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by (130 points)

3 Answers

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by (8.5k points)
Yes. It is a distraction and would be considered giving in to sensual pleasure.
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by (18.8k points)
Sensual activities like listening to music, watching movies, following sports, dancing, having romantic interactions etc. can all slow down your meditation progress. But Buddhist laypeople are not expected to give up those. They are only expected to follow the Five Precepts.  What you can do is to avoid engaging in those activities during the time slots you allocate for meditation.

But if you think you are capable, you can keep to the 8 precepts and avoid those activities all day. That would be more conducive to meditation. Just be careful not to put too much pressure on yourself and get turned off completely. Buddha himself did not push people into giving up household pleasures unless their faculties were matured enough to do so.
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by (3.0k points)
Yes, it can become a very great hindrance. Very often I hear from practitioners that they, at a certain point in the practice, keep hearing their once favourite music in their heads. Over and over and over. Which leads to great suffering and distress.

On the other hand... this is how the process works. The mind experiences the downsides of things and gives them up by themselves. Meaning that increasing and following of precepts happens naturally. And that is the better way of progressing.
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