Buddhism, mindfulness, and lust?

I've been practicing Buddhism on and off for a couple months now--yoga, exercise, meditation, healthful eating, compassion towards all sentient beings, mindfulness, etc. but i seem to really get stuck at the lust part. As i 19 year old male am i like..not allowed to masturbate if I'm a Buddhist? Or rather, not that I'm forbidden from doing so but will masturbating continue my karmic cycle and further increase my attachments/prevent clear perception? I seem to have an insatiable sex drive, and this has been tough for me. any insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Buddha taught us not to have sexual misconduct.I don't think masturbation is sexual misconduct.Sexual misconduct forbidden because it could distract your mind from our ultimate goal of achieving nirvana.If you do it so many times per week then it may be misconduct.But if you feel your mind doesn't distract from it then it's fine.

get married. lust is not sin, except fornication.
God provides sex to human being. that's why your parents love each other.
imagine if all people in this world practice Buddhism and skip marriage.

Buddhism doesn't forbid sex of all kinds, it simply forbids sexual misconduct, being attached to sex and harming others with sex.

I once read a Monk's writing and it helped a bit in that department: You can still wear a watch, you can tinker with it, you can look at it to know what time it is but that doesn't imply attachment. But having it destroyed or lost and feeling sadness as a direct consequence, thinking about it constantly (even if it's about trying to be rid of it or whether or not it's moral to have one), or believing you need it to feel better all imply an attachment.

So you can still have your "watch" so long as you don't feel attached to it. So long as you don't think about it all the time or feel loss when it's gone or feel like you need more watches to replace the one you just lost. Get me? (and of course so long as you're not using that watch in a manner that would harm other people)

When you say you have been practicing Buddhism You mean aspects of Buddhism ?
A person isn't Buddhist unless they have gone to The Three Jewels for refuge and requested Precepts too
So you like the giggly giggly Yes I know the feeling and it can be tough Lil
This should cover most aspects
Argument from basic Buddhist principles:

A core Buddhist teaching regarding personal behavior is the Buddha's Eightfold Path:
The second of the eight steps is called Samma Sankara: right thinking or right resolve. It has been translated into English as:

"You must renounce the pleasures of the senses; you must harbor no ill will toward anyone, and harm no living creature." 3

Avoiding all pleasure, as commanded by the first phrase of the second step, would seem to imply total celibacy. That is, one must totally abstain from sexual activity:

* With oneself, as in masturbation.

* With another person of the same sex (if one is a gay or lesbian), or with a person of the opposite sex (if one is a heterosexual) or from persons of either gender (if one is bisexual).

However if a person decides to set aside the need to avoid all pleasure, and decides to be sexually active, then the last clause of the second step would seem to imply that the behavior must be free of harm.

Sexual activity can injure people in many ways:

* It can easily spread HIV, HPV, and other STDs between sexual partners if safer sex techniques are not used.

* Depending upon ones beliefs about sexual activity, It can engender feelings of guilt, particularly if done outside of a loving, committed relationship.

* It can damage a marriage if it involves an extra-marital affair.

* It can result in emotional distress particularly if the sex is manipulative and not consensual.

* It can be profoundly injurious if one partner is too young to give consent or not sufficiently mature to handle the emotions involved.

The fourth of the Buddha's eight steps is called Samma manta: Right conduct or right behavior. It has been stated as:

"Do not destroy any living creature; take only what is given to you; do not commit any unlawful sexual act." 3

* The first clause would seem to require a couple to practice safer sex techniques to minimize the chance of passing an STD to a sexual partner. That could, in the case of HIV and HPV, cause death.

* The second clause might imply that a person must only engage in consensual sex. It is a bit of a stretch, but coercive or manipulative sexual behavior could be interpreted as theft.

* The third clause, avoiding unlawful sexual acts is difficult to interpret:

o For Americans, from a legal standpoint, the U.S. Supreme court decided (Lawrence v. Texas, 2003) that all private consensual sexual activity between adults is lawful. Unlawful sex in the U.S. would include activity between an adult and a child, sex in public, sex that is forced, sex for money, etc.

o For residents of six predominately Muslim nations, any same-sex behavior is a very serious crime and can be a capital offense. Many other countries treat it as a lesser crime.

o From an ethical standpoint, "unlawful" sex could involve many activities depending upon the specific faith group to which a person adheres.

Another Buddhist core teaching regarding personal behavior are the Five Buddhist Precepts. The third of these prohibits a person from egaging in "sexual misconduct." It is sometimes expressed as simply forbidding adultery.

It is worth noting that there is no special limitation among the steps in the eightfold path and the five precepts that applies uniquely to LGBT persons. Unfortunately, the Pali Canon, which documents the teachings of the Buddha, do not include any direct reference to homosexual orientation or homosexual behavior. Some have interpreted this to mean that the Buddha believed that the same rules governing sexual behavior apply to same-sex couples as to opposite-sex couples. 1

To summarize: Buddhism's basic teaching discourages sex, and particularly condemns adultery, rape, non-consensual sex, unsafe sex, and any other potentially harmful sexual activities. This would seem to apply to same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples equally. However, some groups within Buddhism condemn all lesbian or gay sex, perhaps because of cultural teachings that have merged with their religious beliefs.

Hello John

This is something that all males must go through. I don't believe masturbation directly violates any Buddhist precepts, but one must realize that it is indulgence in sense pleasure. Be aware that pleasure and desire for pleasure exists. Look deeply at its roots. Remember, every time you give into sense pleasure, you strengthen those seeds within you. It is up to you to determine whether those seeds that lie deep within your consciousness are wholesome or unwholesome. Does watering those seeds help remove or strengthen suffering?

There are some meditation exercises that may help. The purpose of these meditations is to develop dispassion for the human body you are lusting for. People usually view the body as something clean, beautiful, and desirable. However, after one meditates on the true nature of the body, they come to see that it is really quite the opposite.

Begin with the breath. Become aware of breathing. Feel how the body responds to both the in-breath and out-breath. Now bring the attention to the whole body. Recite the following phrases:

This body of mine
From the soles of the feet on up
From the crown of the head on down
Surrounded by skin
Filled with all sorts of unclean things.

In this body there is:
Hair of the head, Hair of the body, Nails, Teeth, Skin, Flesh, Tendons, Bone, Bone marrow, Spleen, Heart, Liver, Membranes, Kidneys, Lungs, Large intestines, Small intestines, Digested food, Feces, Brain, Gall, Phlegm, Lymph, Blood, Sweat, Fat, Tears, Oil, Saliva, Mucus, Oil in the joints, Urine

Such is this body of mine
From the soles of the feet on up
From the crown of the head on down
Surrounded by skin
Filled with all sorts of unclean things.


Now imagine what a body smells like if it were never washed with fragrances, what the skin, hair, nails, and teeth would look like if never properly taken care of. Now tell yourself, "The body is of the nature to change, grow old, get sick, die and decay. There is no way it can escape this." Now reflect on what happens to a body once it is dead:

1. The corpse is bloated, blue, and festering.
2. The corpse is crawling with insects and worms. Crows, hawks, vultures, and wolves are tearing it apart to eat.
3. All that is left is a skeleton with some flesh and blood still clinging to it.
4. All that is left is a skeleton with some blood stains, but no more flesh.
5. All that is left is a skeleton with no more blood stains.
6. All that is left is a collection of scattered bones - here an arm, here a shin, here a skull, and so forth.
7. All that is left is a collection of bleached bones.
8. All that is left is a collection of dried bones.
9. The bones have decomposed, and only a pile of dust is left.

These meditations, if done regularly, are know to counteract attachment and desire of the body. If you can see the human body is such a way, then maybe this will help you overcome the powerful sexual energy within you.


Hope this helps. May you find peace and happiness. May you become free from the grip of craving and lust.




"Your mind is en flamed because of distorted perception. Shun the aspect of beauty associated with passion.

"See constructions as other, as painful, not as self, (and thus) extinguish strong passion; do not burn again and again.

"Devote the mind, one-pointed and well-composed, to the contemplation of foulness. Let mindfulness be directed towards the body and be full of disenchantment for it."

-- Thag 21, IV