Stories about lust
3 Buddhist wisdom stories about lust from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- One moment of lust — crash landingStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A jungle monk gains the power to fly; the king forces him to the palace as wise advisor. One morning a gorgeous princess brings food as he comes in to land — one moment of lust…
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There was one of these monks and he was living in the Jungle and living in the jungle meditating in those days, people would be able to feed you no problem at all and he had like perfect solitude, meditating day and night really good monk and of course it just happens after time you get these deep meditations and after deep meditations, sometimes you get these powers and actually he could fly through the air. He would just, every morning Just have a flight, almost like exercise but the trouble was, that somebody saw him. This is why, if any of you get psychic powers, please don't do them in public. cos you can always get into big trouble. Every time. So, somebody saw him and of course, the word gets around and when the word gets around, For example, it not the case if you heard that someone at Dhammasara nun's monastery could fly through the air You'd all go down there and have a look and then you'd be hassling the nuns "come on show us, come on, come on" (laughter) but anyway, this monk, soon the word got to the king and the king said, I always wanted to see a real monk levitating. Would you like to see a real monk levitate? Would you? Of course you would, yes So the king would, but we're not going to do it so forget about it (laughter) But this king, You know, if you're the king you got powers so he sent his army up there you know and said, "the king summons you." He said, I don't want to go to the palace, I'm just a simple monk" He said " this is not a request, you're coming" So you know, he brought him to the place. and the king was a really good Buddhist. He actually built a little 'kuti' , a hut for this monk in the forest in the grounds. He said " Monk, just you know, you can just stay here" not you can, you will stay here and I want to just feed you, make merit make good kamma cos you're obviously a holy monk and to ask questions you know, about Dhamma and also get some advice on running my kingdom cos you're obviously wise you're not in it for the money like all my ministers and politicians you know, you're just wise So, I'll feed you. You live here You can levitate and fly through the air as much as you like and I want you to be like my wise advisor. which made a lot of sense. So the monk consented and the king would feed him really nice food he'd be in this little forest in the palace grounds Just like being in the jungle and every morning he would go for his exercise through the air but one day, as he was coming in to land that morning the person who was bringing him food was one of the princesses cos the king couldn't come himself and she was drop-dead gorgeous a hot chick (laughter) and this monk was just coming in to land and he just saw her, just one moment that's all it took just one moment of lust and he lost his ability to fly
- Stop the train as it leaves the stationAnalogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Simile: a train going 110 km/h with all its weight can't stop for an obstruction — it takes half a kilometre, which is why there are crashes at level crossings. Catching lust or…
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What mindfulness does is like trying to stop a train. When a train has left the station, it's going 110 kilometers an hour down the track with so much weight behind it. If the train driver tries to stops and put on the breaks because there's an obstruction on the road or on the rails in front of it, sometimes you just can't do that. It's going too fast and the momentum is too strong. A train going that fast takes maybe half a kilometer to come to a halt which is why that sometimes there are these terrible crashes when a car crosses the railway line. The driver sees it but it's going too fast to stop. This is what happens when we try to catch our lust or whatever, our anger, when it's a bit too late. It's gone too fast, the momentum is too strong, we can't stop it straight away. Many of you know that when you're in the power of lust, you can't stop just straightaway. You just can't say no I'm going to stop now. It's like a train just trying to pull on the breaks and stop immediately, it just cannot be done. But the best time to stop the train is when it's first moving out of the station. It's maybe going at one kilometer an hour and then you can put on the break, it's easy to stop it.
- Three months without looking at a girlStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: One of Ajahn Chah's own stories: as a lusty 18- or 19-year-old novice in a town monastery, he resolved that for the three-month rains retreat he wouldn't look at any girl at all,…
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one of Ajahn Chah's stories was that when he was a young, lusty novice, you-know, 18, 19 years of age, with all the hormones running through him, he wanted to become a monk, but, obviously, he saw young Thai girls, and he would have lust towards them. And so for three months, during a period of what we call Rains Retreat, the time when I don't come here, Sister Vayama doesn't come here. Those of you who have been coming here for a long time know for three months we always go back into our monasteries. He was staying in a town monastery, so for three months, he decided he would not look at any girl at all. He would keep his eyes down, and not even look at anybody, thinking that that type of restraint would overcome his lust. So for three months, he refused to even look at a girl. And he said what happened, for those three months he was fine, but after his resolution was completed, the first girl he looked at he went crazy with lust.