As the Buddha describes, “He takes his food experiencing the taste, though not experiencing greed for the taste.”²⁰ With the development of wisdom, you will understand that sensual desire is not pleasure; it is suffering; it is a force that inhibits the deep peace and rest you seek.
Excerpt From: “Wisdom Wide and Deep: A Practical Handbook for Mastering Jhana and Vipassana” by Shaila Catherine.
My exploration of the approach of Burmese masters like the Venerables Ledi and Pa Auk Sayadaws is proving to be fruitful. After a 30+ hour fast and the Uposatha observance I succumbed to a desire for a sense pleasure I had forsworn but, rather than allow myself to get caught up in the charybdic maw of guilt and remorse I have turned to see how I might investigate it. Clearly, just as I imputed desirability to the action before it was undertaken I am now projecting aversion onto the act and its fruition. What is done is done and I can no more recall the kamma than I can turn back time.
How, though, does the quote above relate? I think it has everything to do with the reality that we can remain equanimous in the face of pleasures and pains if only we practice correctly to develop wisdom and equipoise.
May I always meet with true teachers of the Buddhadhamma until safety is won.
Cattāri Brahmavihārā 
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