<p>See also e.g. <a href="https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/19307/254">here</a> for some &quot;non-meditative practices or measures&quot;.</p>
<p>Also, &quot;food&quot; is difficult and a separate category: because you can't just cut it out completely. Instead you should eat moderately, measuredly -- see e.g. <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ati/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.120.wlsh.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Sariputto Sutta (SN 35.120)</a> which mentions guarding the sense-doors, and which says,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>And how, friend, is one moderate in eating? In this a monk takes his food properly considering,<sup>2</sup> not for sport, for intoxication, for adornment or beautification, but purely for the maintenance and nourishment of this body, for keeping it unharmed, as an aid to the practice of the holy life, thinking:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>&quot;I shall put an end to the old feeling,<sup>3</sup> and not produce any new feeling.<sup>4</sup> Thus I shall keep going, incur no fault, and live at ease.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That, friend, is how one is moderate in eating.</p>
<p><sup>2</sup> With due attention (yoniso)<br />
<sup>3</sup> Of hunger.<br />
<sup>4</sup> Of greed.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-19T15:28:43.457Z
2018-03-19T15:28:43.457Z
2020-06-17T09:56:10.877Z
ChrisW
<p>The Buddhist path has four right efforts, namely: </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Effort to prevent</p></li>
<li><p>Effort to abandon or cure</p></li>
<li><p>Effort to develop</p></li>
<li><p>Effort to maintain. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>The question &amp; some answers (such as the video of Yuttadhammo) are about efforts to abandon rather than effort to prevent. </p>

<p>Prevention is better than cure. Prevention uses reasoned thinking about the harm &amp; danger of these addictions. The objects of addiction should be viewed is the same way as reasonable people view drugs like heroin. Pornography, for example, destroys the lives of women, for example:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><em>Jenna Jameson (born Jenna Marie Massoli; April 9, 1974) is an American entrepreneur, webcam model and former pornographic film
  actress, who has been called the world's most famous adult
  entertainment performer and "The Queen of Porn".</em></p>
  
  <p><em>Jameson announced in August 2008 that she and Ortiz were expecting twins in April 2009.On March 16, 2009, Jameson gave birth to twin
  boys, Jesse Jameson and Journey Jette. Jameson and Ortiz split up in
  March 2013. Ortiz was granted full custody of the twins</em></p>
  
  <p><em>As of 2014, Jameson has undergone extensive tattooing, almost completely covering both of her arms in sleeve tattoos. In 2013,
  self-proclaimed socialite and writer Britney Markham became Jameson's
  personal assistant after having met on Twitter. In a 2014 interview
  with LA Weekly, Markham claimed that Jameson would make requests for
  drugs. Markham posited that the pills of choice were Xanax, Ambien and
  Suboxone along with alcohol. At the same time, Markham denied that
  Jameson had been taking Oxycodone, in spite of previous rumors.
  Markham stated that she was assaulted and battered by Jameson
  following an incident in a hair salon in Los Angeles in 2013 when
  Jameson punched Markham in the stomach with a brass knuckles iPhone
  case. The blow was so severe, Markham claims she vomited blood and was
  hospitalized.</em></p>
  
  <p><em>On August 5, 2016, Jameson announced that she and her Israeli boyfriend, Lior Bitton, were expecting their first child together. On
  April 6, 2017, they welcomed a daughter, Batel Lu.</em></p>
  
  <p><em>On November 11, 2016, Jameson announced on her Twitter feed that she completed her conversion to Orthodox Judaism with a Haredi rabbinical
  court in Upstate New York. Having been raised Catholic, in June
  2015, Jameson announced that she was converting to Judaism, in order
  to marry Bitton. In October, an Israel Channel 2 reality
  television series was announced, which would document Jameson's
  conversion.</em></p>
</blockquote>

<p>Pornography is a charade, lie &amp; deception, which is upheld by the false view or false idea that the women in pornography are happy &amp; having fun. If a person has right view &amp; has compassion for women, they will not be tempted to view pornography because they understand pornography harms women (as well as men). </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-19T22:25:49.540Z
2018-03-19T22:37:16.557Z
2018-03-19T22:37:16.557Z
Dhamma Dhatu
<blockquote>
  <p><strong>OP:</strong> For a layman who wants to overcome behavioral addictions, ...
  which meditation techniques are the most recommendable?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Please see <a href="https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/22852/471">this answer</a> about a <a href="https://youtu.be/W5Lg9P-VekA" rel="nofollow noreferrer">video talk</a> by Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu on addiction to pornography and addiction in general. That answer also states:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The other technique he proposes is to watch your mind for triggers and
  observe how lust arises in the mind and recognize it (basically
  insight meditation). You can find more info on this in his chapter
  entitled "<a href="https://www.sirimangalo.org/text/how-to-meditate/chapter-six-daily-life/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Daily Life</a>" of his booklet "<a href="https://www.sirimangalo.org/text/how-to-meditate/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">How To Meditate</a>".</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I believe this technique can be applied to most, if not all, addictions.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>OP:</strong> Additionally, given the fact that an average layman cannot afford going full-time monk, what would be a recommendable frequency
  (in terms of minutes/hours per day) to see palpable results in a
  reasonable time?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Please see <a href="https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/2431/471">this question</a> for good answers.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>OP:</strong> Is a single meditation technique enough to overcome behavioral addictions? Or would it better to practice multiple meditation
  techniques at the same time? Or maybe different meditation techniques
  for different situations?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>One way suggested by Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu to overcome sexual addiction is to mentally take apart and analyze the parts of the body (the so-called contemplation on unattractiveness or asubha). You can find some info in <a href="https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/19000/471">this question</a> and <a href="https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/1917/471">this question</a>. But also see <a href="https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/3858/471">this answer</a> - this type of contemplation should be replaced with the mindfulness of breathing if it triggers negative thoughts of suicide.</p>

<p>The other technique he proposes is to watch your mind for triggers and observe how lust arises in the mind and recognize it (basically insight meditation). You can find more info on this in his chapter entitled "<a href="https://www.sirimangalo.org/text/how-to-meditate/chapter-six-daily-life/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Daily Life</a>" of his booklet "<a href="https://www.sirimangalo.org/text/how-to-meditate/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">How To Meditate</a>".</p>

<p>So, here you have two techniques for sexual addition.</p>

<p>Regarding food addiction, you can try the insight method above, or the gradual food reduction method in <a href="https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/25427/471">this answer</a>.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>OP:</strong> Is meditation as a whole enough, or would one need to complement it with other non-meditative practices or measures?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The practice of the <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sila/pancasila.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">five precepts</a> and <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sila/index.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">virtue (sila)</a> with <a href="https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/22181/471">heedfulness (appamada)</a> is recommended. In addition, eating, sleeping, consuming entertainment and socializing should be done in moderation.</p>

<p>You can find this in the "<a href="https://www.sirimangalo.org/text/how-to-meditate/chapter-six-daily-life/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Daily Life</a>" chapter of Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu's booklet "<a href="https://www.sirimangalo.org/text/how-to-meditate/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">How to Meditate</a>":</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Meditation is meant to cultivate clarity and understanding, free from
  addiction, aversion, and delusion, and therefore free from suffering.
  Since certain bodily and verbal acts are intrinsically tied to
  negative qualities of mind, they are considered ‘contraindicative’ to
  the meditation practice; they have an effect opposite to what is
  desired, cultivating defilement instead of purity. Meditators who
  insist on engaging in such behaviour will face great difficulty in
  their practice, developing habits that are detrimental to both
  meditation practice and personal well-being. <strong>To ensure the mind is
  perfectly clear and capable of understanding reality, certain
  behaviours must be taken out of one’s “diet”, so to speak.</strong></p>
  
  <p>First, there are five kinds of action from which one must refrain
  completely, as they are inherently unwholesome:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li><p><strong>One must refrain from killing living beings.</strong> In order to cultivate one’s own well-being, one must be dedicated to well-being as a
  principle, refraining from killing any living being, even ants,
  mosquitoes and other living beings.</p></li>
  <li><p><strong>One must refrain from theft.</strong> In order to find peace of mind, we must grant it to others as well; stealing is a denial of this basic
  right to security. Further, if we wish to be free from addiction, we
  must be able to control our desires to the extent of respecting the
  possessions of others.</p></li>
  <li><p><strong>One must abstain from committing adultery or sexual misconduct.</strong> Romantic relationships that are emotionally or spiritually damaging to
  others, due to existing commitments of the parties involved, are a
  cause for stress and suffering and based on perversion of the mind.</p></li>
  <li><p><strong>One must refrain from telling lies.</strong> If one wishes to find truth, one must avoid falsehood; intentionally leading others away from the
  truth is harmful both to oneself and others and incompatible with the
  goals of meditation.</p></li>
  <li><p><strong>One must refrain from taking drugs or alcohol.</strong> Any substance that intoxicates the mind is obviously contraindicative to meditation
  practice, as it is the antithesis of a natural, clear state of being.</p></li>
  </ol>
  
  <p><strong>Complete abstention from these activities is necessary if one wishes
  for meditation practice to be successful</strong>, due to their inherently
  unwholesome nature and the invariably negative effect they have on the
  mind.</p>
  
  <p>Further, there are certain activities that must be moderated or they
  will interfere with meditation practice. These are activities that are
  not necessarily unwholesome in and of themselves but will nonetheless
  inhibit clarity of mind and lessen the benefit of the meditation
  practice when undertaken in excess.</p>
  
  <p>One such activity is eating; if one wishes to truly progress in the
  meditation practice, <strong>one must be careful not to eat too much or too
  little.</strong> If one is constantly obsessed with food, it can be a great
  hindrance to progress in meditation since not only does it cloud the
  mind, over-eating leads to drowsiness, both in the body and mind. One
  should eat to stay alive rather than stay alive simply to eat. During
  intensive meditation courses, meditators eat one main meal per day and
  suffer no negative physical consequences as a result; whereas the
  positive effects of such moderation are clarity of mind and freedom
  from obsession over food.</p>
  
  <p>Another activity that interferes with meditation practice is
  entertainment – <strong>watching movies, listening to music, and so on. These
  occupations are not inherently unwholesome but can easily create
  states of addiction when undertaken in excess.</strong></p>
  
  <p>Addiction is a form of insobriety in a sense, since it involves
  chemical processes in the brain that inhibit clear thought and clarity
  of mind. Since the pleasure that comes from entertainment is momentary
  and unsatisfying while the addiction and obsession carry over into
  one’s life, a serious meditator should determine to make the best use
  of their short time in this life by cultivating peace and contentment,
  rather than wasting it on meaningless activities that don’t lead to
  long term happiness and peace. If one wishes to find true happiness,
  one must therefore moderate one’s engagement in entertainment.
  <strong>Socializing on the Internet and similar activities should be
  undertaken in moderation as well.</strong></p>
  
  <p>The third activity <strong>one must moderate is that of sleeping</strong>. Sleeping is
  an addiction that is often overlooked; most people don’t realize how
  attached they are to sleep as a means of escape from reality. Still
  others become insomniac, obsessed with the thought that they are not
  getting “enough” sleep, leading to increased stress levels and further
  difficulty in falling asleep.</p>
  
  <p>Through the meditation practice, one will find that one needs less
  sleep than before since one’s mind will become calmer. Insomnia is not
  a problem for meditators since they are able to meditate even in the
  lying position and keep their minds free from stress. People who have
  difficulty falling asleep should train themselves to watch the stomach
  rise and fall, noting “rising”, “falling”, all night if necessary.
  Even if they are not able to fall asleep (which is unlikely, given the
  calm state of mind while meditating) they will find themselves as
  rested as if they had slept soundly through the night.</p>
  
  <p>Finally, it is worth mentioning that to truly gain results in the
  meditation practice, <strong>a meditator should set aside at least a period of
  time to remain entirely celibate</strong>, not just avoiding immoral sexual
  activity, since all sexual activity is invariably intoxicating and
  will be a hindrance towards attainment of mental clarity and peace.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-19T14:54:21.243Z
Thanks for the links. Do they cover all my sub-questions in my post?
xwb
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-19T14:56:54.837Z
Is insight = vipassana? If that is the case, then should I practice vipassana as teached by Goenka?
xwb
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-19T15:14:59.460Z
Yes. Vipassana is insight. Regarding Goenka's vipassana, you can read two interesting questions [here](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/19399/471) and [here](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/17763/471).
ruben2020
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-20T13:35:06.667Z
One must abstain from committing adultery or sexual misconduct.- This must be corrected as sensual misconduct. E.g one's intensive crave to chocolate or food and overeating is sensual misconduct.(violate third precept) sexual misconduct is narrowing into one aspect.
danuka shewantha
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-20T14:16:14.783Z
@danukashewantha The third precept is about sexual misconduct, not sensual misconduct.  The text I quoted is from Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu - it's not my own writing.
ruben2020
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-21T08:46:49.487Z
"Kame-sumichchachara" here "kama"  means not about sexuality. It means  the involvements of six sensual facilities. e.g; nose for odors,eye for colours, tongue for taste etc... you are narrow in to sexuality is wrong. I suggest you to verify it again.
danuka shewantha
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-21T10:35:00.757Z
@danukashewantha See [Trouble understanding “sensual misconduct”](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/10284/254)
ChrisW
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-19T14:51:09.070Z
2018-03-19T23:55:49.223Z
2018-03-19T23:55:49.223Z
ruben2020
<p>For a layman who wants to overcome <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_addiction" rel="nofollow noreferrer">behavioral addictions</a> (i.e. any "<em>addiction that involves a compulsion to engage in a rewarding non-drug-related behavior – sometimes called a natural reward</em>", such as food, sex, pornography, gambling, internet, video games, etc.):</p>

<ul>
<li>Which meditation techniques are the most recommendable?</li>
<li>Additionally, given the fact that an average layman cannot afford going full-time monk, what would be a recommendable frequency (in terms of minutes/hours per day) to see palpable results in a reasonable time?</li>
</ul>

<p>Furthermore:</p>

<ul>
<li>Is a single meditation technique enough to overcome behavioral addictions? Or would it better to practice multiple meditation techniques at the same time? Or maybe different meditation techniques for different situations? For instance, are there any special meditation techniques to handle strong, compulsive urges in the presence of addiction cues/triggers?</li>
</ul>

<p>Finally:</p>

<ul>
<li>Is meditation as a whole enough, or would one need to complement it with other non-meditative practices or measures? For example, positive affirmations, hypnosis, or maybe going to a therapist, exercising, sleeping 8+ hours, etc. I'm just throwing some ideas around.</li>
</ul>

<meditation><meditation-practicalities><meditation-hindrances><five-hindrances><equanimity>
Best meditation techniques (mindfulness,vipassana,yoga,zazen,TM,etc) to beat behavioral addictions (food,sex,porn,gambling,internet,videogames,etc)?
# Best meditation techniques (mindfulness,vipassana,yoga,zazen,TM,etc) to beat behavioral addictions (food,sex,porn,gambling,internet,videogames,etc)?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-03-19)

For a layman who wants to overcome [behavioral addictions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_addiction) (i.e. any "*addiction that involves a compulsion to engage in a rewarding non-drug-related behavior – sometimes called a natural reward*", such as food, sex, pornography, gambling, internet, video games, etc.):

* Which meditation techniques are the most recommendable?
* Additionally, given the fact that an average layman cannot afford going full-time monk, what would be a recommendable frequency (in terms of minutes/hours per day) to see palpable results in a reasonable time?

Furthermore:

* Is a single meditation technique enough to overcome behavioral addictions? Or would it better to practice multiple meditation techniques at the same time? Or maybe different meditation techniques for different situations? For instance, are there any special meditation techniques to handle strong, compulsive urges in the presence of addiction cues/triggers?

Finally:

* Is meditation as a whole enough, or would one need to complement it with other non-meditative practices or measures? For example, positive affirmations, hypnosis, or maybe going to a therapist, exercising, sleeping 8+ hours, etc. I'm just throwing some ideas around.

**Tags:** meditation, meditation-practicalities, meditation-hindrances, five-hindrances, equanimity


---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-03-19. Score: 3

> **OP:** For a layman who wants to overcome behavioral addictions, ...
> which meditation techniques are the most recommendable?

Please see [this answer](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/22852/471) about a [video talk](https://youtu.be/W5Lg9P-VekA) by Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu on addiction to pornography and addiction in general. That answer also states:

> The other technique he proposes is to watch your mind for triggers and
> observe how lust arises in the mind and recognize it (basically
> insight meditation). You can find more info on this in his chapter
> entitled "[Daily Life](https://www.sirimangalo.org/text/how-to-meditate/chapter-six-daily-life/)" of his booklet "[How To Meditate](https://www.sirimangalo.org/text/how-to-meditate/)".

I believe this technique can be applied to most, if not all, addictions.

> **OP:** Additionally, given the fact that an average layman cannot afford going full-time monk, what would be a recommendable frequency
> (in terms of minutes/hours per day) to see palpable results in a
> reasonable time?

Please see [this question](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/2431/471) for good answers.

> **OP:** Is a single meditation technique enough to overcome behavioral addictions? Or would it better to practice multiple meditation
> techniques at the same time? Or maybe different meditation techniques
> for different situations?

One way suggested by Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu to overcome sexual addiction is to mentally take apart and analyze the parts of the body (the so-called contemplation on unattractiveness or asubha). You can find some info in [this question](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/19000/471) and [this question](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/1917/471). But also see [this answer](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/3858/471) - this type of contemplation should be replaced with the mindfulness of breathing if it triggers negative thoughts of suicide.

The other technique he proposes is to watch your mind for triggers and observe how lust arises in the mind and recognize it (basically insight meditation). You can find more info on this in his chapter entitled "[Daily Life](https://www.sirimangalo.org/text/how-to-meditate/chapter-six-daily-life/)" of his booklet "[How To Meditate](https://www.sirimangalo.org/text/how-to-meditate/)".

So, here you have two techniques for sexual addition.

Regarding food addiction, you can try the insight method above, or the gradual food reduction method in [this answer](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/25427/471).

> **OP:** Is meditation as a whole enough, or would one need to complement it with other non-meditative practices or measures?

The practice of the [five precepts](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sila/pancasila.html) and [virtue (sila)](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sila/index.html) with [heedfulness (appamada)](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/22181/471) is recommended. In addition, eating, sleeping, consuming entertainment and socializing should be done in moderation.

You can find this in the "[Daily Life](https://www.sirimangalo.org/text/how-to-meditate/chapter-six-daily-life/)" chapter of Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu's booklet "[How to Meditate](https://www.sirimangalo.org/text/how-to-meditate/)":

> Meditation is meant to cultivate clarity and understanding, free from
> addiction, aversion, and delusion, and therefore free from suffering.
> Since certain bodily and verbal acts are intrinsically tied to
> negative qualities of mind, they are considered ‘contraindicative’ to
> the meditation practice; they have an effect opposite to what is
> desired, cultivating defilement instead of purity. Meditators who
> insist on engaging in such behaviour will face great difficulty in
> their practice, developing habits that are detrimental to both
> meditation practice and personal well-being. **To ensure the mind is
> perfectly clear and capable of understanding reality, certain
> behaviours must be taken out of one’s “diet”, so to speak.**
>
> First, there are five kinds of action from which one must refrain
> completely, as they are inherently unwholesome:
>
> 1. **One must refrain from killing living beings.** In order to cultivate one’s own well-being, one must be dedicated to well-being as a
>    principle, refraining from killing any living being, even ants,
>    mosquitoes and other living beings.
> 2. **One must refrain from theft.** In order to find peace of mind, we must grant it to others as well; stealing is a denial of this basic
>    right to security. Further, if we wish to be free from addiction, we
>    must be able to control our desires to the extent of respecting the
>    possessions of others.
> 3. **One must abstain from committing adultery or sexual misconduct.** Romantic relationships that are emotionally or spiritually damaging to
>    others, due to existing commitments of the parties involved, are a
>    cause for stress and suffering and based on perversion of the mind.
> 4. **One must refrain from telling lies.** If one wishes to find truth, one must avoid falsehood; intentionally leading others away from the
>    truth is harmful both to oneself and others and incompatible with the
>    goals of meditation.
> 5. **One must refrain from taking drugs or alcohol.** Any substance that intoxicates the mind is obviously contraindicative to meditation
>    practice, as it is the antithesis of a natural, clear state of being.
>
> **Complete abstention from these activities is necessary if one wishes
> for meditation practice to be successful**, due to their inherently
> unwholesome nature and the invariably negative effect they have on the
> mind.
>
> Further, there are certain activities that must be moderated or they
> will interfere with meditation practice. These are activities that are
> not necessarily unwholesome in and of themselves but will nonetheless
> inhibit clarity of mind and lessen the benefit of the meditation
> practice when undertaken in excess.
>
> One such activity is eating; if one wishes to truly progress in the
> meditation practice, **one must be careful not to eat too much or too
> little.** If one is constantly obsessed with food, it can be a great
> hindrance to progress in meditation since not only does it cloud the
> mind, over-eating leads to drowsiness, both in the body and mind. One
> should eat to stay alive rather than stay alive simply to eat. During
> intensive meditation courses, meditators eat one main meal per day and
> suffer no negative physical consequences as a result; whereas the
> positive effects of such moderation are clarity of mind and freedom
> from obsession over food.
>
> Another activity that interferes with meditation practice is
> entertainment – **watching movies, listening to music, and so on. These
> occupations are not inherently unwholesome but can easily create
> states of addiction when undertaken in excess.**
>
> Addiction is a form of insobriety in a sense, since it involves
> chemical processes in the brain that inhibit clear thought and clarity
> of mind. Since the pleasure that comes from entertainment is momentary
> and unsatisfying while the addiction and obsession carry over into
> one’s life, a serious meditator should determine to make the best use
> of their short time in this life by cultivating peace and contentment,
> rather than wasting it on meaningless activities that don’t lead to
> long term happiness and peace. If one wishes to find true happiness,
> one must therefore moderate one’s engagement in entertainment.
> **Socializing on the Internet and similar activities should be
> undertaken in moderation as well.**
>
> The third activity **one must moderate is that of sleeping**. Sleeping is
> an addiction that is often overlooked; most people don’t realize how
> attached they are to sleep as a means of escape from reality. Still
> others become insomniac, obsessed with the thought that they are not
> getting “enough” sleep, leading to increased stress levels and further
> difficulty in falling asleep.
>
> Through the meditation practice, one will find that one needs less
> sleep than before since one’s mind will become calmer. Insomnia is not
> a problem for meditators since they are able to meditate even in the
> lying position and keep their minds free from stress. People who have
> difficulty falling asleep should train themselves to watch the stomach
> rise and fall, noting “rising”, “falling”, all night if necessary.
> Even if they are not able to fall asleep (which is unlikely, given the
> calm state of mind while meditating) they will find themselves as
> rested as if they had slept soundly through the night.
>
> Finally, it is worth mentioning that to truly gain results in the
> meditation practice, **a meditator should set aside at least a period of
> time to remain entirely celibate**, not just avoiding immoral sexual
> activity, since all sexual activity is invariably intoxicating and
> will be a hindrance towards attainment of mental clarity and peace.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks for the links. Do they cover all my sub-questions in my post?  
> **username_0**: Is insight = vipassana? If that is the case, then should I practice vipassana as teached by Goenka?  
> **username_3**: Yes. Vipassana is insight. Regarding Goenka's vipassana, you can read two interesting questions [here](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/19399/471) and [here](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/17763/471).  
> **username_4**: One must abstain from committing adultery or sexual misconduct.- This must be corrected as sensual misconduct. E.g one's intensive crave to chocolate or food and overeating is sensual misconduct.(violate third precept) sexual misconduct is narrowing into one aspect.  
> **username_3**: @danukashewantha The third precept is about sexual misconduct, not sensual misconduct.  The text I quoted is from Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu - it's not my own writing.  
> **username_4**: "Kame-sumichchachara" here "kama"  means not about sexuality. It means  the involvements of six sensual facilities. e.g; nose for odors,eye for colours, tongue for taste etc... you are narrow in to sexuality is wrong. I suggest you to verify it again.  
> **username_1**: @danukashewantha See [Trouble understanding “sensual misconduct”](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/10284/254)  

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### Answer by username_1 on 2018-03-19. Score: 0

See also e.g. [here](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/19307/254) for some "non-meditative practices or measures".

Also, "food" is difficult and a separate category: because you can't just cut it out completely. Instead you should eat moderately, measuredly -- see e.g. [Sariputto Sutta (SN 35.120)](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ati/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.120.wlsh.html) which mentions guarding the sense-doors, and which says,

> And how, friend, is one moderate in eating? In this a monk takes his food properly considering,2 not for sport, for intoxication, for adornment or beautification, but purely for the maintenance and nourishment of this body, for keeping it unharmed, as an aid to the practice of the holy life, thinking:
>
> > "I shall put an end to the old feeling,3 and not produce any new feeling.4 Thus I shall keep going, incur no fault, and live at ease."
>
> That, friend, is how one is moderate in eating.
>
> 2 With due attention (yoniso)  
> 3 Of hunger.  
> 4 Of greed.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2018-03-19. Score: 0

The Buddhist path has four right efforts, namely:

1. Effort to prevent
2. Effort to abandon or cure
3. Effort to develop
4. Effort to maintain.

The question & some answers (such as the video of Yuttadhammo) are about efforts to abandon rather than effort to prevent.

Prevention is better than cure. Prevention uses reasoned thinking about the harm & danger of these addictions. The objects of addiction should be viewed is the same way as reasonable people view drugs like heroin. Pornography, for example, destroys the lives of women, for example:

> *Jenna Jameson (born Jenna Marie Massoli; April 9, 1974) is an American entrepreneur, webcam model and former pornographic film
> actress, who has been called the world's most famous adult
> entertainment performer and "The Queen of Porn".*
>
> *Jameson announced in August 2008 that she and Ortiz were expecting twins in April 2009.On March 16, 2009, Jameson gave birth to twin
> boys, Jesse Jameson and Journey Jette. Jameson and Ortiz split up in
> March 2013. Ortiz was granted full custody of the twins*
>
> *As of 2014, Jameson has undergone extensive tattooing, almost completely covering both of her arms in sleeve tattoos. In 2013,
> self-proclaimed socialite and writer Britney Markham became Jameson's
> personal assistant after having met on Twitter. In a 2014 interview
> with LA Weekly, Markham claimed that Jameson would make requests for
> drugs. Markham posited that the pills of choice were Xanax, Ambien and
> Suboxone along with alcohol. At the same time, Markham denied that
> Jameson had been taking Oxycodone, in spite of previous rumors.
> Markham stated that she was assaulted and battered by Jameson
> following an incident in a hair salon in Los Angeles in 2013 when
> Jameson punched Markham in the stomach with a brass knuckles iPhone
> case. The blow was so severe, Markham claims she vomited blood and was
> hospitalized.*
>
> *On August 5, 2016, Jameson announced that she and her Israeli boyfriend, Lior Bitton, were expecting their first child together. On
> April 6, 2017, they welcomed a daughter, Batel Lu.*
>
> *On November 11, 2016, Jameson announced on her Twitter feed that she completed her conversion to Orthodox Judaism with a Haredi rabbinical
> court in Upstate New York. Having been raised Catholic, in June
> 2015, Jameson announced that she was converting to Judaism, in order
> to marry Bitton. In October, an Israel Channel 2 reality
> television series was announced, which would document Jameson's
> conversion.*

Pornography is a charade, lie & deception, which is upheld by the false view or false idea that the women in pornography are happy & having fun. If a person has right view & has compassion for women, they will not be tempted to view pornography because they understand pornography harms women (as well as men).


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