle .. good for them. But do not say it is bad Kamma if one does indulge ..

And don't jump to conclusions about strangers. It is whole lot of mental fabrications.

:namaste:
"The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”― Albert Camus
malunkyaputta
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2018 9:52 am

Re: Is it okay to read buddhist text while i am using the toilet, having a smoke?

Post by malunkyaputta »

Dear brother,

I apologize - I did not mean to be judgmental or step on someone's toes.
You are right - I assumed you were watching porn without really knowing for sure if you were - thanks for pointing that out :)

As far as I know the Dhamma - it is not wise behavior to indulge the senses, since you are re-enforcing habits that support self-view.
The first hindrance is Desire, and also - one of the ten perfections to practice is 'Nekkhamma' (renunciation).

In general - I believe one should always strive to be outside of his/hers "comfort-zone" in one's practice if we want our practice to bear fruit.

Have a good day, buddy!
and a great weekend! :namaste:
User avatar
manas
Posts: 2678
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:04 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Is it okay to read buddhist text while i am using the toilet, having a smoke?

Post by manas »

I would leave books (or audio) at the door; why miss this opportunity to practice?
"Furthermore, when going forward & returning, he makes himself fully alert; when looking toward & looking away... when bending & extending his limbs... when carrying his outer cloak, his upper robe & his bowl... when eating, drinking, chewing, & savoring... when urinating & defecating... when walking, standing, sitting, falling asleep, waking up, talking, & remaining silent, he makes himself fully alert.[bolding added]

"In this way he remains focused internally on the body in & of itself, or focused externally... unsustained by anything in the world. This is how a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself.https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... .than.html
One cannot be fully alert of two things at once. Reading a book, would be a distraction from what is happening with one's own body at that time.
To the Buddha-refuge i go; to the Dhamma-refuge i go; to the Sangha-refuge i go.
thepea
Posts: 4047
Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2014 11:06 pm

Re: Is it okay to read buddhist text while i am using the toilet, having a smoke?

Post by thepea »

manas wrote: Thu Feb 22, 2018 6:04 pmOne cannot be fully alert of two things at once. Reading a book, would be a distraction from what is happening with one's own body at that time.
I can do this.
thepea
Posts: 4047
Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2014 11:06 pm

Re: Is it okay to read buddhist text while i am using the toilet, having a smoke?

Post by thepea »

It’s only ok if the text is held with your left hand and the cigarette with your right. After you flush, the cigarette must be extinguished and the text tapped on your head six times. This will negate any wrong kamma incurred.
User avatar
egon
Posts: 53
Joined: Thu May 31, 2018 1:15 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Re: Is it okay to read buddhist text while i am using the toilet, having a smoke?

Post by egon »

manas wrote: Thu Feb 22, 2018 6:04 pm One cannot be fully alert of two things at once. Reading a book, would be a distraction from what is happening with one's own body at that time.
Seriously? By that logic one would never read a book... Or do absolutely anything for that matter.

:sage: no reading while on the toilet! Pay attention to your body, one thing at a time.
:thinking: OK, so can I breathe while I'm on the toilet?
:sage: hold your breath
:thinking: what if I ate recently, shall I stop digesting?
:sage: yes
:thinking: what if it's hot and I'm sweating? Can I sweat and use the toilet at the same time?
:sage: wait until it's cold
:thinking: what if I'm shivering?
:sage:
:smile:
User avatar
Grigoris
Posts: 422
Joined: Sun Mar 11, 2018 10:43 am

Re: Is it okay to read buddhist text while i am using the toilet, having a smoke?

Post by Grigoris »

User1249x wrote: Wed Feb 14, 2018 4:15 am It is ok but you should realize that you are probably in a restless state with a lot of craving for sensuality if u do those things.
Going to the toilet is based on a craving for sensuality???
ye dhammā hetuppabhavā tesaṁ hetuṁ tathāgato āha,
tesaṃca yo nirodho - evaṁvādī mahāsamaṇo.

Of those phenomena which arise from causes:
Those causes have been taught by the Tathāgata,
And their cessation too - thus proclaims the Great Ascetic.
atharva2k
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue Mar 21, 2017 8:02 am

Re: Is it okay to read buddhist text while i am using the toilet, having a smoke?

Post by atharva2k »

ScottPen wrote: Wed Jun 06, 2018 1:44 pm
manas wrote: Thu Feb 22, 2018 6:04 pm One cannot be fully alert of two things at once. Reading a book, would be a distraction from what is happening with one's own body at that time.
Seriously? By that logic one would never read a book... Or do absolutely anything for that matter.

:sage: no reading while on the toilet! Pay attention to your body, one thing at a time.
:thinking: OK, so can I breathe while I'm on the toilet?
:sage: hold your breath
:thinking: what if I ate recently, shall I stop digesting?
:sage: yes
:thinking: what if it's hot and I'm sweating? Can I sweat and use the toilet at the same time?
:sage: wait until it's cold
:thinking: what if I'm shivering?
:sage:
:smile:
This makes absolutely no sense. He said you cannot be fully alert of two things at once. You took it to mean one cannot DO two things at once. You can and do breath when you use the toilet, but you can either focus on your breath or your excretion process. They call what you have done, attacking the strawman.
User avatar
egon
Posts: 53
Joined: Thu May 31, 2018 1:15 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Re: Is it okay to read buddhist text while i am using the toilet, having a smoke?

Post by egon »

atharva2k wrote: Wed Jun 06, 2018 8:54 pm This makes absolutely no sense. He said you cannot be fully alert of two things at once. You took it to mean one cannot DO two things at once. You can and do breath when you use the toilet, but you can either focus on your breath or your excretion process. They call what you have done, attacking the strawman.
Good day to you my friend! I didn't attack anything. They call what I have done, "making a joke." I thought the smiley faces might have made that clear, but I guess not.
Enjoy your day and have a laugh!
User1249x
Posts: 2749
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2018 8:50 pm

Re: Is it okay to read buddhist text while i am using the toilet, having a smoke?

Post by User1249x »

Grigoris wrote: Wed Jun 06, 2018 4:40 pm
User1249x wrote: Wed Feb 14, 2018 4:15 am It is ok but you should realize that you are probably in a restless state with a lot of craving for sensuality if u do those things.
Going to the toilet is based on a craving for sensuality???
smoking is...
User avatar
egon
Posts: 53
Joined: Thu May 31, 2018 1:15 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Re: Is it okay to read buddhist text while i am using the toilet, having a smoke?

Post by egon »

User1249x wrote: Thu Jun 07, 2018 7:11 pm
Grigoris wrote: Wed Jun 06, 2018 4:40 pm
User1249x wrote: Wed Feb 14, 2018 4:15 am It is ok but you should realize that you are probably in a restless state with a lot of craving for sensuality if u do those things.
Going to the toilet is based on a craving for sensuality???
smoking is...
I dunno about that... since most people don't actually get a pleasant physical sensation from a cigarette (I know people can catch a super quick buzz but it's so fleeting), I wonder if it's a "sense" thing or not. It's certainly an aversion thing, since the only thing usually being accomplished is satisfying the brain's addiction, nothing more. I think a cigarette is really just a satisfaction of an aversion to not having had one in a while, which wouldn't be in your brain if you hadn't had one to begin with. Insidious.
User1249x
Posts: 2749
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2018 8:50 pm

Re: Is it okay to read buddhist text while i am using the toilet, having a smoke?

Post by User1249x »

ScottPen wrote: Thu Jun 07, 2018 7:24 pm
User1249x wrote: Thu Jun 07, 2018 7:11 pm
Grigoris wrote: Wed Jun 06, 2018 4:40 pm Going to the toilet is based on a craving for sensuality???
smoking is...
I dunno about that... since most people don't actually get a pleasant physical sensation from a cigarette (I know people can catch a super quick buzz but it's so fleeting), I wonder if it's a "sense" thing or not. It's certainly an aversion thing, since the only thing usually being accomplished is satisfying the brain's addiction, nothing more. I think a cigarette is really just a satisfaction of an aversion to not having had one in a while, which wouldn't be in your brain if you hadn't had one to begin with. Insidious.
"And which are the 18 craving-verbalizations dependent on what is external? There being 'I am because of this (or: by means of this),' there comes to be 'I am here because of this,' there comes to be 'I am like this because of this' ... 'I am otherwise because of this' ... 'I am bad because of this' ... 'I am good because of this' ... 'I might be because of this' ... 'I might be here because of this' ... 'I might be like this because of this' ... 'I might be otherwise because of this' ... 'May I be because of this' ... 'May I be here because of this' ... 'May I be like this because of this' ... 'May I be otherwise because of this' ... 'I will be because of this' ... 'I will be here because of this' ... 'I will be like this because of this' ... 'I will be otherwise because of this.' These are the 18 craving-verbalizations dependent on what is external.
"And which are the thirty-six feelings? Six kinds of household happiness & six kinds of renunciation happiness; six kinds of household distress & six kinds of renunciation distress; six kinds of household equanimity & six kinds of renunciation equanimity.[3] These are the thirty-six feelings.
"And what are the six kinds of household joy? The joy that arises when one regards as an acquisition the acquisition of forms cognizable by the eye — agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing, connected with worldly baits — or when one recalls the previous acquisition of such forms after they have passed, ceased, & changed: That is called household joy. (Similarly with sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, & ideas.)
Spiny Norman
Posts: 10154
Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 10:32 am
Location: Andromeda looks nice

Re: Is it okay to read buddhist text while i am using the toilet, having a smoke?

Post by Spiny Norman »

thepea wrote: Sun Mar 11, 2018 2:44 am It’s only ok if the text is held with your left hand and the cigarette with your right. After you flush, the cigarette must be extinguished and the text tapped on your head six times. This will negate any wrong kamma incurred.
And don't forget to wash your hands. :jumping: :toilet:
Buddha save me from new-agers!
User avatar
egon
Posts: 53
Joined: Thu May 31, 2018 1:15 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Re: Is it okay to read buddhist text while i am using the toilet, having a smoke?

Post by egon »

[name redacted by admin], I stand corrected. Have a nice day!
2600htz
Posts: 823
Joined: Fri Aug 27, 2010 11:37 pm

Re: Is it okay to read buddhist text while i am using the toilet, having a smoke?

Post by 2600htz »

Strive4Karuna wrote: Wed Feb 14, 2018 2:35 am Ive been reminded by a few Mahayana layfolk to treat the dhamma with respect and as such only leave Buddhist text in clean places. Such as, no putting any Buddhist book behind the toilet etc. I do not know whether they are just expressing their opinion or it is a real rule in Mahayana Buddhism. Does such a thing exist in Theravada Buddhism? Leaving a text in a clean place is something i do agree with, to show respect to the Buddhas teaching.

I want to know whether it is okay if i read the dhamma on my smartphone while using the toilet or having a ciggarette while reading the dhamma? Any rules against that? I know ciggarette is a bad habit that breaches the 5th precept.
Hello:

Sometimes when i am surfing the internet and multitasking, if i keep a sutta open and start paying attention to another topic that its not very wholesome, i close the sutta out of respect.If i don´t do it some guilt starts to come up. Its not like a personal rule or some kind of practice, it happens by itself.

Regards.
Post Reply