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Journal rdewald's Journal: The objects of my desires. 19

Journal by rdewald

The objects of my desires will never satisfy my desires.

Having sex will not end the desire to have sex.

Food does not extinguish hunger, it always returns.

Is one ever pretty enough, smart enough, or strong enough to extingush the desire to be pretty, smart and strong?

Yet isn't the extinguishment of desire what compels and attaches us to our objects of desire?

We seek those objects as sacrificial offerings to our desires.

Here, master, this is what you want. Give me some peace.

What is there? What is the essence of desire?

Throw a rock in the pond. Where did the reflection go?

This discussion was created by rdewald (229443) for no Foes, but now has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

The objects of my desires. More

The objects of my desires.

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  • Desire is the expression of a lack. Its object is only the mistaken thought that something outside the self can satisfy the lack. A thing cannot make one whole.

    To speak of extinguishing a desire is to give it a reality of its own. Desires are not extinguished, they are... outgrown.

    The exception to this, I believe, is desire between a man and a woman. The desire for sex is an incomplete expression of the desire for an intimate connection with another human. We feel that lack sharply. On levels both hig
  • As an old professor of mine used to say, "You can do want you want, but you can't want what you want."
  • Why would you want to end your desires? Why would you want to be completely sated?

    One of the defining characteristics of our human condition is that we *want*. Sex, food, pleasure... Feed the ego, mind, body, soul...

    It's our gift in this incarnation. To pursue the unattainable but enjoy the chase to the fullest. To savor the moments of bliss that are the simulacra of what we ultimately desire but is never meant to be ours. Not in this lifetime (and perhaps never -- but even that hope, that speculation i
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • One of the defining characteristics of our human condition is that we *want*. Sex, food, pleasure... Feed the ego, mind, body, soul...

      But what if you can't get one of these? Sating the desire, or, at least, temporarily sating it would provide yourself with peace instead of the burning desire for something you simply can't have...
      I'm sure you can relate...
      • I'm sure there's an internet porn joke there somewhere.

        I think that's what he's getting at. You have to find the balance. You can't completely give up food, but you can't continually eat. Both lead to death. In the end I have 1 desire... happiness. I have been happy without sex before, because as John mentioned, I had intimacy on a higher level. Of course I didn't really know what I was missing out on. :-) There is a certain... "moment of clarity" after sating a desire, however.

        • Its funny... I have a higher understanding of Buddhism from reading "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Heinlein. Someone born on Mars, not indoctrined into human culture. Doesn't understand human treachery or anything, he is completely innocent and completely honest. Surprised there isn't any Buddhism in the book at all....
      • No one has ever prevented me from getting any of my wants met. It's simply a matter of setting priorities and being willing to face the consequences.

        That, and masturbation's always an option that's worked quite well. Sex life's never been batter, AAMOF. Amen for separate bedrooms!

        ....Bethanie....

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by rdewald ( 229443 ) *
      If you are thirsty, you drink. I'm not sure there's really another "want" behind that, as in, wanting to be satisfied with regard to beverage consumption. If I did not have thirst, I wouldn't give a damn about drinking.

      I do not want to be satisfied. Desire is that want.

      Now, one can *know,* in the ways that our minds know things, that desires are unquenchable but that kind of knowledge does nothing for the experience of desire. You may think "well, I am completely okay with this desire because I know it'
      • But I'm *happy* with desire being a constant. I don't care if it just gets displaced from one object to another. Chasing it around is what keeps me engaged in life. Like a terrier running after a little red laser light on America's Funniest Home Videos. Gosh, I bust a gut nearly every time I see that!!br>
        :-D

        ....Bethanie....
  • I assume you are familiar with the sand mandalas by the Tibetan monks? Tibetan monks create sand exhibit, then destroy it in lesson of impermanence [palmbeachpost.com]

    That would be a sand mandala. [wikipedia.org] This JE reminded me of that.

    I do like the reflection in the pond thing.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by rdewald ( 229443 ) *
      To mention that my JE reminded you of a sand mandala is a very high compliment, I thank you for it.
  • i don't want to extinguish my hunger. Hunger means i am alive.

    It means that cells are living, breathing, dying.

    It means the process continues.

    I don't want to be owned by my hunger, but to keep from being owned by it, i have to recognise it for what it is, and accept that it is ONLY that, and nothing more.

    In order to keep feeling it, i have to feed it.

    I have always disagreed with the idea of removing myself from the endless circle of feeding the fire. I like life. I don't want to feel no hunger. I want to ap
  • While I am strongly sympathetic to the Buddhist viewpoint, I tend to see it through the lens of what shaped us: to always want more is selected for. I wouldn’t go quite so far as to say that being satisfied with what you have is actually selected against, but the odds do favor the dude with more spear points than his neighbors.

    In other words, insatiable appetites keep us reaching, and that has served us rather well for the first 99.993% of our history. We grew up in a world where the downsides of that

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