[somamasoso]

Dear Kaarine Alejandra,

You have kindly stated that, '' It is noteworthy that sexual abstention seems to be a result of a tranquil mind and emotional satisfaction obtained through meditation from where one of the most powerful cravings -sexual intercourse- is transcended. ''

To me, a tranquil mind and emotional satisfaction can only be obtained in a natural way. That is all human natural needs should be satisfied in a natural way. If Buddha Dhamma is the law of nature, then this duality should be solved in the first place. There should be no difference in between lay people and the monks lifestyles.

Celibacy does not mean to abstein from natural sexual acts. Celibacy means a moderate use of the sexual energy.

Respectfully,

Hello Bothi,

The path of definitive deliverance, -the Buddhadhamma-, acknowledges different levels of "Natural Law":

1. Utuniyama: the natural law pertaining to physical objects and changes in the natural environment, such as the weather; the way flowers bloom in the day and fold up at night; the way soil, water and nutrients help a tree to grow; and the way things disintegrate and decompose. This perspective emphasizes the changes brought about by heat or temperature.

2. Bijaniyama: the natural law pertaining to heredity, which is best described in the adage, "as the seed, so the fruit."

3. Cittaniyama: the natural law pertaining to the workings of the mind, the process of cognition of sense objects and the mental reactions to them.

4. Kammaniyama: the natural law pertaining to human behavior, the process of the generation of action and its results. In essence, this is summarized in the words, "good deeds bring good results, bad deeds bring bad results."

5. Dhammaniyama: the natural law governing the relationship and interdependence of all things: the way all things arise, exist and then cease. All conditions are subject to change, are in a state of affliction and are not self: this is the Norm.

The first four niyama are contained within, or based on, the fifth one, Dhammaniyama, the Law of Dhamma, or the Law of Nature. It may be questioned why Dhammaniyama, being as it were the totality, is also included within the subdivisions. This is because this fourfold categorization does not cover the entire extent of Dhammaniyama.

Good, Evil and Beyond
Seems that the path for ultimate deliverance deals with the knowledge about the Natural Law of the Dhammaniyama. Lets keep in mind that the teachings of Buddha are about the complete and everlasting liberation from the fetters of craving and clinging and it starts with sensual drives.

Any sort of sensual gratification, even the most subtle, -like a meditative absorption- end in Dukkha because of its impermanent nature and the absence of a self.

Also lay practitioners can take the option of celibacy. IMO, the decision of a celibate life grows in accordance to the natural law of Dhammaniyama as a result of meditation, as a result of a mind free from craving and clinging.

A tranquil mind will not seek for sensual gratification.

Buddha went further when he teaches deliverance, even from the enchantments of what is feminine and masculine transcending this mundane conditionality.

But all this is a gradual achievement. As the mind keeps more and more in a state of peace, ease and "insight-full-ness" the more and more its liberation from craving.

And this is the natural law of the Buddhadhamma.