What do Buddhists do to prevent sexual desires?

Its not a sin in Buddhism to have a high sexual drive.

You cannot prevent sexual desiveres unless you attained nirvana. Even monks get sexual desires because we cannot control our mind.

You said Buddhists so I assume you mean un ordained people like you and me, not monks (who have much stricter code). Unordained people have to live by the five precepts. We had to say this verse before school starts back when I was in Srilanka and we said it in pali but the translation is and some words I don't know the exact words:

1 I will not kill, harm any living things.

2 I will not steal or take anything that isn't mine

3 I will not have wrong sexual relations. Sex isn't banned or even restricted in Buddhism.

4 I will not gossip or say things that will hurt other people.

5 I will not take any alchohol/cigarette/drug substances (I don't know the exact translation from Pali to Sinhala in this much less the English translation for the 5th but you get the idea)

So these are the five things normal people should follow to live a happy life. Having lived in a traditional Buddhist country before moving for college, I can say that well sex isn't a taboo unless you're cheating etc. The mind cannot be controlled unless you attain nirvna so until then its normal to feel sexual desires, hate, jelousy etc. There are no rules for unordained people in Budddhism. Instead a set of guidelines to follow and people can choose to follow them or not. Bad karma will have bad results and good deeds will have good results

To my understanding ...Buddhists and not celebent monks would experience sexual desires at appointed times in life such as adolescent boys and girls post legal age of 16 in Victoria Australia ...however to ACT on these impulses would be dangerous for untrained minds .perhaps Buddhist would have an advantage as mediation gives insight into behaviour of desires / craving and one can observe rather than react in ignorance . nut shell yes I believe Buddhist can do and only by choice react or dismiss such thoughts on sex .

To provide my perspective on this question "Many Buddhists do not, indeed recognize they cannot, prevent sexual desire.. they prevent attachment to sexual desire fulfillment. This can be accomplished through renunciation, meditation and right action. Any statement that 'desire' is to be conquered should be restated as 'attachment' is to be conquered."

All of these suttas that prescribe visualizing the objects of those desires as disgusting or unattractive merely subverts, but never addresses, the attachment, nor the desire in and of itself. In fact, taken to extreme, such practices often cause one to develop a new desire even more powerful than the original, but in the opposite direction. Hence, you are running in place, achieving nothing, if you do not recognize the desire itself cannot be conquered.

Renunciation is not about rejection.. it is about contemplation. A desire arises, we watch it rise, we discover its roots and the roots of our attachment to it through non-action. But rejecting a desire, or subverting it, is contrary to the entire point of Attainment. You can certainly engage in rejection as part of your path, but believing that rejection is anything other than acceptance is the wrong idea.

Also, I think we REALLY need to be more specific as to WHAT school of Buddhism we are talking about when we answer questions like this.

It is true that according to some paths, including some aspects of the original interpretations of the Eightfold path (which, by the way, some argue was distorted from the Buddha's intentions by charismatic ascetics.. I am neutral on this) what you say about sexual desire and sensual pleasures is correct.

It is also true that there are paths that acknowledge sensual pleasure as a part of the path, and advocate a different route to mastery over desires. We could even say that these paths might be more in line with what Ananda believed to be so (that would be a stretch, but it is defensible).

The idea that sexual desire is harmful is an absolutely horrible way to talk about this situation. Even within the most renunciatory path, it must be admitted that desires are not a target for elimination, but attachment TO those desires. We must admit to everyone and ourselves that renunciation has nothing to do with eliminating desire.. but with eliminating attachment.

It must also be admitted that we need to look at any sutta with a liberal dose of grains of salt. These things were written in the Bronze age (in general) and any particular advocacy of behavior during that time must be put in context with that age, otherwise its utility is lost. Foe example, it could be argued that any renunciation of sexual pleasure was primarily advocated so as to help monks avoid entanglements, which would be brought about by pregnancy.. most especially considering how the predominant culture treated such a situation (aka if you abandoned a pregnant woman you were dooming her to suffering). With modern birth control, there may not be a need for this proscription, as worded, anymore.

When you say (or anyone says, including those sayings in the suttas) that desire needs to be conquered, you immediately setup dissonance that is impossible to satisfy. This is useful to a Religious Organization, but has no bearing on Enlightenment or Attainment, unless a school's intention is to enlighten through dissonance, which is a common thread in some.

In any event, It is attachment that is the enemy, not desire. Which is why the translation of 'taṇhā' is so important. And it is why I sincerely think that we must stop fetishizing the suttas as somehow 'inviolable' or as some sort of unerring guide to life.

We are thousands of years away from the events and sayings in the suttas.. they are useful and wise, but not perfect, nor even directly applicable to our daily lives. It seems to me that our job is to extract meaning and intent from all of it, not to slavishly follow proscriptions established in a time of <1% literacy.

Ways to prevent sexual desire are described in the Bharadvaja Sutta.

Here, the best method for developing the "lifelong chaste life, perfect & pure, and make it last entire lives" is advised to be development of 'loving-kindness & compassion' ('metta-karuna'), namely:

'With regard to women who are old enough to be your mother, establish the attitude you would have toward your mother. With regard to women who are old enough to be your sister, establish the attitude you'd have toward a sister. With regard to women who are young enough to be your daughter, establish the attitude you'd have toward a daughter.'

When 'loving-kindness & compassion' (which require wisdom) are not strong enough for "unruly" minds, the next method the Bharadvaja Sutta prescribes is the (theoretically popular although less effective) method of 'asubhaṃ' (loathsomeness) found in many suttas (together with metta & compassion), such as in MN 62, MN 118, etc, as follows:

Asubhaṃ rāhula bhāvanaṃ bhāvehi. Asubhaṃ hi te rāhula bhāvanaṃ bhāvayato yo rāgo so pahīyissati.

Develop the meditation of the unattractive [loathsome]. For when you are developing the meditation of the unattractive, lust will be abandoned.

In general, during the Buddha's time & also today, men & women left/lost interest in the family life to become monks & nuns because they reflected upon the burdens & problems of the family life.

From a strict Buddhist perspective, sexual promiscuity is not an alternative to the family life because sexual promiscuity is regarded as harmful. Here, there are basically two sexual choices, particularly for a man: (i) serve or be the support for a woman, in her needs & wants; or (ii) celibacy.

Therefore, when the harm, burdens, obligations, disadvantages & unsatisfactoriness of sexuality are reflected upon, in addition to what is truly loving & compassionate for others, sexual desire reduces, is brought under control or even disappears.