Five Cords of Sensual Pleasure

Monks, there are these five cords of sensual pleasure.

What are the five?

(1) Forms recognizable by the eye that are wished for, desired, agreeable and likeable, connected with sensual desire, and provocative of craving.

(2) Sounds recognizable by the ear that are wished for, desired, agreeable and likeable, connected with sensual desire, and provocative of craving.

(3) Odors recognizable by the nose that are wished for, desired, agreeable and likeable, connected with sensual desire, and provocative of craving.

(4) Flavors recognizable by the tongue that are wished for, desired, agreeable and likeable, connected with sensual desire, and provocative of craving.

(5) Physical objects recognizable by the body that are wished for, desired, agreeable and likeable, connected with sensual desire, and provocative of craving.

These are the five cords of sensual pleasure.

As to those Ascetics and Brāhmins who are tied to these five cords of sensual pleasure, obsessed with them and completely committed to them, and who use them without seeing the danger in them or understanding the escape from them, it may be understood of them: They have met with calamity, met with disaster, the Evil One may do with them as he likes.

Suppose a forest deer who was bound lay down on a heap of traps; it might be understood of him: He has met with calamity, met with disaster, the hunter can do with him as he likes, and when the hunter comes he cannot go where he wants.

As to those Ascetics and Brāhmins who are not tied to these five cords of sensual pleasure, who are not obsessed with them or completely committed to them, and who use them seeing the danger in them and understanding the escape from them, it may be understood of them: They have not met with calamity, not met with disaster, the Evil One cannot do with them as he likes.

Suppose a forest deer who was unbound lay down on a heap of traps; it might be understood of him: He has not met with calamity, not met with disaster, the hunter cannot do with him as he likes, and when the hunter comes, he can go where he wants.

Suppose a forest deer is wandering in the forest wilds: he walks without fear, stands without fear, sits without fear, lies down without fear. Why is that? Because he is out of the hunter’s range.

So too, quite distant from sense-desires, distant from unwholesome mental states, he enters and resides in the first Jhāna, which is with thinking and pondering, based in seclusion, filled with excitement and joy. This Monk is said to have blindfolded Māra, to have become invisible to the Evil One by depriving Māra's eye of its opportunity.

(This follows with the second Jhāna, the third Jhāna, the fourth Jhāna, the space is infinite, the consciousness is infinite, the base of nothingness, the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, the discourses are identical except for the reference to each attainment.)

Again, by completely surmounting the base of neither perception-nor-non perception, a Monk enters upon and resides in the elimination of perception and feeling. And his taints are destroyed by his seeing with wisdom.

This Monk is said to have blindfolded Māra, to have become invisible to the Evil One by depriving Māra’s eye of its opportunity, and to have crossed beyond attachment to the world. He walks without fear, stands without fear, sits without fear, lies down without fear.

Why is that? Because he is out of the Evil One’s range.

(Reference: MN 26)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares The Five Cords of Sensual Pleasure that the mind experiences related to five (5) of The Six Sense Bases.

Discontentedness is experienced through The Six Sense Bases. The eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and the mind. These are the six internal sense bases or the six internal sense faculties. You will see different people using different language to describe Gotama Buddha’s Teachings because even how people describe these Teachings is impermanent. It is not steady, fixed, or constant as different people choose to use different language.

The six internal sense bases experience the six external sense bases of forms, sounds, odors, flavors, physical objects, and mental objects.

The mind longing for pleasant feelings through the six internal sense bases for the six external sense bases is one of the significant problems of the unEnlightened mind described in The Ten Fetters as “sensual desire”. The mind is chasing after pleasant feelings through The Six Sense Bases looking to fulfill the objects of its desires through impermanent conditions.

The mind experiences discontentedness through longing for sensual pleasure through these six (6) sense bases.

The Six Sense Bases

When seeing an agreeable form through the eyes, one experiences pleasant feelings. When seeing a disagreeable form through the eyes, one experiences a painful feeling. The mind is discontent.

When hearing an agreeable sound through the ears, one experiences pleasant feelings. When hearing a disagreeable sound through the ears, one experiences a painful feeling. The mind is discontent.

When smelling an agreeable odor through the nose, one experiences pleasant feelings. When smelling a disagreeable odor through the nose, one experiences a painful feeling. The mind is discontent.

When tasting an agreeable flavor through the tongue, one experiences pleasant feelings. When tasting a disagreeable flavor through the tongue, one experiences a painful feeling. The mind is discontent.

When touching an agreeable physical object through the body, one experiences pleasant feelings. When touching a disagreeable physical object through the body, one experiences a painful feeling. The mind is discontent.

When recognizing an agreeable mental object through the mind, one experiences pleasant feelings. When recognizing a disagreeable mental object through the mind, one experiences a painful feeling. The mind is discontent.

Mental objects are objects such as thoughts, ideas, emotions, mental states, etc.

Through all six (6) sense bases or The Six Doorways to Discontentedness, the mind experiences pleasant feelings, painful feelings, and feelings that are neither painful-nor-pleasant. When pleasant feelings, painful feelings, and feelings that are neither painful-nor-pleasant are experienced, the mind is discontent. There are more detailed Teachings on this topic in the book “The Six Sense Bases” (Volume 9) in this same book series.

As the mind chases pleasant feelings, due to the impermanent nature of these feelings, the mind is then inviting in painful feelings and/or feelings that are neither painful-nor-pleasant as the mind still has a longing with a strong eagerness for impermanent conditions to create pleasant feelings. If the mind is basing its inner pleasant feelings on impermanent conditions, it is also going to experience painful feelings and feelings that are neither painful-nor-pleasant based on impermanent conditions. Instead, the mind can be trained to be inwardly peaceful and calm no longer yearning for pleasant feelings through conditions which are all impermanent.

To attain Enlightenment, you will need to learn how to “guard” the doorways to discontentedness and “protect your own contentedness” through developing a life practice of non-craving, non-desire, non-attachment, or non-clinging. We are each responsible to “protect or maintain our own contentedness of mind”, no one else can do that for us.

The mind will have craving/desire/attachment (mental longing with a strong eagerness) for pleasant feelings (happiness, excitement, elation, thrill, exhilaration, euphoria, etc.) associated with contact with forms, sounds, odors, flavors, and physical objects through the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body.

The craving/desire/attachment is the “cord” of sensual pleasure, not the actual object itself. The unEnlightened mind will chase after the objects of its affections seeking pleasant feelings. Gotama Buddha explains this as objects “wished for, desired, agreeable and likeable, connected with sensual desire, and provocative of craving”. It is the longing with a strong eagerness, craving/desire/attachment, that exists in the unEnlightened mind that causes it to be discontent. The discontentedness is experienced through pleasant feelings, painful feelings, and feelings that are neither painful-nor-pleasant. This is explained in The Teachings of The Three Universal Truths and The Four Noble Truths.

Detailed explanation of The Three Universal Truths and The Four Noble Truths is available in this same book series found in Chapter 4 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).

As a Practitioner develops their intellectual understanding of how the unEnlightened mind functions and the remedies, they are then able to better apply the solutions shared by Gotama Buddha. Doing so, a Practitioner will understand “the escape” from The Five Cords of Sensual Pleasure. Eventually, as a Practitioner has a well developed practice of The Eight Fold Path, the mind will move into the Jhānas. These are preliminary phases the mind moves through prior to the first Stage of Enlightenment.

When a Practitioner’s mind enters into the Jhānas, it is then protected from “Māra the Evil One”.

Māra the Evil One is an unwholesome being who roams the world influencing unskillful, unbeneficial, and negative conduct. Māra, and beings acting on its behalf, look for ways to entice and lure an individual into conduct that would result in unwholesome results. Other traditions may refer to this entity as Satan, The Devil, or other names associated with a devilish being who is associated with the Realm of Hell looking to cause calamity for all beings here on earth attempting to influence human beings to create “hell on earth”.

Through training the mind in these Teachings, a Practitioner eventually gets to the Jhānas where the mind is protected and no longer influenced by Māra the Evil One. A mind that has entered the Jhānas “is said to have blindfolded Māra”. Māra is no longer able to influence a Practitioner as their mind has become more stable and steady through well developed wisdom, moral conduct, and mental discipline, yet, the mind is still not Enlightened. There is more work to do in order to fully protect the mind from discontentedness.

However, the mind can “walk without fear, stand without fear, sit without fear, lie down without fear. Why is that? Because he is out of the hunter's range”.

“Distant from sense-desires, distant from unwholesome mental states” through putting together a well developed life practice of The Eight Fold Path the mind “enters and resides in the first Jhāna” “out of the hunter’s range” and no longer susceptible to “Māra the Evil One”.

With a Practitioner having distanced the mind from sensual desires and unwholesome mental states they are no longer “laying down on a heap of traps”. The sensual desires are the “traps”. The mind will continue to long with a strong eagerness through The Six Sense Bases wanting pleasant feelings. But, those feelings are all temporary (i.e. impermanent) because they are based on impermanent conditions. It is not until the mind is willing to let go of temporary happiness that it will experience permanent joy.

Training the mind to distance itself then eliminate sensual desires through eliminating the craving/desire/attachment (i.e. The Five Cords of Sensual Pleasures) the Practitioner’s mind is no longer “laying on traps” and has escaped from a significant amount of discontentedness.

As a Practitioner chooses to develop their life practice more deeply practicing The Eight Fold Path, the mind will move through the Jhānas, and then eliminate clinging to perceptions. The mind will be able to see clearly having eliminated the taints (i.e. The Ten Fetters) and “seeing with wisdom” the mind will move closer to Enlightenment.

Detailed explanation of The Six Sense Bases is available in this same book series found in the book “The Six Sense Bases” (Volume 9).

Detailed explanation of the space is infinite, the consciousness is infinite, the base of nothingness, and the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception is available in this same book series found in Chapter 13 of the book “Breathing Mindfulness Meditation” (Volume 7).