Overcoming desire.

[an anarchist]

I've realized that I am captive to desire. I have myself many vices.

My current spiritual goal is to overcome desire. I don't know if I should redirect the feelings of desire towards my spiritual goals or if I should aim to rid myself of desire completely.

With desire comes lust, greed, anger, and a manifest of other negative attributes.

I know the way to free myself is committed daily spiritual practice.

Being sober and celibate would probably do my spiritual journey some good. Seems like an impossibility sometimes though.

Are you no longer a captive of desire? Or do you still struggle with attachment?

 

[dybmh]

I think that eliminating desire is a bad idea. Without desire one would never improve, one would have no ambition, one would never reproduce. I think the negative attributes resulting from desire can be mitigated without removing desire altogether. For example, lust greed and anger are all results of a desire to control. Perhaps it's this specific desire which needs remediation.

 

[crossfire]

I've realized that I am captive to desire. I have myself many vices.

My current spiritual goal is to overcome desire. I don't know if I should redirect the feelings of desire towards my spiritual goals or if I should aim to rid myself of desire completely.

Here is Buddha's blurb concerning Right Effort of the Eightfold Path:

"And what, monks, is right effort?

[i] "There is the case where a monk generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the sake of the non-arising of evil, unskillful qualities that have not yet arisen.

[ii] "He generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the sake of the abandonment of evil, unskillful qualities that have arisen.

[iii] "He generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the sake of the arising of skillful qualities that have not yet arisen.

[iv] "He generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the maintenance, non-confusion, increase, plenitude, development, & culmination of skillful qualities that have arisen: This, monks, is called right effort."

— SN 45.8

​

With desire comes lust, greed, anger, and a manifest of other negative attributes.

I know the way to free myself is committed daily spiritual practice.

Being sober and celibate would probably do my spiritual journey some good. Seems like an impossibility sometimes though.

Are you no longer a captive of desire? Or do you still struggle with attachment?

I am a koan addict. I glom onto a koan in the same manner that a junkie gloms onto his fix.
This is one addiction I am choosing to keep, as it helps to highlight how addiction/attachment affects my mind. I don't indulge in koan work much anymore, but I don't reject a good koan when one presents itself, as it serves as a reminder of how attachment/addiction affects my mind, thereby helping me to discern other attachments I have, as well as warning me away from becoming attached to the bliss of jhanas.

 

[Exaltist Ethan]

I don't know how this is possible. Honestly, understanding the triune monotheistic God of Christianity, reading passages in Gleanings of Baha'u'llah, talking to Jews on Discord or listening to Muslims on their faith is so much easier to understand for me than the Dharmic concept of non-attachment and overcoming desire. How do you stop hunger? How do you stop desire to go to sleep? I consider myself a materialist and I always thought Dharmic religions and Buddhism never made any sense to me because I actually like having the things I own. The trick, my friend, is to try to avoid desire of things that are unobtainable. My idea of perfection may be unobtainable right now but currently things are more perfect now than they possibly may have ever had been. I enjoy life. I enjoy the things I own and use. I even desire these things. And there is nothing wrong with that.

And don't Buddhists desire nirvana? The whole Buddhist religion appears to be a paradox, one that doesn't make any sense to me.

 

[Secret Chief]

All things in moderation. Even cake.

 

[Vinayaka]

I've realized that I am captive to desire. I have myself many vices.

My current spiritual goal is to overcome desire. I don't know if I should redirect the feelings of desire towards my spiritual goals or if I should aim to rid myself of desire completely.

With desire comes lust, greed, anger, and a manifest of other negative attributes.

I know the way to free myself is committed daily spiritual practice.

Being sober and celibate would probably do my spiritual journey some good. Seems like an impossibility sometimes though.

Are you no longer a captive of desire? Or do you still struggle with attachment?

I think it makes a person much happier not to be attached to outcome, and be able to go with the flow, so to speak. Of course we need some desire to keep the physical body alive, or this vessel would wither up and dry out. But that's dharmic. So are artha and kama, although they are often misunderstood due to poor translations etc. Having no desire would disable you. It's the nature of said desire. In my sampradaya, we use the wording 'affectionate detachment' which basically means to keep the emotion out of it.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

With desire comes lust, greed, anger, and a manifest of other negative attributes.

Unless, of course, it doesn't.

Being sober and celibate would probably do my spiritual journey some good.

Conflating desire, addiction, and compulsion is neither healthy nor helpful.

The practice of asceticism runs the gamut from disciplined philosophy to pretension to folly. All but the first seem to ignore the paradox inherent in desiring to be desireless.

 

[JustGeorge]

I've realized that I am captive to desire. I have myself many vices.

My current spiritual goal is to overcome desire. I don't know if I should redirect the feelings of desire towards my spiritual goals or if I should aim to rid myself of desire completely.

With desire comes lust, greed, anger, and a manifest of other negative attributes.

I know the way to free myself is committed daily spiritual practice.

Being sober and celibate would probably do my spiritual journey some good. Seems like an impossibility sometimes though.

Are you no longer a captive of desire? Or do you still struggle with attachment?

I think excessive desire is the problem, or over attachment to desires. Like its already been stated, you need a little desire to keep going and to attend to responsibilities, but when one goes overboard, that's when the problems begin.

The desire for unhealthy/harmful things that needs to be kept in check moreso than a desire to work on one's math skills(unless the desire to improve becomes obsessive and begins causing harm).

All things in moderation. Even cake.

Blasphemy.

 

[sun rise]

Are you no longer a captive of desire? Or do you still struggle with attachment?

Struggle.

With desire comes lust, greed, anger, and a manifest of other negative attributes.

You reminded me of this:

Friend, please tell me what I can do about these
ever-changing dramas I keep spinning out?
I gave up my fashionable clothes & had a robe made,
but I noticed the cloth was well-woven.
I traded the fine cloth for worn burlap
But I still threw it elegantly over my left shoulder.
I tried to forget my sexual longings
And now I feel angry a lot.
I gave up rage and now I feel greedy all day.
I worked hard at dissolving the greed
And now I am proud of myself.
When the mind tries to break its link with one thing
It clings to another thing.
Kabir says, Listen, my friend, there are very few who find the center.

 

[Trailblazer]

Being sober and celibate would probably do my spiritual journey some good. Seems like an impossibility sometimes though.

Are you no longer a captive of desire? Or do you still struggle with attachment?

I have no interest in sex or alcohol. I desire only to be close to God.

 

[Shaul]

I think the best approach is to sublimate carnal impulses, not to try to overcome them. These desires are part of what makes us human. They are an imperative, not some sort of base character flaw. Relying on our own strength to overcome them is second best and exceedingly difficult. Relying on our Higher Power to channel them into positive and uplifting channels is the best.

 

[stvdv]

I've realized that I am captive to desire. I have myself many vices.

My current spiritual goal is to overcome desire. I don't know if I should redirect the feelings of desire towards my spiritual goals or if I should aim to rid myself of desire completely

How to overcome desire was one of the main topics my Master spoke about.

Quite simple to overcome desire, BUT indeed it happens to be not easy

One of the best Sadhanas though

Good luck winning this battle

 

[Father Heathen]

Nothing wrong with desire as long as it's balanced with restraint and responsibility.

 

[Mock Turtle]

I can understand the frustration that many might have as towards Buddhism (my closest 'religious' belief), given that our lives might be very much different and almost devoid of life if we gave up what tends to make up much of our lives in the manner of desires. But for me it is more about understanding why we have such desires, and often so as to simply dissolve such when they are realised not to be so useful to us or to others. Desires often have a tendency to solidify into habits or addictions, and one test obviously is when one can simply give up such without any issues.

Perhaps we would all be better off when we realise so many others have desires too but where even the basics of these are not fulfilled - because of their circumstances - and where we often can just ignore such whilst carrying on with our own lives. I can hear that old socialism pounding in my ears.

 

[Goldemar]

I've realized that I am captive to desire. I have myself many vices.

My current spiritual goal is to overcome desire. I don't know if I should redirect the feelings of desire towards my spiritual goals or if I should aim to rid myself of desire completely.

With desire comes lust, greed, anger, and a manifest of other negative attributes.

I know the way to free myself is committed daily spiritual practice.

Being sober and celibate would probably do my spiritual journey some good. Seems like an impossibility sometimes though.

Are you no longer a captive of desire? Or do you still struggle with attachment?

I believe the trick is to fully immerse yourself in the world and indulge those of your sensual desires not injurious to yourself or other persons whilst at the same time freeing yourself from attachment to them such that whatever happens it doesn't phase you one way or the other. Is this easy? Nope!

 

[syo]

I've realized that I am captive to desire. I have myself many vices.

My current spiritual goal is to overcome desire. I don't know if I should redirect the feelings of desire towards my spiritual goals or if I should aim to rid myself of desire completely.

With desire comes lust, greed, anger, and a manifest of other negative attributes.

I know the way to free myself is committed daily spiritual practice.

Being sober and celibate would probably do my spiritual journey some good. Seems like an impossibility sometimes though.

Are you no longer a captive of desire? Or do you still struggle with attachment?

A lot of people don't accept rejection.

 

[PearlSeeker]

I've realized that I am captive to desire. I have myself many vices.

My current spiritual goal is to overcome desire. I don't know if I should redirect the feelings of desire towards my spiritual goals or if I should aim to rid myself of desire completely.

With desire comes lust, greed, anger, and a manifest of other negative attributes.

I know the way to free myself is committed daily spiritual practice.

Being sober and celibate would probably do my spiritual journey some good. Seems like an impossibility sometimes though.

Are you no longer a captive of desire? Or do you still struggle with attachment?

Some desires are sick/corrupt but some just became bad because of the way we deal with them (for example the desire to eat). Plato would say that the rational part of the soul must govern the appettitive part.

There are many ways to train your will. Fasting is an old method. Today it's not just food or meat. It"s also technology, we spend too much time staring at the screen. In today's abundance of everything we've forgotten about the temperance... Then there's performing one's duties conscientiously, serving/helping others, obeying your conscience, regularly steping out of the comfort zone, cold showers, physical exercise etc.

It depends on your personal situation and circumstances what would be most beneficial to you. Arrange some daily rules but sometimes life itself brings different/unexpected opportunities. Sometimes you have to forsake your routine for the sake of love/greater good for your fellow humans.