Pornography addiction

Requesting and offering prayers and aspirations for those in need.
Post Reply
maxaroni13
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2012 4:08 pm

Pornography addiction

Post by maxaroni13 »

I need help quitting pornography I would love to be celibate someone please provide me with prayers I can do aspirations or resources or just encouragement Ty namaste
User avatar
Luke
Posts: 1999
Joined: Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:04 pm
Location: Europe

Re: Pornography addiction

Post by Luke »

How about just finding a hobby that is really absorbing and time consuming or which requires you to commute a fairly long way.

If you're tired and have little time for porn, you will watch it less.

Or work up to meditating for long periods of time.
User avatar
gad rgyangs
Posts: 1142
Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2011 4:53 pm

Re: Pornography addiction

Post by gad rgyangs »

when I first got into Buddhism many moons ago, I wanted to set up an altar. I had no pictures or thangkas of Tara, so I hung a Playboy centerfold over my altar. To me, she was Tara. its all in the way you look at it.
Thoroughly tame your own mind.
This is (possibly) the teaching of Buddha.

"I must finally conclude that this proposition, I am, I exist, is necessarily true whenever it is put forward by me or conceived in my mind."
- Descartes, 2nd Meditation 25
greentara
Posts: 933
Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2012 4:03 am

Re: Pornography addiction

Post by greentara »

gad rgyangs, That is unusual. Out of all the pictures you could have chosen, lots of pictures of perhaps wholesome women or smiling mothers? Still I take your point all women are divine or represent the divine mother.
The old saying 'as you are so is the world' is apt here. It all starts and ends with the mind but you have to be ripe and true.
Arnoud
Posts: 1004
Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2010 7:19 pm
Location: Benelux, then USA, now Southern Europe.

Re: Pornography addiction

Post by Arnoud »

yourbrainonporn.com is a website mentioned on www.dhammawheel.com and seems to have helped many people. Good luck.
User avatar
kirtu
Former staff member
Posts: 6965
Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2010 5:29 pm
Location: Baltimore, MD

Re: Pornography addiction

Post by kirtu »

maxaroni13 wrote:I need help quitting pornography I would love to be celibate someone please provide me with prayers I can do aspirations or resources or just encouragement Ty namaste
probably you don't want to be celibate. Pornography is experienced differently by different people but if it is a problem: consider, what are the karmic consequences of pornography and indulging in pornography? Some people say there are no real consequences, but if you like sex then this plants a seed for further indulgence. What are the karmic consequences for the people who are involved in pornography. They often experience suicide and drug addiction and for some sexual illness at much higher rates than their respective counterparts. Like all people, they want to be liked and do something they are good at. Many have found it (I'm being serious here) so if they have a perception that they are popular as a result they often continue producing porn. Some of those people then have increased opportunity for simple negative behaviors like suicide, drug addition, etc. to say nothing of increased negative interpersonal issues (this depends on people's personalities of course, but increased interpersonal and verbal violence is not unusual).

Then, does pornography satisfy you? If it did, you would view it once or a few times and never return to it. Instead for most people it's like drinking salty water. Then the Mahayana teachings often use a formula that goes like, for each moment of a negative action, you experience the karma for 500 lifetimes. In fact karma depends on the motivation, intensity of the action and the underlying defiled emotion. Most pornography indulgence is setting people up for rebirth in the animal or hungry ghost realms but there are a couple of hells specific to sexual misconduct. At any rate, pornography is not a path to higher rebirth (human, asura or god realms) and is always a path to lower rebirth (animal, hungry ghost or hell realm).

Then think about why you like pornography. The actual reasons can vary for people but the answers are often surprising to people. In general indulgence in pornography is not just due to normal sexual curiosity although it can begin that way. But actual indulgence in pornography is a desire for something other and can be a result of lower self-esteem (which is often repeated but for many people really is true). However you are a child of the Buddha's so you might want to think about that.

Then, is there a possibility of embarrassing the Buddha's? They can't be embarrassed but other people may call Buddhism into disrepute as a result of your actions. This happens with sincere practitioners of all religions of course but this idea of embarrassing the Buddha's comes from Milarepa so it is something to be considered. Another version would be, are the Buddha's pleased with pornography addiction?

So basically pornography is a form of harming yourself and others and not a way of helping yourself and others.

Kirt
Kirt's Tibetan Translation Notes

"Even if you practice only for an hour a day with faith and inspiration, good qualities will steadily increase. Regular practice makes it easy to transform your mind. From seeing only relative truth, you will eventually reach a profound certainty in the meaning of absolute truth."
Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

"Only you can make your mind beautiful."
HH Chetsang Rinpoche

"Most all-knowing Mañjuśrī, ...
Please illuminate the radiant wisdom spirit
Of my precious Buddha nature."
HH Thinley Norbu Rinpoche
User avatar
Aemilius
Posts: 4594
Joined: Sat Mar 27, 2010 11:44 am

Re: Pornography addiction

Post by Aemilius »

There are many things you can do, there is advice on this in the sutras: Firstly, You have to think of something else.
As a buddhist you should be convinced that there are three realms in Samsara. Above the desire realm (Kamadhatu) there are the form realms (Rupadhatu) and formless realms (Arupyadhatu). You must constantly remind yourself that these higher realms exist. You can repeat their names to yourself. You can visualize them.
You must find out how your mind gets distracted from the object of remembering, when it has forgotten the idea of the higher realms. And remedy this habit of getting sidetracked.
You can think and visualize that all sense objects are transitory. You can visualize all porn objects as 60 years old, as 70 years old, as sick on their death beds, as corpses waiting to be cremated.
You should remember that Nirvana is beyond time, beyond birth and death, and that nirvana is peaceful.
With repetition it becomes easy, it will take time, it requires constancy of effort.
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
plwk
Posts: 2932
Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2010 10:41 am

Re: Pornography addiction

Post by plwk »

If these are of any assistance... 1 2 3 4 5
User avatar
lobster
Posts: 1001
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2012 9:06 pm
Contact:

Re: Pornography addiction

Post by lobster »

gad rgyangs wrote:when I first got into Buddhism many moons ago, I wanted to set up an altar. I had no pictures or thangkas of Tara, so I hung a Playboy centerfold over my altar. To me, she was Tara. its all in the way you look at it.
:bow:
How wonderful.
For a crude person this is disrespectful. For a respectful person this is attunement. I could not do this. You did. It worked. :bow:

Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha
. . . what a babe . . .
http://www.yowangdu.com/tibetan-buddhis ... antra.html
User avatar
flavio81
Posts: 167
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2013 5:25 am
Location: Lima, Peru

Re: Pornography addiction

Post by flavio81 »

gad rgyangs wrote:when I first got into Buddhism many moons ago, I wanted to set up an altar. I had no pictures or thangkas of Tara, so I hung a Playboy centerfold over my altar. To me, she was Tara. its all in the way you look at it.
Just make sure the girl is green-skinned...
User avatar
flavio81
Posts: 167
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2013 5:25 am
Location: Lima, Peru

Re: Pornography addiction

Post by flavio81 »

maxaroni13 wrote:I need help quitting pornography I would love to be celibate someone please provide me with prayers I can do aspirations or resources or just encouragement Ty namaste
I think this thread may be very, very useful for you:

http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=111&t=13461
User avatar
Karma Dorje
Posts: 1410
Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2011 10:35 pm

Re: Pornography addiction

Post by Karma Dorje »

maxaroni13 wrote:I need help quitting pornography I would love to be celibate someone please provide me with prayers I can do aspirations or resources or just encouragement Ty namaste
The problem is the "addiction" not the "porn". You have to address the underlying reasons why you are not fulfilled. Going to war with the behavior without addressing the underlying causes for engaging in it will never succeed. Ask yourself the hard questions about where you are going and what you want from your life. Make small daily steps to get there and avoid the things that take you away from it and you will naturally develop a more whole state of mind that is less prone to addiction.
"Although my view is higher than the sky, My respect for the cause and effect of actions is as fine as grains of flour."
-Padmasambhava
dakini_boi
Posts: 683
Joined: Sun Dec 12, 2010 1:02 am

Re: Pornography addiction

Post by dakini_boi »

maxaroni13 wrote:I need help quitting pornography I would love to be celibate someone please provide me with prayers I can do aspirations or resources or just encouragement Ty namaste
Whichever enlightened being(s) you feel connected with, pray to them. Tara's mantra and her obstacle-removing prayer would be good.

I recommend you start practicing some form of exercise for the physical and subtle bodies. Such as yoga, qi gong, tai chi, etc. Exercise in general is good, but in particular it would be great if the exercise can also help you circulate or transform your sexual energy. Many forms of qi gong are easy to learn.

I'm sending prayers! :anjali:
Post Reply

Return to “Prayers and Aspirations”