Understanding the True Nature of Lust

(Minghui.org) What is lust? Master refers to it as “the demon of lust” in Lecture Six of Zhuan Falun. I recently enlightened that lust is also a possessing spirit, almost exactly like the one that Master talks about in Lecture Three.

How are they the same? Lust comes when our pursuits are strong. It gives us things like physical pleasure and romantic feelings, but not for free. Just like the possessing spirit described in Zhuan Falun, lust wants to acquire human essence. It gives us these temporary pleasures in exchange for our human essence.

After people engage in lustful behavior, they often feel tired, weak, or shaky. Brain function also slows down. People who engage in this behavior for many years often end up with all kinds of illnesses, and sometimes can’t even get out of bed because they are too weak.

This is just like what Master said about possessing spirits:

“If it leaves your body early, your four limbs will feel very weak. Afterwards, you will be this way for the rest of your life because it has taken too much of your essence. If it leaves your body late, you will be a vegetable and lie in bed for the rest of your life with only one breath of air. Though you have money, are you able to spend it? Though you have fame, are you able to enjoy it? Isn’t this frightening?” (Zhuan Falun)

When lust attaches to one’s body, it can also reflect images into one’s brain in the form of sexually stimulating images. This is similar to the possessing spirit that reflects what it sees into one’s brain when one pursues the Celestial Eye.

A mainstream scientific study recently discovered that the average man has lustful thoughts once every ten seconds. Lust has actually possessed many people in society nowadays, but they do not realize it.

Master said:

“How many people have been victimized?! You see that on the surface it appears to be quite good, but how many people are carrying those kinds of things on their bodies? If they give it to you, you will have it—they are simply too rampant. It is therefore difficult for an ordinary person to discern from appearances.” (Zhuan Falun)

Practitioners should take this problem very seriously. I wrote this article because I myself had fallen into lust for several months and couldn’t find a way out. Every time I tried to use my willpower to break free, I felt like my mind was being controlled by some external power, and things never improved.

The solution came when I realized that lust was not only an attachment but also a real possessing spirit. I had allowed lust to attach itself to me, and it controlled my thoughts and behavior. Soon after I enlightened to this, I asked Master to remove the spirit possession from my body. I immediately felt a powerful flow of energy through my body. It lasted only a few seconds, but the bad thoughts were gone, and my brain became clear again. I have since had no desire to seek lust, just like I have no desire to seek fake qigong.

This experience also taught me another important lesson. When we face problems in cultivation, we should not use only our willpower to overcome it. The problem often appears because our understanding is wrong, not because we lack willpower. Thus, using willpower alone doesn’t work. What we really need is enlightenment, and this can only happen when we study the Fa. When we enlighten to the true nature of our problem, willpower often becomes unnecessary.

For practitioners who are still struggling with this issue, do not give in to despair or sentimentality. With true faith in Master and the Fa, one will surely find the way out.