From Mental Lust to Physical and Verbal Misconduct

What does the Buddha mean when he says that an upāsaka should not give rise to lustful thoughts and perceptions? This refers to the mental aspect among the three karmas of body, speech, and mind—it is the thoughts, conceptions, and sensations of the mind, also known as mental sexual indulgence. When one fails to subdue lustful desires, the mind frequently gives rise to delusional thoughts, notions, and sensations of greed, becoming immersed in mental indulgence and fantasizing. Some people even have specific objects of mental lust, with images of the other person or scenes of sexual desire surfacing uncontrollably in their minds, which constitutes a violation of the precept against sexual misconduct. Some bold individuals do not conceal their mental lust but openly declare it, telling everyone, "In my past life, I had numerous consorts; some have been reborn in this world, and when conditions ripen, we reunite. They are so-and-so and so-and-so," followed by a litany of remarks that are unbearable to hear or see. This is mental and verbal lust, though physical action has yet to manifest.

As long as one does not sever desire, mental thoughts will not cease. Because the intention exists, as long as the conditions are sufficient, physical and verbal acts of lust will follow. Physical and verbal actions are guided and driven by mental actions. Therefore, to eliminate sexual misconduct, one must eliminate mental lust; cultivation requires training the mind. When physical and verbal actions manifest, the sign of precept violation appears—this is the violation of manifest precepts. Before physical and verbal actions arise, there is mental action—this is latent and constitutes a violation of latent precepts. If one cannot uphold latent mental actions, they will be unable to uphold manifest physical and verbal actions.

Some people, because they cannot uphold manifest precepts and frequently lose control of their body and speech, violating precepts without remedy, make excuses to cover up, saying: "Manifest precepts are for beginners to uphold; seasoned bodhisattvas with superior capacity should abandon manifest precepts and uphold the latent precepts of the mind." Observe how perverse this reasoning and statement are! If one cannot even uphold the basic manifest precepts, how can they possibly uphold the profound latent precepts? Is it easier to control the body and speech, or the mind?

When mental thoughts cannot be subdued, can’t one at least pretend with body and speech—pretending to be pure, pretending to be cultivated? Isn’t this the most fundamental initial method of practice? If one cannot even pretend, isn’t the inner mind even more uncontrollable? Some even openly advocate accommodating afflictions, meaning that when lustful thoughts arise, one should not restrain themselves but directly engage in sexual acts—don’t pretend, don’t feign cultivation; Buddhism should not make one increasingly false. Such individuals, because they cannot subdue their own minds, directly abandon resistance, throw caution to the winds, and moreover call on their followers to do the same, disregarding the Buddha’s precepts and earnest teachings. What is the result of such behavior? Does the Tathāgatagarbha, out of some sense of face, let you off the hook? What folly!

The extent of a person’s cultivation and whether they genuinely practice can be fully reflected in their speech and actions. They cannot deceive the clear-sighted but only some naive beginners who foolishly prefer to be deceived, willingly deceived—they feel uncomfortable if not deceived, not knowing what to do. However, not everyone in the world is foolish; there are always awakened people, always vigilant individuals who can see through everyone’s deceptions and disguises, who can penetrate everyone’s human nature.

Cultivation is the process of dispelling ignorance and eradicating afflictions. The actions of body, speech, and mind are manifestations of ignorance and afflictions. Where there is ignorance, there are afflictions; where there are afflictions, there is ignorance and lack of wisdom. With ignorance and lack of wisdom, there is no cultivation, no virtue—one remains an ordinary being subject to birth, death, and rebirth.