Metta Dhamma sharing : Ajaan Geoff's reply to a question on pornography addiction (with suggestions on curing lust).

Saturday, 8 July 2023

Ajaan Geoff's reply to a question on pornography addiction (with suggestions on curing lust).

Question: My husband had a pornography addiction. There are many Christian websites for help but I can't find any Buddhist ones, can you suggest any?

Thanissaro Bhikkhu: The traditional Buddhist cure for lust is contemplation of the foulness of the body: seeing how all human bodies — even the most attractive on a superficial level — are composed of many unattractive parts (imagine taking all your innards out and displaying them on your dining room table); and reflecting on the fact that all bodies are inevitably going to become corpses.

For more information on this meditation topic, look under “Body,” “Asubha,” and “Sensuality” in the general index to the website Access to Insight*. In addition to the items listed under those headings, Access to Insight* also includes a study guide, “Body Contemplation,” and a talk “This Body of Mine” in the book, Fistful of Sand by Ajaan Suwat Suvaco. (The study guide is useful in that it demonstrates that early Buddhism isn’t totally negative on the topic of the body.)

I don’t have internet access myself, by I’ve been told that the website luangta.com has a collection of pictures of dead and decomposing bodies as an aid in this type of contemplation. Traditionally, contemplation of the foulness of the body is done under the guidance of an experienced teacher, for if it’s done unskillfully it can lead to some very depressed and discouraged mental states.

A less traditional antidote to lust is to make a practice of universal good will. One develops the habit, whenever seeing a picture of a person, of wishing that that person will find true inner peace. Once this becomes habitual, it becomes painful to look at pornographic pictures, for there’s extreme dissonance in seeing a person whose true happiness you desire engaged in such a demeaning activity.

For information on developing universal good will, look under “Metta” in the index to Access to Insight*, and in the study guide, “Merit,” on the same website.

~•~•~•~

Credit: Tricycle

Some useful references mentioned:

Body Contemplation:

https://www.dhammatalks.org/ebook_index.html#mindful_body

This Body of Mine:

https://www.dhammatalks.org/.../FistfulO.../Section0009.html

Merit:

https://www.dhammatalks.org/ebook_index.html#Merit

Sublime Attitudes:

https://www.dhammatalks.org/.../SublimeAtti.../Contents.html

Asubha pictures from Luangta.eu: