How deep does craving go?

There is something called memory foam. I have seen it advertised in pillows, mattresses and cushions, where the foam forms to the contours of the body and "remembers" you.

The body is kind of like memory foam as well and during one of my meditations I realized just how deep craving and memories go. Memories are not just confined to the brain but it appears that they also are stored in the body as well. Here is what I mean. I was sitting in meditation when I observed an itch arising on my side. It was in perfect striking distance for a good scratch and before I knew it I was fantasizing about getting a good scratch in to relieve this itch.

However, instead of breaking my posture I gently observed the itch phenomena. I watched how it grew and retracted increasing and decreasing in intensity. I observed my breathing start to quicken and my thoughts beginning to race with anticipation. I watched and watched until the itch went away. Now this is not the first time I have done this, however in a past experience long after the itch was gone I reached over anyway to scratch it and even though it seemed like it was there it wasn't. It was weired because the itch was seemingly still there to scratch even though I knew it was gone and when I went to scratch it the scratch brought no relief; I might has well have just scratched the air.

I noted this when it happened and since itching is pretty common during meditation I figured one day I would have the opportunity to deal with this again but now I would take on this "body memory"phenomena as a subject to gain insight into what this meant.

So now here I was again with the itch and I was going to see if I would experience the same thing i did before. After the itch had passed I keenly observed what was happening next. It appeared that even though the itch was gone, my body was remembering the event and still longing for the scratch even though a scratch was no longer necessary. It was amazing to me because independent of any thinking the body was having a memory and a "craving" completely on its own. This brought to mind the Maha Satipattana Sutta where the Buddha teaches how to observe the true nature of the body "And how Bhikkhus does a bhikkhu dwell perceiving again and again the body as just the body, not mine, not I, not self but just a phenomena?" It became instantly clear to me, through experience, that craving is so deeply rooted in the body that it can condition itself to expect instant gratification once it contacts the mind. Subconsciously when I get an itch I instantly respond to scratch it and experience a great feeling of relief which happens over and over again without even thinking about it.

I am not saying there is something inherently evil or wrong with itching. It's just that all my life when it came to the other pleasures of the body it seems as if I had no control. If I got an urge weather it was to eat, have sex, drink, smoke or whatever the urge may be that seemed to bring me physical pleasure, I would set my mind to satisfy that urge at any cost without really event thinking about it.

My body still has a way of stirring up tastes, smells and experiences that try and keep me enslaved to pleasing it in some fashion. It is in cahoots with my mind and they work together to try and recreate experiences, memories, feelings and passions that translate into temptation. When I saw this I was amazed. It was like watching a thief that didn't know he was being watched. He goes about his stealing showing you all his tricks and all you can say is "So that's how he does it!" Some of his tactics are quite elaborate but a lot of his tactics are simple and you can't help but wonder how he ever got away with it for so long. It's simple, when you don't pay attention, when you are not awake then everything is complicated. The Buddha stressed mindfulness and attention which lead to insight and this is how to discover how and why things are the way they are.

My body, our bodies, are like memory foam. The body remembers and uses those pleasurable feelings as fuel for the fire of greed, hatred and delusion.