# Do you live like a monk or do you have vices?



## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

Like a monk- as in no sex, no alcohol, no cigarettes, no drugs, no junk food.


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## roxslide (Apr 12, 2011)

I definitely don't live like a monk but my only traditional vice is junk food (or at least out of the vices you mentioned).

Not really because I'm against any of it (well I think cigarettes are gross) but the rest, drugs, alcohol, sex etc is just a hassle. I keep thinking I should try that stuff to "have fun" but almost every time I dabble in any of it it's just meh. More money or trouble than its worth so far. I always think I could spend the money on something else (drugs 
gambling, alcohol) or it just causes me too much anxiety (stealing, sex, gambling).

Oh! Weird coincidence, I did steal something today though. I haven't stole anything since I was a little kid. I stole a 4x6 carpet sample that was a store display item because no one would help me after spending 30 minutes trying to get someone's attention. Even if someone did, they probably wouldn't give me the display item. I looked it up after I left and it was worth $1. Lock me up.


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## Paul (Sep 26, 2005)

What religions prohibit junk food? I'm sure there are plenty of monasteries that won't have a problem with it.

Junk food is the only option that interests me. Don't like not being in full control of my faculties (sleep is unpleasant too, but necessary). Gambling is just setting money on fire and casinos are unpleasant stinky places. Stealing is obviously wrong.

Edit: Okay, sex (since added to the poll) is interesting but alas not a realistic option.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

Does caffeine count as a drug? Does masturbation count as sex?


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

WillYouStopDave said:


> Does caffeine count as a drug? Does masturbation count as sex?


For the poll, no. But they are open for discussion.

If you don't consume caffeine and you don't masturbate, then you are a *super-monk.* Too late to add "Super-Monk" to the poll.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

I guess I live somewhat like a monk but I really wouldn't describe it that way. I've never been much for alcohol. I did smoke but wish I hadn't. Never been into drugs at all except weed for about 6 months in my early 30s.

No way I'd have made it through my teens and 20s without going completely insane without masturbation. I wasn't getting any of the real thing whether I liked it or not. I was lucky, I guess, that I didn't mind the substitution. It was all the same to me as long as I was doing something.

Not sure what an actual monk would do but I don't picture them sitting on the couch eating chips and pizza and watching TV. Which is what I did most of my life before internet. At my age, sex is more of a passing interest than a necessity. I don't intentionally avoid it. I just don't really get the urge.


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## Tetragammon (Jun 2, 2015)

I feel like your options are kinda limited. Where are the check boxes for porn or casual sex? How about straight-up laziness and hedonism? Just because I think substance abuse, gambling and stealing are stupid doesn't mean I live like a "monk."


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

Tetragammon said:


> I feel like your options are kinda limited. Where are the check boxes for porn or casual sex? How about straight-up laziness and hedonism? Just because I think substance abuse, gambling and stealing are stupid doesn't mean I live like a "monk."


I screwed up and forgot to add sex when I meant to.


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## mt moyt (Jul 29, 2015)

junk food, cigarettes, drugs (only marijuana and not now because of where i live), and i love to gamble but again not now because of where i live


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## Blue Dino (Aug 17, 2013)

Mostly junk food and alcohol, but both in decent moderation. But honestly my biggest vice would have to be Procrastination.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

Blue Dino said:


> But honestly my biggest vice would have to be Procrastination.


 Mine too. Unfortunately, procrastination is all that keeps me alive. I couldn't live without it.


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## ScorchedEarth (Jul 12, 2014)

None of these, except that I consist primarily of fat & sugar these days. I don't even care if it kills me early, I've had relatives with dementia and I'll have none of that, thank you very much.


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## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

I eat junk food but don't do the other things. I used to drink when I had a social life but don't really see the point of drinking alone at home much. This isn't really a deliberate choice though.

My dad developed a huge gambling problem when I was about 10 and got massively into debt, so I think I"m wary about that plus with the exception of maybe poker or Derren Browning casinos there is no skill involved which bores me.

I did go around a bunch of arcades recently and pick up the coins that fell out of those 10 and 2 pence machines they have here in places. Especially on piers they get jolted and lose coins reguarly. There are lots of places like this in Blackpool.

This sort of thing:

https://secure.i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03362/B5GXN2_3362973b.jpg


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## veron (Apr 29, 2009)

Apparently I'm a monk. I do enjoy the odd McDonald's or bag of chips every now and then, but I wouldn't call it a vice


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## In a Lonely Place (Mar 26, 2012)

Sex, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs and junk food occasionally


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## tehuti88 (Jun 19, 2005)

komorikun said:


> Like a monk- as in no sex, no alcohol, no cigarettes, no drugs,


None of that, but...



> no junk food.


...definitely that. :/

I also daydream a lot (including smutty stuff), and take caffeine pills, and buy too many books, and am lazy...those are my vices.


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## truant (Jul 4, 2014)

Can't afford drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, or sex. I never gamble, because I have terrible luck. I never steal, unless you count downloading the odd PDF, but I don't do that unless I can't find a copy to buy. And I don't eat junk food because I don't want to get fat. My biggest vice is caffeine.

Ofc, if I had money, I'd be blowing most of it on booze, cigarettes, and man-*****s. Temperamentally, I'm very far from being a saint. I just can't afford to be a sinner.


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## CloudChaser (Nov 7, 2013)

I live like a monkey. Masturbate and throw fececs at trespassers.


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## Overdrive (Sep 19, 2015)

Trappist monk


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## Chris S W (Mar 5, 2017)

I've been on a diet for nearly three weeks so no junk food since then.

I've never smoked a cigarette, because the cons seem to heavily outweigh the pros.

I haven't had any alcohol for a while but probably will at some point in the future although I don't desire it. 

I don't use drugs, not even caffeine as caffeine makes my anxiety worse.

I haven't gambled in a while. Although what I did last wasn't really gambling but is called matched betting which guarantees winnings if done right. Years ago I used to gamble and did lose a lot of money, thousands of pounds.

I haven't stolen anything for a long time. I did steal about £60 from someone who wronged me a while ago, but other than that I haven't stolen for about 13 years.

I've never had sex before.


I am definitely far from living like a monk.


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## Barakiel (Oct 31, 2013)

Overdrive said:


> Trappist monk


I was gonna say, there's a long history between monks and alcohol.


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## KILOBRAVO (Sep 17, 2011)

what about nuns?


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## firestar (Jun 27, 2009)

If those diet ice cream pints count as junk food (low calorie but very sweet), then my vice is junk food. Otherwise, I'm a monk.


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## Solomoon (Dec 29, 2017)

Out of your list my biggest vices would be junk food and sex if you count porn. I try to drink a lot of water to filter the junk out but of course water can only do so much. I don't fap as much these days. Sexual thoughts can still be a distraction though.

I often wish I was more like a monk in terms of being an ascetic and being spiritually focused. It's difficult to remain in that state of being even if you're happier being there. Maybe in another country or in some ascetic community it'd be easier.


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## MCHB (Jan 1, 2013)

CloudChaser said:


> I live like a monkey. Masturbate and throw fececs at trespassers.


Livin the dream! :grin2:


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## GeomTech (Sep 29, 2015)

Never smoked cigarettes (and don't plan to) or partaken in any recreational drugs, never had sex (and will hopefully stay a virgin for life; yet there's the blotches of occasional spikes of excessive masturbation that admittedly got out of control at one point), never committed any crimes, no gambling, never had any alcohol (and likely wouldn't plan to), but find myself scarfing down a considerable amount of junk food at times. 

Perhaps when "off-grid" (Hopefully I'll have a large garden, which means healthy, wholesome foods which should address the junk food issue along with adding the barrier of availability), I'll be able to enter something akin to "monk mode"; or "off-grid / hermit monk" status or something; assuming the urge to masturbate won't go haywire when all alone in the wilderness (but it probably will).


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## ravens (Aug 31, 2011)

Junk food: yeah occasionally
Cigarettes: don't smoke
Alcohol: nope
Drugs: nope
Gambling: nope
Stealing: nope
Sex: never have had sex

almost a monk then :lol


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

The inspiration for this thread was I thought about how in order to be healthy, you should avoid alcohol, drugs, and junk food. But since I don't have a boyfriend, I'm not having sex either. 

Being sober all the time, eating healthy boring food, and no sex...... It's just like at that point what's the point in being alive? I guess I still have coffee and internet but....doesn't seem worth all the torture I have to go through with working 40 hours a week and being forced to wake up in the morning.


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## andy1984 (Aug 18, 2006)

i get vegan junk food every week but not to a level that i feel guilty about it or its unhealthy - since i don't really do sweet things anyway, its just some corn chips or some nuts.

and sex isn't a vice unless you're cheating on someone or rapey or something. and i hardly ever have sex if i don't have a girlfriend, which i don't right now. i have a fwb/f-buddy kind of thing starting to develop but its not unwholesome.

binge-watching shows is the laziest thing i do but i don't feel guilty about that either.

so i voted monk lol. i feel like a taoist master. everything i do is holy, no matter how mundane or disgusting it is.


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## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

SAS is a vice.


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## funnynihilist (Jul 29, 2014)

Persephone The Dread said:


> SAS is a vice.


Yep, it sure as **** is!


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## Just Lurking (Feb 8, 2007)

Umm, never really figured myself for a monk, but...

I do none of those...

I have a sweet tooth, but I never snack, and the only 'sweet' I have in the day is something small after dinner. I have a dessert with dinner every day.

Some (relatively informed) people say it's good to have a small dessert every day because it reduces cravings in general. This rings true to me as I've never felt even remotely tempted to snack on junk food, and the thought of 'something sweet' at any time other than dinner is seriously off-putting (and I _love_ food). People give me this quizzical look when I decline cookies or brownies or whatever in the middle of the day, but that's how I roll.

If that disqualifies me from being a monk, I am OK with that.

Alcohol and drugs would probably do me wonders, but there are addiction problems on both sides of my family history, so I've never touched them (to my chagrin).

Gambling... I used to buy lottery tickets now and then, but I gave them up for so rarely winning _anything_. Cigarettes disgust me. I have too guilty a conscience to steal. And sex is so far off my radar screen, it's like a completely foreign concept.


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## RelinquishedHell (Apr 10, 2012)

I'm a bit of a psychonaut and a pervert. I don't think I could trust someone who claims to have no vices.


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## KILOBRAVO (Sep 17, 2011)

komorikun said:


> But since I don't have a boyfriend, I'm not having sex either.


why can't you just get one, tho? why do you think that men aren't approaching you?

not all of the options are really vices apart from cigarettes, stealing, and illegal drugs. The other things could be vices but depending on the frequency of use and the context, i.e, overuse or addiction to the detriment of the health and wellbeing of the person. So I can't really vote on your thing. You could've included swearing as another possible vice.


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## twitchy666 (Apr 21, 2013)

*A Monk*

willing to find, learn, work out a way to make anyone pay for rejecting me, crippling my life.

Tie a recruiter to a chair, pour petrol on, demand: get me a job! interview... all in place. get me into something 100% trustworthy. You'll be happy. if you don't I'll burn you, cut up or go as far as your family...:grin2:


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## Not Human (Apr 1, 2018)

If I try a little harder I will put the real monks to shame.


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## Kiwifruit (Dec 5, 2012)

I love take-out, pizza pockets, and energy drinks.


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## Kevin001 (Jan 2, 2015)

Junk food I guess :stu


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## AlexTheGr8 (Sep 20, 2018)

Weed and Alcohol, that's it. Not to an excessive amount of use, but I know I will probably keep smoking/drinking for life since I enjoy them both so much.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

Persephone The Dread said:


> SAS is a vice.


 I don't really see it that way in my case because I wasn't doing anything else anyway before internet. And wouldn't be otherwise. If it's keeping you from doing stuff you really want to be doing, then I'd definitely agree.


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## blue2 (May 20, 2013)

I am a monk but my humanity gets in the way ....:teeth


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## Cletis (Oct 10, 2011)

None of us are perfect.

I eat way too much junk food and drink too much caffeinated soda. I also don't get enough exercise. My waistline is proof of that.

I've never smoked in my life. There was a period in my late teens - early twenties where I drank and "experimented" with some drugs. Fortunately, I got over it and quit. I never liked that lifestyle but did it due to peer pressure. Once I quit hanging around those people I stopped completely. I don't like the smell or taste of alcohol at all. It wasn't hard for me to quit.


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## SamanthaStrange (Jan 13, 2015)

I voted 'like a monk' and 'junk food' because I do eat junk food, but not nearly as much as I used to. I don't drink, smoke, do drugs, gamble, steal, or have sex.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

I'm surprised there are more votes for drugs than alcohol. Wonder if everyone is counting coffee as a drug. I guess it is, but a very mild one.


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## sad1231234 (Jul 10, 2016)

I wouldnt call them vices lol. Life's messed up enough, i dont see the point in shaming myself over what i enjoy if it doesnt hurt others. 


Junk Food - yeah, but i try to cut down on sweet stuff. Junk food is like the spice of life, it just adds a dopamine rush around every corner.

Cigarettes - i think smoking is stupid and bad to be honest

Alcohol - i admit i have a bit of a problem with this stuff lol. But i like it cause it is legal, cheap, and makes me fade away from reality.

Drugs - hell yeah lol. To me, drugs add a 3rd dimension to this flat 2 dimensional existence. I love zooming through infinity with a god-like consciousness on psychedelics, floating around in a state of deep bliss on opiates, and exploring strange lonely realms of weirdness on dissociatives. Drugs have a very special place in my heart, and contrary to popular belief/stigma, i dont really see anything wrong with drug use in the hands of the right person. Matter of fact, many drugs seem to be quite the opposite of vices. 

Gambling - pointless and boring, i'd rather watch grass grow

Stealing - who even does that? 

Sex - welp, i'm a hardcore virgin so i cant quite speak much about my sex life. i voted for sex anyway cause the Lord knows that i am a diehard sex-addict trapped in the body of a shy homeschooled kid lol.


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## Maslow (Dec 24, 2003)

Just alcohol. I used to do a lot of drugs. Sex is not a "vice."


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## harrison (Apr 14, 2012)

I don't really have any vices anymore. Not at the moment anyway. Things can change with me pretty quickly - but I'd rather they didn't. I'm quite happy the way I am - although I do get a bit lonely. With the way I've carried on in the past I'm just grateful I'm still here - and I'd like to be here for as long as possible to see my son get older.

They're pretty much all I really care about now - my son and my wife. Most other things I see as pretty insignificant really.


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## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

Didn't cover this in my previous post (also missed the poll options and just read the OP.) My sexuality is kind of a schizoid stereotype (probably bit more romantic than the stereotype, I get crushes) so like:

Rather than following the narrow proposition that schizoid individuals are either sexual or asexual, Akhtar suggests that these forces may both be present in an individual despite their rather contradictory aims.[33] A clinically accurate picture of schizoid sexuality must therefore include the overt signs: "asexual, sometimes celibate; free of romantic interests; averse to sexual gossip and innuendo," as well as possible covert manifestations of "secret voyeuristic and pornographic interests; vulnerable to erotomania; and tendency towards perversions,"[33] although none of these necessarily apply to all people with SPD.

I've progressed in this area a bit though over the years though.

I don't have sex, but I do have unhealthy, and somewhat compulsive behaviours at times. Like, orgasms are essentially a drug for me.


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## Suchness (Aug 13, 2011)

I smoke a couple of times a month but I also meditate quite a bit so I’m kind of a monk.


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## catcharay (Sep 15, 2011)

Personally, monk living doesn't sound appealing. I go to bed early and live life boringly, though. If I could process alcohol properly that would probably be my vice, however I can't so my chosen vice is huge amounts of food. Yes I choose to have a vice..need to live on the edge somehow.


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## unemployment simulator (Oct 18, 2015)

I am a monk.

did smoke years ago, but it didn't do much for me. its the same with alcohol it doesn't really help me much these days, I used to drink alone but I didn't really find much benefit to it and I was mainly using it as escapism. if by some miracle I might go out socially then I might drink. never gambled really, just haven't got into it. sex requires other people. drugs are mainly behind me, been there and done that. I don't steal out of principle but I have sometimes bunked the train.
the only vice I could say I have right now out of all those is the odd bit of junk food, I don't live on it but I guess I do indulge sometimes.


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## unemployment simulator (Oct 18, 2015)

I think people sometimes expect me to be a carnival of fun and naughtiness? not entirely sure why? but if I were to compare my life to others I am pretty boring. I guess I am sorry to disappoint people ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


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## Cletis (Oct 10, 2011)

Becoming more like a monk every day, but not by choice.


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## Steve French (Sep 17, 2012)

I just smoke and drink and do drugs of various kinds. I never have developed a taste for gambling, and only had a brief dalliance with petty theft years ago. I eat well and take care of myself physically to offset the effects of my questionable lifestyle choices. 



I really wish I could throw the sex in there, but I'm just a bit too socially handicapped right now to get that with any regularity.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

Junk food wins. Not surprising.


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## andy1984 (Aug 18, 2006)

komorikun said:


> Junk food wins. Not surprising.


its not over till 09-27-2021. drugs might make a big comeback by then.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

andy1984 said:


> its not over till 09-27-2021. drugs might make a big comeback by then.


True. Lately, I've been using *1095 days* for the poll expiration.


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## andy1984 (Aug 18, 2006)

komorikun said:


> True. Lately, I've been using *1095 days* for the poll expiration.


unless that's the maximum days for expiry, thats an oddly specific number of days. you're making me feel like you have access to some secret knowledge that in exactly 1095 days the world is going to end. or just SAS will shut down. same thing?

we need to submit our testimony to bible 2.0. "And the prophet komorikun said: the world will expire in 1095 days and 1095 nights."


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## harrison (Apr 14, 2012)

I don't mind being a monk for a while. It's a lot better for your health - bit bloody boring though I must admit.


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## Deaf Mute (Jun 12, 2017)

Pretty much, it's too expensive for all of that too. My thoughts on society/people are horrendous though so... :stu


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## Konnek82 (Jul 23, 2014)

Alcohol is great. although, don't abuse it. I feel like everything in moderation is never bad, just not stealing


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## Fun Spirit (Mar 5, 2014)

I live like a monk. I never drunk, smoke nor had sex. No clubs either. As for junk food I don't eat a lot of that. {Of course I eat it but not overly. I like Ice cream, bake cookies and candy but not in an glutting kind of way}


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## harrison (Apr 14, 2012)

Black As Day said:


> I live like a monk. I never drunk, smoke nor had sex. No clubs either. As for junk food I don't eat a lot of that. {Of course I eat it but not overly. I like Ice cream, bake cookies and candy but not in an glutting kind of way}


You also got rid of your last avatar - that was a beauty.


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## twistix (Sep 8, 2013)

I do indulge in coffee & pastry. Does that count?

P.s. In any case, I'm not prepared to shave my head to be a monk.


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## Fun Spirit (Mar 5, 2014)

harrison said:


> You also got rid of your last avatar - that was a beauty.


O_____O
Your eyes must had fooled you. 
*Cough*


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## harrison (Apr 14, 2012)

Black As Day said:


> O_____O
> Your eyes must had fooled you.
> *Cough*


Haha - that's a great avatar. I love it.


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## 3stacks (Sep 27, 2014)

twistix said:


> I do indulge in coffee & pastry. Does that count?
> 
> P.s. In any case, I'm not prepared to shave my head to be a monk.


 it just won't count unless you shave your head


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## Maslow (Dec 24, 2003)

I wonder if living as a monk would be a good life. It would definitely be simpler... Just do your chores, meditate, read some religious stuff, chat about those things with other monks. That doesn't sound bad.

How does one become a monk?


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## harrison (Apr 14, 2012)

Maslow said:


> I wonder if living as a monk would be a good life. It would definitely be simpler... Just do your chores, meditate, read some religious stuff, chat about those things with other monks. That doesn't sound bad.
> 
> How does one become a monk?


Pretty sure all men in Thailand can become a monk - and many do even just for a brief time.

Wouldn't be easy - their life is fairly restricted, can't eat after midday etc. (the ones I saw up there all seemed to have mobile phones though) 

http://www.huahintoday.com/thailand-news/becoming-buddhist-monk-whats/

There's probably somewhere in another country for Westerners to join I'd imagine - maybe Tibet or somewhere?


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## Maslow (Dec 24, 2003)

harrison said:


> Pretty sure all men in Thailand can become a monk - and many do even just for a brief time.
> 
> Wouldn't be easy - their life is fairly restricted, can't eat after midday etc. (the ones I saw up there all seemed to have mobile phones though)
> 
> ...


There are Buddhist monks here in the U.S. From what I've read, it takes quite a bit of work to become one, and once you are one, you still need to support yourself somehow in the monastery, which means having a job. I think it's mostly fairly well-off people who don't need to work who become monks here.

I'd probably get bored with studying Buddhism, anyway. I don't know. I've gone to some Buddhist services in Denver and didn't really get anything out of them. Hell, I can meditate at home. I think they're designed so people can befriend other Buddhist practitioners, and I'm really bad at that sort of thing.


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## Yer Blues (Jul 31, 2013)

I'm not sure if I'm Cheech or Chong?


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## Canadian Brotha (Jan 23, 2009)

I don’t smoke cigs because of my asthma but before they were banned here I used to enjoy the odd flavoured cigarillo despite my asthma and I also used to buy them to hollow out and refill with herb as I have never been able to roll joints.

I like my herb but don’t use it at all socially anymore, it’s a solo vibe thing for me now. I’d experiment with mircodosing some drugs that are now being studied in the treatment of anxiety and depression but I’m not sure I could handle a full on trip from most of them. I knew people that did everything from acid to meth regularly in high school so really I could’ve tried the works but never did.

With liquor I do enjoy it but beer makes me
piss like a mofo so I tend to buy stronger craft or European ones that I can get an effect from, enjoy the taste, & sip on more slowly. Otherwise it’s all about bourbon mostly for me now.

I’ve never gambled and I never would as I have bad luck and I don’t know how to play any of the casino games besides Black Jack. Seems like a waste of money to me in the end.

With junk food I wouldn’t say I especially seek it out but I do have a hell of a sweet tooth and when I binge I binge hard. Salty stuff is alright but again, not inclined to really go after it often. All that said I do have a poor diet overall, no question


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## sanpellegrino (Sep 15, 2016)

Though I've voted other. Caffeine is my vice.


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## bad baby (Jun 10, 2013)

Fun Spirit said:


> I live like a monk. I never drunk, smoke nor had sex. No clubs either. As for junk food I don't eat a lot of that. {Of course I eat it but not overly. I like Ice cream, bake cookies and candy but not in an glutting kind of way}


How do you let off steam (or keep yourself from going crazy)?


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## SplendidBob (May 28, 2014)

Junk food, drugs, sex sometimes but am kinda ambivalent about it. Most of the drug stuff is limited though, I don't trust myself with it anymore. To easy and tempting for me to escape my own mind with it, and I will usually jump at the chance for some kind of escape.


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## Andlovegrewup (Feb 23, 2019)

Mine would be alcohol and junk food, although my diet isn't too bad for an American and I am a healthy weight. I have never smoked and never will, and if I go the rest of my life without another sexual encounter I'll be more than fine.


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## Cascades (Jan 16, 2013)

Junk food is about the only vice I continue to have, the rest I've had/done but I don't get any enjoyment out of them like others do.


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## Shadowweaver (Apr 26, 2013)

I drink alcohol sometimes, but mostly try to maintain a very healthy lifestyle. Never tried smoking/drugs and never will. Gambling is boring. Stealing is petty.

No sex; never had interest in the stuff. If I meet someone special, I'll sure do it with them, but having sex purely for physical pleasure ain't my thing.


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## smoothlinghs (Jun 2, 2018)

I prefer to call myself an angel.


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## Clem Fandango (Sep 30, 2016)

I'm bald, if that counts?


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