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The bhikkhus came to the Blessed One and asked him: 1
"O Tathgata, our Lord and Master, what conduct toward women dost thou prescribe to the samanas who have left the world?" 2
And the Blessed One said: 3
"Guard against looking on a woman. 4
"If ye see a woman, let it be as though ye saw her not, and have no conversation with her. 5
"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.' 6
"If the woman be old, regard her as your mother, if young, as your sister, if very young, as your child. 7
"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 Tathgata. 8
"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. 9
"Cover your heads with the helmet of right thought, and fight with fixed resolve against the five desires. 10
[Pg 94] "Lust beclouds a man's heart, when it is confused with woman's beauty, and the mind is dazed. 11
"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. 12
"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. 13
"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. 14
"How then ought ye to guard yourselves? 15
"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. 16
"Therefore, I say, restrain the heart, give it no unbridled license." 17
Viskh, a wealthy woman in Svatthi who had many children and grandchildren, had given to the order the Pubbrma or Eastern Garden, and was the first in Northern Kosala to become a matron of the lay sisters. 1
When the Blessed One stayed at Svatthi, Viskh went up to the place where the Blessed One was, and tendered him an invitation to take his meal at her house, which the Blessed One accepted. 2
And a heavy rain fell during the night and the next morning; and the bhikkhus doffed their robes to keep them dry and let the rain fall upon their bodies. 3
[Pg 95] When on the next day the Blessed One had finished his meal, she took her seat at his side and spoke thus: "Eight are the boons, Lord, which I beg of the Blessed One." 4
Said the Blessed One: "The Tathgatas, O Viskh, grant no boons until they know what they are." 5
Viskh replied: "Befitting, Lord, and unobjectionable are the boons I ask." 6
Having received permission to make known her requests, Viskh said: "I desire, Lord, through all my life long to bestow robes for the rainy season on the Sangha, and food for incoming bhikkhus, and food for outgoing bhikkhus, and food for the sick, and food for those who wait upon the sick, and medicine for the sick, and a constant supply of rice-milk for the Sangha, and bathing robes for the bhikkhuns, the sisters." 7
Said the Buddha: "But what circumstance is it, O Viskh, that thou hast in view in asking these eight boons of the Tathgata?" 8
And Viskh replied: 9
"I gave command, Lord, to my maid-servant, saying, 'Go, and announce to the brotherhood that the meal is ready.' And the maid went, but when she came to the vihra, she observed that the bhikkhus had doffed their robes while it was raining, and she thought: 'These are not bhikkhus, but naked ascetics letting the rain fall on them.' So she returned to me and reported accordingly, and I had to send her a second time. Impure, Lord, is nakedness, and revolting. It was this circumstance, Lord, that I had in view in desiring to provide the Sangha my life long with special garments for use in the rainy season. 10
"As to my second wish, Lord, an incoming bhikkhu, not being able to take the direct roads, and not knowing the places where food can be procured, comes on his way tired out by seeking for alms. It was this circumstance,[Pg 96] Lord, that I had in view in desiring to provide the Sangha my life long with food for incoming bhikkhus. 11
"Thirdly, Lord, an outgoing bhikkhu, while seeking about for alms, may be left behind, or may arrive too late at the place whither he desires to go, and will set out on the road in weariness. 12
"Fourthly, Lord, if a sick bhikkhu does not obtain suitable food, his sickness may increase upon him, and he may die. 13
"Fifthly, Lord, a bhikkhu who is waiting upon the sick will lose his opportunity of going out to seek food for himself. 14
"Sixthly, Lord, if a sick bhikkhu does not obtain suitable medicines, his sickness may increase upon him, and he may die. 15
"Seventhly, Lord, I have heard that the Blessed One has praised rice-milk, because it gives readiness of mind, dispels hunger and thirst; it is wholesome for the healthy as nourishment, and for the sick as a medicine. Therefore I desire to provide the Sangha my life long with a constant supply of rice-milk. 16
"Finally, Lord, the bhikkhuns are in the habit of bathing in the river Achiravat with the courtesans, at the same landing-place, and naked. And the courtesans, Lord, ridicule the bhikkhuns, saying, 'What is the good, ladies, of your maintaining chastity when you are young? When you are old, maintain chastity then; thus will you obtain both worldly pleasure and religious consolation.' Impure, Lord, is nakedness for a woman, disgusting, and revolting. 17
"These are the circumstances, Lord, that I had in view." 18
The Blessed One said: "But what was the advantage you had in view for yourself, O Viskh, in asking the eight boons of the Tathgatha?" 19
