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The Bhikkhus' Conduct Toward Women


The bhikkhus came to the Blessed One and asked him:



"O Tathagata, our Lord and Master, what conduct toward women dost

thou prescribe to the samanas who have left the world?"



And the Blessed One said:



"Guard against looking on a woman.



"If ye see a woman, let it be as though ye sa
her not, and have

no conversation with her.



"If, after all, ye must speak with her, let it be with a pure

heart, and think to yourself, 'I as a samana will live in this

sinful world as the spotless leaf of the lotus, unsoiled by the

mud in which it grows.'



"If the woman be old, regard her as your mother, if young, as

your sister, if very young, as your child.



"The samana who looks on a woman as a woman, or touches her as a

woman, has broken his vow and is no longer a disciple of the

Tathagata.



"The power of lust is great with men, and is to be feared withal;

take then the bow of earnest perseverance, and the sharp

arrow-points of wisdom.



"Cover your heads with the helmet of right thought, and fight

with fixed resolve against the five desires.



"Lust beclouds a man's heart, when it is confused with woman's

beauty, and the mind is dazed.



"Better far with red-hot irons bore out both your eyes, than

encourage in yourself sensual thoughts, or look upon a woman's

form with lustful desires.



"Better fall into the fierce tiger's mouth, or under the sharp

knife of the executioner, than dwell with a woman and excite in

yourself lustful thoughts.



"A woman of the world is anxious to exhibit her form and shape,

whether walking, standing, sitting, or sleeping. Even when

represented as a picture, she desires to captivate with the

charms of her beauty, and thus to rob men of their steadfast

heart.



"How then ought ye to guard yourselves?



"By regarding her tears and her smiles as enemies, her stooping

form, her hanging arms, and her disentangled hair as toils

designed to entrap man's heart.



"Therefore, I say, restrain the heart, give it no unbridled

license."



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