Attachment to Warmth?

bdchrist

Does this count as an attachment? For example, I am not fond of the cold. Sometimes in life, I take shortcuts to avoid the cold weather. Simple things like relying on all of my high-end warm winter clothing, or staying under the covers longer after I awake to feel the warmth it gives me, possibly carrying over to my appreciation of a nice warm shower which I tend to stand in for longer than I need to clean myself. I would assume that this is because I am attached to the feeling of warmth. Therefore, cold causes suffering in me.

In an approach to deal with this suffering. Must one get rid of the attachment they have to warmth? Or does one accept and embrace the suffering of cold by not letting it get in his way?

Zayl

Ah wow, tough one here. You sure you're not attached to seeing every bit of comfort as an attachment?

In all seriousness, being attracted to warmth is a natural biological response because you know, without it we die. To me "warm" is the middle way because if you get too hot again, you die. So you find a happy little medium where the human body can survive without undue lack of comfort and there ya have it.

Not too hot, Not too cold, but just right. I do like scalding hot showers though, they make me feel cleaner but staying in them too long results in discomfort.

taiyaki

embrace the suffering then learn from it.
embrace the joy and comforts in life and learn from it.

see how suffering and joy is impermanent.

see how wisdom allows for maximum happiness, joy, peace, love.

i would sit with your suffering for a while. ask it questions. see what really is causing the suffering. and then what you need to do will be clear. there is no clear answer other than your own examination of suffering, which in turn will show what one must do or not do to get out of suffering.

its not just attachment to warmth that brings about suffering. it is misperception and ignorance. one can enjoy warmth because it is enjoyable. it isn't suffering inherently. though you make it suffering. ahh warmth how nice you are. enjoy it. cherish it. be in gratitude. all while knowing that it is impermanent, which in turn allows you to cherish it more.

now you can bring a whole attitude of i must not attach to this. i must not like this. i must not do this. this isn't right i need to be a better buddhist. this is SUFFERING.

you have to see where it is happiness and where it is suffering. i urge you to look at that and then you'll figure out the whole game.

Lady_Alison

I want to add something...There are people that just naturally feel cold all the time. It must have something to do with thousands of years of ancestors living in particular climates.

I am hispanic and my lineage has lived in temperate tropical climates for hundreds of years. . . I think this is why I am so cold all the time.

My husband is irish american and is always hot...as a matter of fact, he feels like a damn space heater just being next to him.

So I do what most women do in the winter, I jump in the covers with icy cold hands and feet and press them on his thighs and rib cage...the warmest places I can find.

compassionate_warrior

Ah wow, tough one here. You sure you're not attached to seeing every bit of comfort as an attachment?
In all seriousness, being attracted to warmth is a natural biological response .

OP, I would say this is an attachment to worry. Worrying about being Buddhistically correct, it's about being hypervigilant about attachments. Buddhism can easily cross the line into Puritanism if we worry about every little thing: is it ok to have a second helping at dinner, or is that indulgence? Is it ok to opt for the position at work with the higher salary? Is it ok to buy a mid-size car, or are Buddhists supposed to always drive compacts? Or should Buddhists even own cars? Or should they own only hybrid or electric cars? You can drive yourself crazy with this sort of thing.

AMH

ahh warmth, living in an old house and this weekend it is 10 degrees I do not see this as attachment. Plus i have a thing where my extremities lose circulation so I just see it as common sense. On the weekend I take a shower mid-day to handle the cold, i just opened a kitchen cabinet and got hit with a blast of cold air since it backs an outside wall. I am thinking about the electric blanket for doing paperwork.

unless it is seriously iterfering with your life I say stay warm

Jeffrey

If it's not warmth it will be something else. So warmth is an opportunity. Does labeling warmth an attachment help? Appreciating warmth is not the same thing as craving. When warmth is here it is here. If you are doing something (or non-doing) and your body's condition is a distraction and impediment you can do something to address the warmth.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.002.than.html

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying at Savatthi, in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's monastery. There he addressed the monks: "Monks!"

"Yes, lord," the monks replied.

The Blessed One said, "Monks, the ending of the fermentations is for one who knows & sees, I tell you, not for one who does not know & does not see. For one who knows what & sees what? Appropriate attention & inappropriate attention. When a monk attends inappropriately, unarisen fermentations arise, and arisen fermentations increase. When a monk attends appropriately, unarisen fermentations do not arise, and arisen fermentations are abandoned. There are fermentations to be abandoned by seeing, those to be abandoned by restraining, those to be abandoned by using, those to be abandoned by tolerating, those to be abandoned by avoiding, those to be abandoned by destroying, and those to be abandoned by developing.

..............


"[3] And what are the fermentations to be abandoned by using? There is the case where a monk, reflecting appropriately, uses the robe simply to counteract cold, to counteract heat, to counteract the touch of flies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, & reptiles; simply for the purpose of covering the parts of the body that cause shame.

"Reflecting appropriately, he uses almsfood, not playfully, nor for intoxication, nor for putting on bulk, nor for beautification; but simply for the survival & continuance of this body, for ending its afflictions, for the support of the holy life, thinking, 'Thus will I destroy old feelings [of hunger] and not create new feelings [from overeating]. I will maintain myself, be blameless, & live in comfort.'

"Reflecting appropriately, he uses lodging simply to counteract cold, to counteract heat, to counteract the touch of flies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, & reptiles; simply for protection from the inclemencies of weather and for the enjoyment of seclusion.

"Reflecting appropriately, he uses medicinal requisites that are used for curing the sick simply to counteract any pains of illness that have arisen and for maximum freedom from disease.

"The fermentations, vexation, or fever that would arise if he were not to use these things [in this way] do not arise for him when he uses them [in this way]. These are called the fermentations to be abandoned by using.

Zero

Does this count as an attachment? For example, I am not fond of the cold.
I would assume that this is because I am attached to the feeling of warmth.

Therefore, cold causes suffering in me.

In an approach to deal with this suffering. Must one get rid of the attachment they have to warmth?
Or does one accept and embrace the suffering of cold by not letting it get in his way?

Technically, yep - that is an attachment.

To deal with the suffering - attempt to maintain your environment at a reasonably luke warm temperature.

federica

Having spent the last week in a Victorian house, which stands in its own grounds and is completely isolated, surrounded by nothing but fields, with the temperature inside the house at -3 degrees centigrade, and the ice thick on the inside of the windows - hell yeah - i am definitiely attached to warmth.
We have no central heating, (it's oil-fired, and we've run out of heating oil) and one fireplace in an open-plan sitting room. If you move more than 3 feet away from the fireplace, you freeze.... the kitchen is so cold, I'm keeping stuff in the fridge to STOP it from freezing.

None of this is a joke, I'm perfectly serious.... the cold snap is set to continue for the next few days.....and we get paid on the 24th.....

AMH

federica, woah. I feel for you. I am cold enough, ice on the inside of the windows and all, but certainly warmer than that. I had one time the furnace broke in my house. A nice big open floor plan. Thank good ness the gas fireplace worked. I slept in front of that and sent the kids to stay with dad.

I am thinking really of you, hope you moved beds to the fireplace area and are doing okay. I also have no bills I can pay until later but at least we are warm and have food and a little gas in the car.

Dakini

Having spent the last week in a Victorian house,

Those Victorians are so spacious and elegant--high ceilings, big windows, lots of light, but extremely impractical for locales with cold winters. HUGE heating bills! And the heat goes right out the windows and rises to the high ceilings. Would you be able to save, and have a couple of wood-burning stoves put in the house for next winter? They keep houses toasty. The heat radiates through several rooms.

federica

Aw bless your hearts!
The house is rented, so we can do nothing... you're right about the windows... old original wooden frames, and single panes - no fancy double-glazing....'draughty...? you could call it that... Siberian breeze more like....

Can't move the beds downstairs, but when we moved in, all the tv aerial fittings, plugs and internet connection plugs were upstairs...we just couldn't figure out why on earth that would be....but we can now!
The radiators and heating system are woefully inadequate for a house of this kind... they're ineffective.... the hot water tank is antiquated, and the insulating jacket covering it has fallen apart...
we've decided to move in the spring, and look for something more modern and habitable....
no way am I going to be here next winter!

Denkatsu

I wanna become an eskimo now.

federica

come round any time you like.....!

Denkatsu

Federica Idk what your saying... sounds angry tho.

federica

no... my house is so cold, you'll get plenty of practice living in an igloo!

Denkatsu

Maybe my intensions are missplaced.

Zero

If you've gone through the winter you may as well enjoy the spring and summer and move in the autumn?

Denkatsu

I live in michigan so I get the best of both.

Dakini

@federica There was a real-live court case against a landlord ("slumlord" they call certain types in the US) who was neglectful of his properties, to put it mildly, all of which were in a state of serious decline, and probably should have been condemned. The judge sentenced him to live in one of his rental units. Maybe your landlord should have a go at it after you move out...

Hot water heaters need replacing every 10 years. If they go much longer than that, they're at high risk of springing a leak. Unless you have some indestructible WW2-era bomb-defying hot water heater.

Gui

Fede, an inexpensive remedy, granted somewhat, is to cover your windows with thin plastic sheeting made for that purpose. I don't know if they're sold in the UK but here in PA, I use them and it helps insulate the windows and keep the drafts out. Best wishes.

Dakini

The way those work best, though, is if you make a light wood frame for them, that fits into the existing window frame. So that can either take time, or money, or both. The cheap way is to staple them to the window frame, but that's not recommended for rentals.

Zero

:scratch: what happens when a moderator inadvertently threadjacks... will the thread spontaneously explode......... :hiding:

Dakini

She's just demo-ing how important warmth is. It's a basic human need, not an attachment. For example, food is a basic need. It only becomes an attachment if you over-do it, if you binge, or fixate on sugar, or something like that. I guess it was the rest of us that took the thread off-topic. Good reminder, Zero.

Denkatsu

hmm my mom did marry this man when i was younger. He had spent 10 years in prison. One thing that stands out the mental abuse.

Zero

I'm practicing laughing more trouble is I have a dark(ish) sense of humour.

Was it cold in prison? I'm taking notes...

Denkatsu

yes prison is cold indeed. I look to find compassion and understanding in the midst of all this confusion.

Denkatsu

I had to stand chest to chest to him because of his controlling manipulative ways.

Denkatsu

Coming home to having a gun being waved around becuase he didnt like the fact my mother maybe did'nt wanna stay with him..

Dakini

Denkatsu, have you talked to a qualified counselor about this? It seems like you need someone to talk to about some serious stuff. This is a Buddhist discussion forum.

Denkatsu

Maybe your right. But its compassion understanding its not a right or left method. Its not an idea or an assumption.

Dakini

You could start your own thread under "Members Only". Otherwise, your posts qualify as thread hijacking. Just saying. That's the way it works around here. I know you're new. "Members Only" gives you privacy. Those threads don't come up on internet searches.

Lady_Alison

I'm in Texas and today is the coldest it's been all winter. 45 'F...and I feel stupid listening to federica's story.

I shouldn't complain.

Lady_Alison

What is thread jacking? This is a new rule? Where's the memo?

Dakini

What is thread jacking? This is a new rule? Where's the memo?

It's when someone changes the subject of a thread, or takes the thread off on a barely-related tangent. I think it's good to have some flexibility--conversations do meander. But there are limits.