Lzh Mi Bi Vb Pc 203Making Waist Slender
Pāli / Sanskrit:Making waist slender
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DISCOURSE ON MAKING THE WAIST SLENDER
Background
This discourse is recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically in the disciplinary rules for bhikkhunīs of the Theravāda tradition. The Vinaya Piṭaka is one of the three main collections of the Pāli Canon and contains the regulations of ethical conduct (sīla) for members of the Buddhist Sangha.
Rules concerning the body and appearance arise from a basic principle: monastics must avoid provocative conduct and value dignity and nobility in gesture. This discourse is set in the context of early disputes in the Sangha concerning clothing style, adornment, and actions related to outward appearance. The Buddha gave guidance to maintain purity and separation from worldly conduct.
Main Content
The rule “making the waist slender” concerns crude conduct, or perhaps forms of adornment or posture intended to attract attention, especially the attention of men. In the context of female monastics, making the body appear “attractive” or “seductive” is regarded as contrary to the ideal of renunciation and purity.
The discourse stipulates that bhikkhunīs must not perform actions intended to shape the body so that it appears more seductive. This is classified as a Pācittiya, an offense of expiation, requiring public confession and adherence to institutional steps of restoration. The rule reflects the view that the body is not an instrument for satisfying sensual desire or personal ambition, but a means for practicing the Path.
Practical Meaning
More deeply, this discourse teaches mental discipline in accepting the body as it is, without trying to use it to ensnare or seduce. This is an aspect of asubha meditation, contemplation of the unattractiveness of the body, and of regarding the body realistically.
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