Let's talk about sex: poetry (6/19)

When sexbots arrive, will they have Replika data?

Visit my weekly Peace Class at PRS, Hollywood.

Sex is a sticky subject. Uh, mmm, icky finicky touchy (not touchy) sticky subject -- ooh, it's nasty. Don't talk about it! What's brown and sticky? A tree. We aim to unstick it.

Sexworld flash fiction (Koertge)

This Thursday the SPARC Centre Gallery (Third Thursdays) monthly poetry reading arrives, featuring South Pasadena Poet Laureate Ron Koertge and Wisdom Quarterly's very own peace activist and poet Mandy Kahn.

See her weekly (Wednesday night) Peace Class at prs.org. The subject this warm month? A theme of passion, romance, getting down and dirty, and summer love with an OPEN MIC segment running throughout the reading. That means YOU can come and read, too.

Mandy Kahn's Peace Class (returns in Sept.)

English only?

In English Rumi might sound filthy and vulgar.

• The Mathnawi of Jalaluddin Rumi: Reynold A. Nicholson (free download, borrow, and streaming: Internet Archive)

What is the sound of one hand... Uh, mmm, no, what is the sound of 1,000 jaws dropping?

Just say "no," Adults. No one should have sex. Better those energies were expended following something far more useful. But what could possibly be more useful, or more enjoyable, than sex?

Once the Bodhisattva (Buddha-to-be) reflected, "Why do I, being subject to aging and death, also seek things that are subject to aging and death? What now if I were to seek out that which is beyond aging and death?"

But if everyone dies and everything eventually passes away, what is not subject to aging and death? What is beyond impermanence?

There is one element that has overcome aging and death and that transcends all suffering, that has overcome sorrow, lamentation, and disappointment. And that is the unconditioned element called nirvana.

Nirvana is better than sex?
Nirvana is better than anything. Everything else is ultimately disappointing. Why? Everything else is subject to incessant arising and passing away. We cling. It fades. We hurt. We are left empty and dissatisfied. Things reveal themselves to be impersonal, unable to stand independently.

As close as nirvana is, realization of it is a long way away from those who do not practice, who do not apply themselves, who do not determine to realize it in this very life.

Even for such people, there is serenity or samatha meditation, which gives access to amazing levels of bliss, serenity, and -- by adding vipassana on top of right samadhi -- degrees of liberating-insight.

As close as calm-and-insight meditation are, realization serenity or wisdom are a long way away for those who do not practice, who do not determine to realize them in this very life.

There's a reason to sit, a better form of pleasure?

Even for such people, there is virtue, which is a more sublime form of joy (piti, rapture, pleasure, bliss) beyond reproach, beyond blame, worry, or any remorse.

As close as virtue is, it is a long way away for those who do not practice, who do not determine to realize it in this very life.

For such people, endowed with virtue, they may enjoy sex that harms no one and does not involve anyone dependent on others. For those who are independent, self-supporting, who are capable of consenting and making their own decisions. Let's talk about sex between them.

Hey, did you ever consider Tantra?

One need not imagine that sex brings one closer to enlightenment -- as Great Vehicle (Mahayana and esoteric Vajrayana) practitioners following the pre-Buddhist Indian path of yogic Tantra may imagine.

As ordinary householders living in the world -- interested in wealth, prosperity, and personal satisfaction through gain, fame, and endless distractions -- sex may serve that purpose.

It of necessity will be disappointing (dukkha). If it were not, the Buddha would never have pointed out a better path to pursue, a way thing to strive for, a superior form of pleasure. There is another way that goes against the stream (the current, the flow), does not pull one by the floods, does not entangle one in the revolving wheel of rebirth and redeath (samsara).

Is anyone going against the stream?

Noah Levine, scandalized founder of Dharma Punx, Against the Stream, Refuge Recovery

• 

  A path to go against the stream

  The path of the spiritual revolutionary is a long-term and gradual journey toward awakening (enlightenment, bodhi). If we want a quick fix or easy salvation, this is not it. Turn back now, plug back into The Matrix, and enjoy that delusional existence. The Buddha's Dharma is a path for real rebels, malcontents, and truth seekers. The wisdom and compassion of the Buddha is available to all, but the journey to personal freedom is arduous. It takes a steadfast commitment to Truth and, at times, counterintuitive (against instinct) action. We have at our disposal everything we need to undertake this journey. There is only one prerequisite -- the willingness to play, to do the practice, to follow the path through the darkest recesses of our minds and hearts, to stand in the face of great resistance and fear and continue in the direction of freedom. For those who are willing, the ability is a given. The Buddha isn’t a god or deity to be worshipped. He was a rebel and ford finder (who rediscovered the way crossing over), an overthrower, destroyer of ignorance, the Master Physician who re-found the path to complete freedom from suffering. The Buddha left a legacy of Truth for us to experience for ourselves, not to believe in him. The practices and principles of these Teachings, the Dharma, lead to our direct experience of knowledge, wisdom, compassion, and full liberation. This is not a faith-based philosophy, but an experiential one. The point of the spiritual revolution is not to become a "good Buddhist," but to become a wise and compassionate being, to awaken from our life of complacency and delusion and ignorance and to be a buddha, an awakened being. In order to do this, it is helpful to study the life and teachings of the original rebel, the Wandering Ascetic Sid — the Buddha.

What about love and relationships? That is different. We are talking about sex.

Love is grand. Most people have nothing higher to live for. And as an English word we confound it with all kinds of loves, when it only refers in this context to romantic love, which feels great but is not what people really mean. It is like referring to the prestigious and selfless faculty when one really means the greedy and despised administration or the mishmash of students. "School" means all three, but we put the best face on it.

The same with relationships. They can be great educators, harder to endure than a monastic life. But most are not. We pretend they are because they can be. But most of them, most of the time are not. Yet everyone claps and says "Awww" when anyone gets engaged. Awww, what? Awww, they're going to be so unhappy, and then the world can say to them, "Welcome to the club."

So let's stick to the subject and talk about sex.

• Men want sex, it is said.
• Yes, so do women -- even though it is said that they do not.
• Well, if they repeatedly indulge and stress about it, they will be caught up in stress and disappointment. But that stress is the only happiness they know.
• Right! It's like the Buddha comparing sexual craving to a leper's itch. The itch gets so bad, the sores so itchy, that placing an arm over an open fire can feel like a downright relief. Fire cauterizes the wound and so soothes the itch. It keeps one from going crazy, even at the cost of great pain or disfigurement.
• If only there were a way not to feel crazy yet not get burned.
• We don't have to have wait for heartbreak to feel "burned."
• Oh, totally. Good sex, great sex, unreal sex is still disappointing, to say nothing of the mediocre sex we mostly all settle for.
• Should independent people have sex?
• If they want to. They're free to. They can even do it while practicing virtue (sila). There is no reason for guilt, self-recrimination, or holding wrong views about it. Abstain, it's better, but indulge with a clear conscience that we are not "forbidden" to do it. One day, some days, meditate, too.
• They might succeed in meditation.
• Successful meditation (jhana, absorption) is better than sex -- full of rapture, joy, and supersensual bliss called piti.
• I've heard. But how could bliss be supersensual?
• There's a higher bliss, a better form of pleasure that is not dependent on the body or bodily feelings and pleasant sensations.
• You think?
• I know.
• Then why would anyone go back to sex as a source of relief or attempted-happiness?
• Those blissful states aren't always available to everyone; they take practice, which takes persistence and a little commitment. They are not permanent or reliable all the time. I mean, they are always there but not always available to everyone. We have base cravings and very strong habits.
• Restraint is good.
• Yes, it is great. But that's not always what the mind wants. And the mind usually gets what the mind wants.
• That's for sure. The body is weak compared to the mind even when the spirit is willing.
• Spirit?
• The breath, the prana, the Spiritus.
• Oh yea.
• Well, good times.
• Good times.

Common first date mistakes to avoid (allwomenstalk.com)

• How To (video); Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly, orig. 12/15/11-4/23/24; Noah Levine on going against the stream (edited by Wisdom Quarterly)

Where are porn stars today? (South Park)

WARNING: Crass, vulgar, and disturbing (uncensored) language, defiance, acting out, elder abuse!

All-American family portrait with a DNA secret

One has to wonder where the young people -- millennials, Gen Z, Gen A -- are getting it from? Has the CIA really used DARPA's internet for this? Or are our kids just being social? Who can say, who can say. Our little Poopykins sure does have a mouth on him/her though. I'm sure it's a passing phase. They'll grow out of it. (Yeah, s/he doesn't like to be limited to "she or he," so it's either xe, thon, or they, and "they" just seems easier to remember.) Personally, we blame ourselves for weaning our family on TV, MTV (empTV) and Comedy Central in particular. If only they had just never invented cable, America would such a nicer place. Right? That's it. Cartman may be pretending, but such people really exist nowadays. For example, look at the case of infamous internet-famous Lapa Hapa.

Where are porn stars today?

(Moon) May 16, 2024: YouTube with Moon: skool.com/moon-society-58... Support the channel here (all money goes straight back into the channel): ► Become a Patron: moonreal ► Follow Twitter: moonrealyt

(The Comments Section with Brett Cooper) Reaction to "If Teen GIRLS Were

100% Honest"  #BrettCooper #genz #DailyWire The questions... The answers...

I have thoughts. 🙄 See the full original Jubilee video

• South Park, "I Do What I Want" with reality TV star Maury Povich; Moon on the dark underbelly of the porn industry, May 16, 2024; Comments Section with Brett Cooper (conservative Daily Wire), Feb. 4, 2023; Editors, Wisdom Quarterly

The Disadvantages of Sex Sutra (Snp 4.7)

Who is the ultimate Hollywood sex symbol promoted by the movie industry? Elvis?

.

CONTEXT: Tissa (7) had a friend named Metteyya ("Friend"). Together they visited the Buddha at Jetavana and, having listened to the Teaching, entered the monastic order. Metteyya went into seclusion in the forest with his new teacher. Not long after, he became fully enlightened.

Tall, dark, and handsome bad boy, sex symbol?

Tissa, on the other hand, lived in the city of Sāvatthi. And when his elder brother died, he returned home and was persuaded by his relations to revert to the lay life.

Later, Metteyya, on a journey with the Buddha, passed through the village and visited Tissa. He brought him once more to the Buddha. And the Buddha taught them the "Tissa-Metteyya Sutra," at the end of which Tissa became a stream-winner (sotāpanna, the first stage of enlightenment), later reaching full enlightenment (SN., p.160f; SNA.ii.535f, NidA.184). What did the Buddha say?

To Tissa Metteyya on the Disadvantages of Sex

I feel lust. - That's art. - I thought we were depicting truth and beauty. - Nah, just beauty.

• [Tissa asked:]

Attachment to sexual intercourse:

Sir, what are its disadvantages?

Having heard this Teaching then,

secluded, we will train ourselves.

• [The Buddha replied:]

Attached to sexual intercourse,

forgetful of the Teaching then,

wrong things that person practices,

and does what is ignoble.

• [*Not conducive to enlightenment; noble ones = Aryans = "the enlightened."]

Who formerly fared on alone

But again in sex indulges,

“Low” they call, a common worldling,

like transport that swerves off the track.

That one who had renown and fame —

it now surely diminishes.

Having seen this then train yourselves:

renounce sexual intercourse.

• What are the steps of training in detail?

Overcome by [low lustful] thoughts,

one slow broods, as a beggar does,

and hearing reproach of others,

such a person dejected is.

But for yourselves creating “arms”

of others’ reprimanding words,

so with great entanglement

sinks down into untruthfulness.

Well-known and called “one who is wise,”

who vows and lives the left-home life

but again engages in sex,

will then be called “a fool defiled.”

• There are other enumerations of mental defilements.

Disadvantages having seen,

the sage, to start and thereafter,

establishes the left-home life,

now no more resorting to sex.

So train yourselves in solitude,

for that’s the life of noble ones,

not conceiving yourselves as “best” —

having seen indeed nirvana.

• Noble ones (in any of the four stages of enlightenment) have glimpsed nirvana and no longer conceive of themselves as better then, worse than, nor equal to others.

The sage who’s rid of sense-cravings,

and to them is indifferent,

who’s crossed the flood, is envied then,

by those enmeshed in pleasures of sense.

• Some follow the Buddha, while others ordain and practice full-time
• G.P. Malalasekera, Pali Proper Names; Laurence (formerly Ven. Khantipalo) Mills (trans.), Tissametteyya Sutta (Sutta Nipata, 4.7) via suttacentral.net; compiled and edited by Dhr. Seven for Wisdom Quarterly

Lust is in the eye of the holder (Therigatha)

Ven. Sujato, Subhā-jīvaka-amba-vanikā, Therīgāthā: "Verses of the Elder Nuns," The Book of the Thirties (Thig. vv.14.1); Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

"Lust is in the eye of the holder"? Isn't that beholder? - No, that's beauty. This is lust.

.

Subhā of Jīvaka’s Mango Grove

Going to Jīvaka lovely

mango grove, the nun Subhā

was blocked by a rascal.

So Subhā said to him:

“What harm have I done you

that you stand in my way?

Sir, it’s improper that a man

should touch a woman who has gone forth.

This training was taught by the Awakened One;

It is a serious offense in my Teacher’s Doctrine and Discipline.

I am pure and rid of blemishes,

So why stand you in my way?

• Backstory: Subha the Goldsmith's daughter
• Buddhist Women at the Time of the Buddha

One whose mind is defiled toward one undefiled,

One who is lustful toward one free of lust,

Unblemished, my heart is freed in every respect,

So why stand you in my way?”

“You’re young. you’re flawless,

What has going forth done for you?

Toss off those saffron robes;

Come instead, play in the blossom grove!

Everywhere, the scent of flowers wafts sweetly

Born of the flowering woods.

The start of spring is a happy time;

Come and play in the blossom grove!

Trees crested with flowers

Cry out in the breeze.

What kind of fun will you have

If you plunge into those woods all alone?

Frequented by packs of predators

And cows [elephants] aroused by rutting bulls,

You wish to go without companion

Into the deserted, awe-inspiring forest.

Like a shining doll of gold,

Like a nymph wandering in a park of colorful vines,

Your matchless beauty will shine

In graceful clothes of exquisite muslin.

I’ll be under your sway,

If we stay in the forest.

I love no creature more than you,

O pixie, with such bashful eyes.

Were you to take up my invitation —

'Come, be happy, and live in a house' —

You’ll stay in a longhouse sheltered from wind;

Let the maids look to your needs.

Dressed in exquisite muslin,

Put on garlands and cosmetics.

I’ll make all sorts of adornments for you,

of gold and gems and pearls.

Climb onto a rich bed,

Its coverlet clean and nice,

With a new woolen mattress,

Fragrant, besprinkled with sandalwood.

As a blue lily risen from the water

Remains untouched by men,

So, too, O chaste and wholesome lady,

Your limbs grow old unshared.”

“This carcass, full of putrefaction, swells

The charnel ground, for its nature is to fall apart.

What do you think is so essential in it

That you stare at me so crazily?”

“Your eyes are like those of a doe,

Or a pixie in the mountains.

Seeing them,

My sense desire grows all the more.

Set in your flawless face of golden sheen,

Your eyes compare to a blue lily’s bud.

Seeing them,

My sensual excitement grows all the more.

Though you may wander far, I shall still think of you,

With your lashes long and your vision clear.

I love no eyes more than yours,

O pixie, with such bashful eyes.”

“You’re setting out down the wrong road!

You’re looking to take the moon for a plaything!

You’re trying to leap over Mount Sumeru!

You are hunting a child of the Buddha!

For in this world with all its devas [and humans]

There will be no more lust anywhere in me.

I do not even know what kind it could be,

It’s been uprooted stem and all by the Path.

Cast out like sparks from fiery coals,

It’s worth no more than a bowl of poison.

I do not even see what kind it could be;

It’s been uprooted stem and all by the Path.

Well may you try to seduce the type of woman

Who has not reflected on these things,

Or who has never attended to the Teacher:

But this is a woman who knows: now you’re in trouble!

No matter if I am reviled or praised,

Or feel pleasure or pain: I stay mindful.

Knowing that conditions are ugly,

My mind does not cling to anything.

I am a disciple of the Awakened One,

Riding in the carriage of the Eightfold Path.

The dart pulled out, free of defilements,

I am happy to have reached an empty place.

I’ve seen brightly painted

Dolls and wooden puppets

Tied to sticks and strings

And made to dance in many ways.

But when the sticks and strings are taken off —

Loosed, disassembled, broken,

Irrecoverable, stripped to parts —

On what could the mind be transfixed?

That’s what my body is really like;

Without those things it can’t go on.

This being so,

On what could the mind be transfixed?

It’s like when one sees a mural on a wall,

Painted with orpiment,

And one’s vision becomes confused,

Falsely perceiving that it is a person.

Though it’s as worthless as a magic trick,

Or a golden tree beheld in a dream,

One blindly chases what is hollow,

Like a puppet show among the people.

An eye is just a ball in a socket,

With a pupil in the middle, and tears.

Mucus comes from there as well,

And so different eye-parts are lumped all together.”

The pretty lady ripped out her eye.

With no attachment in her mind at all, she said:

“Come now, take this eye,”

And gave it to the man right then.

At that very moment he lost his lust

And asked for her forgiveness:

“May you be well, O chaste and wholesome lady;

Such a thing will not happen again.

Attacking a person such as this

Is like holding on to a blazing fire

Or seizing a deadly viper [by the tail]!

May you be well; please forgive me!”

When that nun was released

She went to the presence of the Buddha.

Seeing the one with excellent marks of merit,

Her eye [magically] became just as it was before.

• Therigatha 14.1: Subhā-jīvaka-amba-vanikā-therīgāthā—Bhikkhu Sujato (trans.) suttacentral.net

Zen monk: No. 1 Thing About Happiness

Contributor Jeffrey Marsh, CNBC, 6/15/23; CC Liu, Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Koans are an integral component of Zen practice: What's the sound of one hand slapping?

I lived as a monk and studied Zen for 20 years: Here’s the No. 1 thing people miss about happiness

Maura O'Hollaran left Boston

Many of us are taught to believe that we need to be in perfect control of our lives in order to be successful or accepted. But that mindset made me unhappy for years.

Growing up nonbinary, I spent a lot of time escaping to an imaginary world where I controlled everything, including what other people thought of me.

I constantly chased this idea that if I could just get that partner, that job, or that money and acclaim, I could finally relax and be happy.

To break this toxic mental habit, I did something drastic: I moved to the woods and lived among a community of Buddhists.

• *This is an adapted [and edited] excerpt from Take Your Own Advice by Jeffrey Marsh (published by TarcherPerigee, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC) Copyright © 2023 by Jeffrey Marsh.

I have since spent 20 years studying Zen Buddhism. At the monastery, I learned a valuable lesson about happiness that people often overlook:

We can't control everything that happens to us, but we can control how we [react and how we] treat ourselves.

Allowing ourselves to feel happy, no matter what our life looks like, is the key to real happiness.

Struggling for control won't make us happier

Leonard Cohen went from Hollywood up into the woods of LA's Zen Mountain Center.

.

Why? When we hold on to the need for control, we start to feel responsible for all outcomes of our life. But can we really control what people think of us, or who does or doesn't give us a chance, or who we'll date, or where we'll get a job?

Julia found happiness in a tree named Luna.

We might have some say in these things, but so much of life is unpredictable — and that's part of what makes it beautiful. Unpredictability connects us all.

Another problem with the need to control is that it makes us constantly chase after a life we aren't living, making it hard to appreciate the one we do have.

For example, right now, we might be worried about finding the perfect partner. In a few years, it might be finding the perfect job.

How to let go of the desire to control

If I controlled love then I'd be happy.

If we FREE ourselves from the need to control everything, we can experience more happiness and gratitude RIGHT NOW in the present.

Here are some ways to get started:

1. Stop and reflect. Let's think about all the ways we're focusing on an imaginary future instead of the present. We can ask ourselves:

• Do we sometimes let our need to control the future get in the way of enjoying the present moment?
• When do we tend to do that and why? It is essential to honor our dreams, but how can we put some of that energy into the most important things in our life today?
• What can we be grateful for right now?

Living on Luna, saving trees, made me happy

2. Redefine unrealistic expectations we set for ourselves. Can we find that voice in our head that keeps reminding us of the need for control?

• Let's tell that voice, in no uncertain terms, that we are not living to impress it.
• Imagine living a life where that inner voice is irrelevant.
• Instead, we can direct that energy toward things that give us a sense of joy and peace.

3. Let's allow ourselves to be happy in the present moment.

• Let's close our eyes, take three slow breaths, and give ourselves permission to feel happy. 

If I move to the woods, can I meditate Zen?

TIPS: When we find ourselves struggling, think about why that is.

I've found that when people think about giving up control and letting life guide them, fear can get in the way. There will always be stressful situations that need our attention, like taking care of the people in our life.

But we can let happiness in by shifting our focus from future-oriented fears to the present.

We deserve to roll with the life we've got. We deserve to flow with the unexpected and not "have it all together."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jeffrey Marsh (they/them) is one of the world's foremost commentators on nonbinary identity and activism. Their TikToks and compassionate short-form videos have garnered over one billion views. Marsh's How To Be You was the first nonbinary memoir, and they are the first nonbinary author to sign a book deal with any "Big 5" publisher worldwide. Their latest book, Take Your Own Advice, is out now.

• Monk mummifies himself then gets coated in gold to be a Buddha statue
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LUST IS LIKE FIRE: Sutra (MN 75), Part 1

Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation) (eds.), Magandiya Sutra: "To Magandiya" (excerpt) (MN 75 PTS: M i 501) based on Ven. Thanissaro (trans.), Wisdom Quarterly; Yeah Yeah Yeahs

You have leprosy? - I used to. I burned it off.

"Magandiya, suppose there were a leper covered with infected sores, devoured by worms, picking scabs off the openings of the wounds with his fingernails, roasting and cauterizing his body over a pit of glowing embers. 

"His friends, companions, and relatives would bring him to a doctor. The doctor would concoct medicine. Then thanks to the medicine he would be cured of leprosy: well and happy, free, a master of himself, going wherever he liked.

"Then suppose two strong men, grabbing him with their arms, were to drag him to a pit of glowing embers. What do you think? Would he squirm and struggle to get away?"

"Yes, Teacher Gotama, for fire is painful to the touch, blistering and scorching!"

"What do you think, Magandiya: Is fire painful to the touch, blistering and scorching, only now -- or was it this way before?"

This [Seven Year] Itch is unbearable! (SELF)

"Teacher Gotama, both now and before fire has been painful to the touch, blistering and scorching! It's just that when the man was a leper covered with infected sores -- devoured by worms, picking scabs off the openings of those wounds with his fingernails -- that his faculties were impaired. This is why, even though fire is actually painful to the touch, he has a distorted perception of it as 'pleasant' [as relief from the burning itch],"

"In the same way, Magandiya, in the PAST sensual pleasures were painful to the touch, blistering and scorching. Sensual pleasures in the FUTURE will be painful to the touch, blistering. ["Quenching" is a synonym for nirvana.]

"When living beings are not free from passion for sensual pleasures [but in bondage to them] — devoured by craving, burning with a fever — their faculties are impaired. This is why, even though sensual pleasures are actually painful to the touch, living beings have a distorted perception of them as 'pleasant.'

Burning, burning, burning

Itchy worms make infected wounds unbearable and maddening. Burn them off?

.

I'm a leper! Worms crawled into my openings!

"Now suppose there were a leper covered with infected sores, devoured by worms, picking scabs off the openings of those wounds with his fingernails, roasting and cauterizing his body over a pit of glowing embers.

"The more he roasted and cauterized his body over the pit of glowing embers, the more disgusting, foul-smelling, and putrid the openings of those wounds would become.

"Yet, he would feel enjoyment and satisfaction because the itchiness of those wounds would be temporarily relieved.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Burning" (from the album Cool It Down) gets it given the dramatic "West Side Story" style music video the band made to accompany it. "What are you going to do when you get to the water?" Here they are performing it on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Yummy! A piece of...

"In the same way, living beings who are not free from passion for sensual pleasures — devoured by craving, burning with fever — indulge in sensual pleasures.

"The more they indulge in sensual pleasures, the more their craving increases and the more they burn with fever.

"Yet, they feel enjoyment and temporary satisfaction by depending on the five strands of sensuality.

"What do you think, Magandiya, have you ever seen or heard of a royal or a minister — steeped in enjoyment, provided with the five strands of sensuality, without abandoning craving, without removing the fever — who has in the past dwelled or will in the future dwell or is presently dwelling free from craving, with heart/mind inwardly at peace?"

"No, Teacher Gotama."

"Good, Magandiya, neither have I. I have never seen or heard of a royal or a minister — steeped in enjoyment, provided with the five strands of sensuality, without abandoning sensual craving, without removing sensual fever — who has dwelled or will dwell or is dwelling free from craving, with mind inwardly at peace.

Ah, finally, there is relief from the agony of lust!

But Brahmins and wandering ascetics who have dwelled or will dwell or are dwelling free from craving, their minds inwardly at peace, all have done so having realized — as it actually is — the arising and disappearance, the allure, the danger, and the escape from sensual pleasures, having abandoned sensual craving and removed sensual fever."

Then at that moment the Blessed One exclaimed:

Freedom from disease is the foremost fortune.

Nirvana [non-clinging] is the foremost ease!

The ennobling eightfold path is the foremost of paths

Leading to the Deathless, secure from all suffering.

When this was said, Magandiya the wanderer said to the Blessed One: CONTINUED IN PART II

This close to lottery win! Back to sensuality

KTLA 5 Los Angeles; Editors, Wisdom Quarterly; Sam Smith "Unholy"; Pink Floyd "Empty Spaces"

For the money, I guess I'd do this old guy.

Is it odd, because it's a big country, that we bought our record Power Ball lottery ticket just down the street from the winner? That person purchased it at Exxon, whereas we went with an Arco convenience store. Strange. One person bought the single winning ticket after 40 drawings when no one won. We finally jump in to the gambit and risk 200 pennies in a bid to become near billionaires, and the sword of karma (destiny, kismet, chance, fate, luck) strike blocks from where we put in our dough?

My karma came in, so it's time to make more merit!

It's almost like driving the Law of Attraction for the first time (consciously and on purpose) but then missing the mark. If the winner has no supporting karma to be a multi-millionaire or a billionaire, that money will soon be squandered, lost, reverted to balance. But the Law of Attraction, Law of Vibration, placebo/nocebo effect (and possibly the Mandela Effect). Is it not odd to anyone that the drawing, not just the announcement, was delayed? Did the Fates or Karma Gods have to re-jigger the world so we could win or, in this case, so someone else could win instead? It's not clear why the powers-that-be introduce such uncertainty, particularly on Election Day after the Bush-Gore fiasco and the Biden-Trump debacle.

Sensuality will numb me.

Whatever is or isn't, it's crucial to remember what the historical Buddha taught: It's all about our deeds and comeuppance, our actions and their wished-for and unwished-for consequences, our doings and the world's reactions. Mark Thompson, while waiting for the numbers to announce as he sat in for comedian Tim Conway Jr. on KFI, the most powerful station in California, read the sad stories of what befell previous winners, who often lose everything and revert to balance, to their customary poverty.

Now it's back to the useless and senseless pursuit of sensuality, in the vain hopes of finding some kind of fulfillment to stem the evil (unskillful, akusala) tide that overtakes us, ruins our karma, and keeps us spinning in this interminable and dangerous samsara, the endless Round of Rebirth.