Lzh Mg Bi Pm Sk 17Lowered Eyes
Pāli / Sanskrit:Okkhittacakkhu
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Commentary on the Okkhittacakkhu Sutta (Lowered Eyes)
Background
Okkhittacakkhu, or "Lowered Eyes" in English, is a Vinaya passage belonging to the Pātimokkha (the Seventy-Three Rules) within the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda Buddhist tradition. It is a section of the Vinaya governing the conduct and discipline of bhikkhunīs (Buddhist nuns). This text reflects the profound concern of Theravāda Buddhism with the restraint of the sense faculties—most fundamentally, the eye—as an indispensable aspect of the training in the precepts.
According to tradition, the Blessed One instructed the bhikkhunīs that diligent guarding of the sense faculties is not merely a matter of discipline, but an essential factor in the development of meditative collectedness (samādhi) and wisdom (paññā). The phrase "lowered eyes" is not simply a matter of casting the gaze downward; it is a symbol of mental restraint, of mindfulness, and of humility in action.
Principal Content
Okkhittacakkhu emphasizes that a bhikkhunī in training should lower her eyes—that is, keep the faculty of sight (cakkhu) under control. This does not mean that the gaze must be directed toward the ground at all times, but rather that the mind should not be drawn away and swept along by external forms. Whether walking, sitting, standing, or lying down, a bhikkhunī should be aware of the range within which the eyes look (gocara)—that is, the field of vision appropriate for one who has gone forth in the holy life.
This rule teaches that allowing the eyes to freely follow any object whatsoever will give rise to defilements (greed, aversion, and delusion), thereby disturbing and agitating the mind. When the faculty of sight is restrained (indriya saṃvāra), the remaining sense faculties are likewise brought under restraint with greater ease. This is the foundation of indriya saṃvāra—the restraint of the sense faculties—which is an essential component of the Noble Eightfold Path.
This text is also directly connected to the principle of appamāda (non-heedlessness) and sampajañña (clear comprehension). Bhikkhunīs are exhorted to maintain continuous mindfulness, not permitting the mind to wander into desire for, or aversion toward, the stimulation of the sense faculties.
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