Wise Pleasure vs. Naive Pleasure
Being human can be framed as being half animal and half Divine. There are primitive pursuits of reward and sapient pursuits of reward. There are lower angels of our nature and higher angels of our nature. Instant gratification and delayed gratification (ie double marshmallow experiment). How can we learn to discern between pleasure that makes our life better and pleasure that makes our life worse.
One way to think of it is to say there are decisions that are good investments in your future self and there are decisions that are poor investments in your future self. In today’s world we are constantly being bombarded by supernormal stimuli which are incessantly working to hijack our attention. Things like social media, gambling, video games, junk food etc. These are activities that ‘feel good’ in the moment yet produce results of feeling worse in the long run. So short-term pleasure at the expense of a lower baseline. An example of the contrary would be something like doing yoga in nature. Getting movement and being surrounded by wildlife not only feels good in the moment, but will produce residual benefits and raise your baseline. So both wise pleasure and naive pleasure feel good, but will lead to very different aftermath effects in the long run. (It is important to note that there are many many things that are uncomfortable in the moment that are good investments in your future self i.e. exercise, ice baths, putting yourself out there socially, etc)
Instant gratification is a cheat to pleasure which is available because of our modern technology. Our evolutionary mechanisms of pleasure were designed to guide us to success in a natural world, not the current environment. Our modern environments are filled with overwhelming stimuli that target our internal reward system yet do not provide an actual adaptive advantage. On the plains of Africa, what was pleasurable coincided with adaptive behavior. Now in the modern world, we are seeing a decoupling of what feels good with what is good for us. The addiction to these toxic types of pleasures make it much more difficult to enjoy a sunset, or a walk in the park, or engaging in a conversation with a loved one. Activities like reading, hiking, or yoga are supposed to be pleasurable, but they become much more of a chore when our brains have adjusted to constant hyperstimulation. We become restless and unbearably bored by the simple things that should be healthy pleasure.
So when navigating life we cannot just do what feels good. We cannot rely on a naive inner compass to direct our choices. We cannot let our default impulses guide our behavior or else we will end up alone on a couch ordering doordash and watching tiktok into oblivion. The default path of seeking pleasure and avoiding pain will lead to a destructive life. You must have discernment between following your bliss and being a victim of the limbic hijack. Because ultimately pursuing your dharma will involve spending time doing what makes you feel most alive and meaningful which will feel extremely pleasurable. There should be an intrinsic motivation. A type of pleasure that is there for the purpose of leading you in the direction of your destiny. We must differentiate dharmic pleasure from toxic cheap pleasure.
The main point of this scripture is to acknowledge that not all pleasure is bad, and not all pleasure is good. Rather we live in a world where pleasure is very nuanced and should be chosen with a wise mind. So I don’t think it is healthy to deny pleasure, rather to investigate whether something that feels good is actually good for us or not. I think we have to honestly reflect on our daily decisions to see whether we are making poor investments in our future self or not. Create a lifestyle of wise pleasure, and intentional pain to synergize you into an upward spiral towards sagehood.
