The Four Things Never to Be Done

On one occasion, the monks gave the full ordination to someone and then departed. The newly ordained monk lagged behind, walking by himself. On the way he met his old wife. She said, “Have you now gone forth?” “Yes.” “It’s difficult for those gone forth to get sex. Come, let’s have intercourse.” He had intercourse with her. When he caught up with the monks, they asked him what had taken him so long.

He told them what had happened, and they told the Buddha. “When you have given the full ordination to someone, you should give him a companion and point out the four things not to be done: A monk who’s fully ordained shouldn’t have sexual intercourse, not even with an animal. If he has sexual intercourse, he’s not an ascetic, not a Sakyan monastic. Just as a man with his head cut off is unable to continue living by reconnecting it to the body, so too is a monk who has had sexual intercourse not an ascetic, not a Sakyan monastic. You shouldn’t do this for as long as you live.

A monk who’s fully ordained shouldn’t steal, not even a straw. If he steals a pāda coin, the value of a pāda, or more than a pāda, he’s not an ascetic, not a Sakyan monastic. Just as a fallen, withered leaf is incapable of becoming green again, so too is a monk who, intending to steal, takes an ungiven pāda coin, the value of a pāda, or more than a pāda not an ascetic, not a Sakyan monastic. You shouldn’t do this for as long as you live.

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