How to be free from desires?

[kralaro]

Miss Hepburn,

Yeah the person who became Buddha he himself had lived a royally materialistic life so i personally don't see giving up all desires as his teachings.

> no matter HOW odd it is
I was thinking in either or, that i can have either this or that, thanks for reminding me that both together is also possible :)

I give respect to your words so asking for my clarification that if i believe Universe takes care of me, along with not having any blockages like any desire is bad or impossible, and my mind focuses on Universe / God then will i be following LOA?

[Unseeking Seeker]

Desire (or aversion, fear) has roots in attachment to body-mind, which we are not. Recognising this, the impulses that arise, whatever they are, based on our samskaras* (*tendencies) we look at them. It does not matter whether we indulge or not, what is important is that we do not cling. Then we are free from bondage.

[kralaro]

Unseeking ji, if the mind clings to a desire and we're not our mind then that means it's not us who are clinging to the desire? In my experience, mind automatically de-clings after experiencing the desirable thing, that's why i mentioned Buddha, but for something it has never experienced but is curious about, that clinging / de-clinging is in Universe's hands. Thanks.

[Altair]

Originally Posted by kralaro

In my experience, mind automatically de-clings after experiencing the desirable thing,

Maybe, maybe not. Depends on what that is.

[Unseeking Seeker]

@ kralaro ~ mind is an instrument, thoughts arise in heart. if heart is quiescent, no thoughts arise. without thought, ego dies. clinging is desire, desire is delusion. however what you say is valid, like embracing and releasing, we experience but do not cling. perfect.

if we understand how desires (or aversions) arise, we then know how thoughts arise, rooted in ego. mind is instrumentalised then, just like any other limb of the body, used when needed, otherwise not.

[Gem]

Desire has some suffering with it, dissatisfaction, but because we think that's a bad thing instead of a simple fact, we get the impression that it ought to be some other way - but it is the way it is.

[Altair]

The things and relationships (friendships, family, sexual) we have are temporary, and we can lose them, but that does not make those things and those relationships the issue. Perhaps it is not desire or attachment that is the real ''cause'' of suffering, but simply time itself. I find time can be a real villain, a consumer of 'my time'. It takes and it breaks. It steals and it does so with the coldness of the void. One day I will beat time..

[Redchic12]

Personally I feel there isn’t a problem with desire. I mean we wouldn’t be here if we did t have desire ie desiring a partner to share our life and have a family with.

It’s back again to the same old story…..Balance.

If you are obsessed with things and your desiring is out of control then you have a problem. And if you are trying hard to NOT desire things then you are also going to have a problem ie unhapppy, resentful and jealous of others etc.

So I guess the Buddha is right when he said…..take the middle path.

[FallingLeaves]

Originally Posted by Redchic12

And if you are trying hard to NOT desire things then you are also going to have a problem ie unhapppy, resentful and jealous of others etc.

i don't see it that way at all. The simple act of allowing oneself to live without the things one most desires, can be very beautiful. I won't say it is easy, just that it can be beautiful.

[kralaro]

Haven't read the new replies yet, will do after my sleep. Sharing that my desires were stemming from sense of unfairness that i should have already gotten somethings i desire but right now they have gone after i realized that by having those desires i was being unfair to Universe. Please don't misunderstand that i thought i should do this.