Do Not Seek the Pleasures of the Five Desires

The untainted pure mind is also rooted in this wisdom of emptiness, as we explained earlier.

We do not seek pleasure for our own selves; any pleasure the body pursues is nothing more than the chase for the enjoyment of the five sense desires. All these pleasures of the five senses are set up for the body: the eyes yearn for beautiful sights, the ears long for pleasant sounds, the tongue seeks delicious food, and the body desires soft, gentle tactile sensations.

Nowadays, businesses launch all kinds of products and create endless business opportunities solely to maximize the satisfaction of the five sense desires. As a result, people grow utterly absorbed in this bodily indulgence in the five senses, and their innate nature sinks deeper and deeper into degradation.

A spiritual practitioner must distance themselves from all this, and instead find joy in contentment! Food need only be enough to sustain life; there is no need to pursue fine delicacies. Clothing need only be sufficient to ward off the cold; there is no need to chase after expensive, gaudy name brands. They naturally abide this way, and are extremely frugal, deeply cherishing their blessings. This is because they do not seek pleasure for their own body. Only by breaking through the self-view can one renounce the pursuit of personal pleasure.

When you break through the self-view and its attachment to pleasure, bodhicitta and your innate awakened nature will arise. This is why bodhi is a realm of untainted purity. If you harbor a mind that seeks pleasure, you are defiled and impure, and no longer in alignment with the gate of bodhi. Seeking pleasure for the body is contrary to bodhi, while the untainted pure mind is perfectly aligned with the gate of bodhi.

For a spiritual practitioner who has taken the bhikshu ordination, everyone holds an unspoken standard of judgment. If a bhikshu frequently haunts entertainment venues and engages in speculative securities trading, people will find it strange: monastics are meant to renounce the five sense desires, so why do you linger in such places of the five sense desires? Ordinary lay followers, as well as the general public, all share this standard of judgment. The moment they see an ordained monastic entering or leaving a place of sense pleasure, they will find it odd.

This all reflects the dual expectations placed on spiritual practitioners: the internal standards they are required to uphold for themselves, and the expectations others have of them.

You must not seek pleasure for your own body. If you pursue the pleasure of the five sense desires for your own self, you become defiled and impure, and act in direct opposition to the gate of bodhi.