<p>Even after one has seen and understood that there's a better way, that's still not sufficient to abandon sensual pleasures. One would need to attain and experience the higher path himself. As taught in <a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.014.than.html" rel="nofollow">MN 14</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Even though a disciple of the noble ones has clearly seen as it actually is with right discernment that sensuality is of much stress, much despair, &amp; greater drawbacks, still — if he has not attained a rapture &amp; pleasure apart from sensuality, apart from unskillful mental qualities, or something more peaceful than that[4] — he can be tempted by sensuality. But when he has clearly seen as it actually is with right discernment that sensuality is of much stress, much despair, &amp; greater drawbacks, and he has attained a rapture &amp; pleasure apart from sensuality, apart from unskillful mental qualities, or something more peaceful than that, he cannot be tempted by sensuality.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-26T18:07:51.937Z
Thank you for finding the source @santa100. So it is in Cula-dukkhakkhandha Sutta: The Lesser Mass of Stress (MN 14) - by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. If there wasn’t any gratification at all in our old indulgences, we wouldn’t go for them. And we won’t understand it enough to really let go of it if we never know the difference as to whether the gratification really is worth the price.
Saptha Visuddhi
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-26T22:54:28.963Z
We tend to only focus on the "gratification" side of sensual pleasures, not its darker side. That's why the Buddha taught us to look at sensual pleasures in all aspects: the gratification, the danger, and the escape. And right discernment is only the beginning. One would need to follow the gradual training to cultivate all the limbs of the 8-Fold Noble Path to really put an end to craving and ignorance.
santa100
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-26T14:57:21.723Z
2016-06-26T14:57:21.723Z
santa100
<p>There’s a passage where the Buddha says that the reason we get so stuck on sensual desires, sensual pleasures, is because we don’t see any other alternative to pain. But when you see that there is the alternative and, as you reflect on it, you see that it has fewer drawbacks, greater rewards, and that you can learn how to tap into it when you need it, then it can be your new attachment—a better one. Does anyone know in which sutta that this passage is found?  Could someone help me in this?</p>

<theravada><reference-request><pali-canon>
Addicted to a particular pleasure even when you know it has its drawbacks.
# Addicted to a particular pleasure even when you know it has its drawbacks.

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-06-26)

There’s a passage where the Buddha says that the reason we get so stuck on sensual desires, sensual pleasures, is because we don’t see any other alternative to pain. But when you see that there is the alternative and, as you reflect on it, you see that it has fewer drawbacks, greater rewards, and that you can learn how to tap into it when you need it, then it can be your new attachment—a better one. Does anyone know in which sutta that this passage is found? Could someone help me in this?

**Tags:** theravada, reference-request, pali-canon


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-06-26. Score: 3

Even after one has seen and understood that there's a better way, that's still not sufficient to abandon sensual pleasures. One would need to attain and experience the higher path himself. As taught in [MN 14](http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.014.than.html):

> Even though a disciple of the noble ones has clearly seen as it actually is with right discernment that sensuality is of much stress, much despair, & greater drawbacks, still — if he has not attained a rapture & pleasure apart from sensuality, apart from unskillful mental qualities, or something more peaceful than that[4] — he can be tempted by sensuality. But when he has clearly seen as it actually is with right discernment that sensuality is of much stress, much despair, & greater drawbacks, and he has attained a rapture & pleasure apart from sensuality, apart from unskillful mental qualities, or something more peaceful than that, he cannot be tempted by sensuality.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you for finding the source @username_1. So it is in Cula-dukkhakkhandha Sutta: The Lesser Mass of Stress (MN 14) - by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. If there wasn’t any gratification at all in our old indulgences, we wouldn’t go for them. And we won’t understand it enough to really let go of it if we never know the difference as to whether the gratification really is worth the price.  
> **username_1**: We tend to only focus on the "gratification" side of sensual pleasures, not its darker side. That's why the Buddha taught us to look at sensual pleasures in all aspects: the gratification, the danger, and the escape. And right discernment is only the beginning. One would need to follow the gradual training to cultivate all the limbs of the 8-Fold Noble Path to really put an end to craving and ignorance.  

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