Touching the Earth by Thich Nhat Hanh

Author:Thich Nhat Hanh [Hanh, Thich Nhat]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781935209195
Publisher: Parallax Press

Touching the Earth

Lord Buddha, with body, speech, and mind in perfect oneness, I touch the earth three times before you, the highest charioteer who has the capacity to master human beings, the Fully Awakened Teacher, the one whom the world honors. [Bell]

30. MINDFUL SEXUALITY

LORD BUDDHA, in the past I did not know how to manage the sexual energy in myself. This has caused me to make regrettable mistakes. I know that the human species is an animal species and that sexual energy is naturally present in all of us. In the past, because I did not know the spiritual practice, I allowed the seeds of sexuality in me to be watered too much. Sometimes sexual energy arising in me has made me unstable. I may have read magazines or books, or looked at films full of images that excite sexual energy. I know that some people make themselves rich by selling sex, not only in the form of selling bodies, but in the form of selling sounds and images.

Images that call up sexual desire are everywhere, in books, magazines, television, movies, advertisements, DVDs, and on the Internet. Young people, particularly, are the victims of this kind of marketing. The seeds of sexual energy in them are watered many times every day. The number of young men and women, often from age thirteen or younger, who are pulled into the net of unhealthy sexual activity is alarming. It is a true catastrophe when young people know sex but do not know how to love. When young people who have practiced empty sex grow up they never have a chance to know the joy of true love. The habit of masturbation leads to similar results. It dries up the source of wholesome energy of body and mind and does not give a person the chance to know what true love is.*

Lord Buddha, you have taught us the truth that body and mind are one reality, and I know that whatever happens to my body also happens to my mind. I vow to look after my body and mind and not allow the seeds of sexual desire to be watered in myself, and not to fall into the habit of masturbation. I vow that from now on I shall not read books or magazines or look at films that excite sexual energy. I shall not listen to or tell stories with sexual overtones. I shall not use the telephone or the computer to find sounds and images that arouse sexual desire. I also vow to lend my energy to action that makes people aware of the harm done by the artificial arousal of sexual energy. I vow to do everything that I can to create a healthy environment at all levels of society, especially for the younger generation. Lord Buddha, I ask you to guide me with the light of understanding and compassion in this work.

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