WAYS TO ELIMINATE LUSTFUL THOUGHTS OR SEXUAL MISCONDUCT
Caller: How are you, Master? I’d like to ask about the precepts on abstaining from sexual misconduct. Strictly speaking, having lustful thoughts is considered a form of sexual misconduct, right?
Master Jun Hong Lu: Absolutely correct!
Caller: Realistically speaking, this is the hardest precept to keep. In this regard, what should we do to help us do better? I may be able to control my actions, however, it remains a real challenge to refrain from having those lingering lustful thoughts in my consciousness. What should I do under such circumstances?
Master Jun Hong Lu: First and foremost, say, you currently conjure up lustful thoughts once a day and this continues for a month. You must know right away that it is time to guard your mind. You may also confide in Bodhisattva, “I know this is bad. I will abstain from it”. Then, such thoughts may occur to you every two to three days.
Whenever the unwholesome thoughts of the opposite sex flash through your mind, you know that you have violated the precept and you may tell yourself, “Gosh, I’ve sinned again!”. You then stretch the interval to four to five days, or five to six days and it gets longer each time.
What I’m trying to say here is you must continue to work on keeping to the discipline. In both your heart and your thoughts, you must strive to perfect your adherence to the precepts. By doing so, you will be able to slowly exterminate this bad habit. You may not be able to get rid of it right away but at least you are reducing its frequency.
Caller: I see. This means, since I have taken up this precept, I should face up to it and find ways to be more disciplined.
Master Jun Hong Lu: Precisely! For example, you are keeping the precepts. Let’s talk about the enormous amount of illicit materials available on the internet. You land on this webpage that used to tempt you in the past. But, today, you tell yourself “I am not going to watch it!”.
Unfortunately, a few days later, you give in to temptation and decide to take a peek at the website. For that, you end up having to recite a few times of the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance. Thereafter, you tell yourself, “I am going to stop it! I can’t take this anymore!”
You may be able to hold up longer this time, say, a few months, but once again, you cave into temptation. For that, you confide in Bodhisattva again. This keeps going on until such time that you are able to eliminate your bad habits for good.
It’s the same with someone who wishes to kick his smoking habit. There are ways of getting around it. One, is to do it gradually; the other is to do it abruptly. This is not dissimilar to what the dharma says about the two types of enlightenment: Sudden Enlightenment and Gradual Enlightenment. Some achieve enlightenment in an epiphany, while others go through a gradual process.
Source: Wenda20130224A 37:30, Master Jun Hong Lu’s call-in radio program
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