San Mu Bu Pm GBM 2 Ss 1Masturbation
Pāli / Sanskrit:Sukkavisaṭṭhi
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The Sukkavisaṭṭhi Sutta: Explanation on the Practice of Restraining Sexuality
Context
Sukkavisaṭṭhi (provisionally translated: "the practice of self-restraint") is a regulation in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda tradition, belonging to the Pāli Canon. This sutta records the Buddha’s instructions on managing sexual desires, one of the sensitive yet essential subjects in the teachings of the Buddha Dharma.
In the context of the Vinaya Piṭaka, these regulations were set forth to help bhikkhus and bhikkhunis maintain the qualities of diligence and mindfulness in the course of practice. These rules are not meaningless ascetic repression, but practical means to protect the mind from distraction and from the uncontrolled development of sensual desire.
The Buddha, with incomparable wisdom, saw that monastics needed clear instructions on how to handle natural human desires, including physiological needs. Rather than completely denying them or indulging them recklessly, the Buddha proposed the middle way: clear understanding and conscious management.
Main Content
In this regulation, the Buddha teaches that monastics must avoid stimulating or satisfying sexual desires through actions such as sukkavisaṭṭhi, acts of sexually pleasing oneself. This is not only about affirming the practice of brahmacarya, the pure life, but also about protecting the mind from being drawn into streams of sensual thought.
The sutta teaches that such actions, though they may seem small, are in fact seeds of sensual desire (lobha); if not cut off, they will grow into great trees of desire that obstruct the path of practice. The rule does not prohibit simply because something is "evil," but because it makes the mind secretive and diminishes the transparency and clarity necessary for concentration (samādhi).
This regulation also reflects the principle of managing feelings (vedanā) in a conscious way.
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