rimand the Five Desires.

" For worldly people desires

are usually considered as enjoyable and good. As medi-
tation practitioners, however, we should not treat desires
as worth attaching to. If we cling to desires during our
meditation practice, then that meditation practice will
be of no benefit to us at ali.
There are two sets of "Five Desires." The first one
consists of the Desire for:
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1. Form
2. Sound
3. Smell
4. Flavor
5. Touch

These items sound somewhat abstract and metaphysi-

cal; nevertheless, they can also be quite concrete and
tangible once their meanings are explicated and under-
stood. They are to be explained as follows:

1. The Deslre for Fonn

While this encompasses forms of ali kinds, for medita-
tion practitioners, this especially denotes human forms
of the opposite sex. This desire, apparently, is one of the
strongest.

2. The Deslre for Sound

As Ch'an practitioners, we should not become attached
to any type of sounds, pleasant or pleasurable ones in
particular. There is a story concerning tive hundred
advanced practitioners who, through advanced medita-
tion techniques, had achieved the ability to fly in the sky.
While flying over a Royal forest, they happened to hear
the songs of the king's concubines who were bathing in a
pond in the forest. Upon hearing the sweet voices of the
concubines, the minds of the practitioners were touched
and trapped by the sound. At that very moment, the prac-
titioners lost their power of control. and their Dhyana
disappeared, and then they ali fell to the ground!
54

Thus, pleasurable sounds can be very hazardous dis-

tractions to practitioners of Dhyana.