比丘避女惡名欲自殺經

Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was dwelling in the Jeta Grove, the Garden of Anāthapiṇḍika (Jeṭavaṇe’nāthapiṇḍadasyārāma), in the country of Śrāvastī. At that time there was a bhikṣu

(Bhikṣu) who dwelt apart among the people of Kosala (Kośalā, or Kauśala), residing in a certain forest.

At that time this bhikṣu, having sported together with the wife of an elder, gave rise to an evil reputation. Then this bhikṣu thought thus: “Now I ought not to give rise to an evil reputation together with another’s woman. Now I wish to take my own life here in this forest.”

At that time the deity dwelling in that forest thought thus: “This is evil, unwholesome, not good. This bhikṣu, who is not wicked and is without fault, wishes here in this forest to slay himself. Now I should go to him and, by skillful means, awaken him.”

Then that deity transformed itself into the form of the elder’s wife and said to the bhikṣu: “In the byways, the broad roads, the crossroads… the people of the world have given rise, concerning me and you, to an evil reputation, saying that you and I have drawn near to one another and done what is improper. Since there is already an evil reputation, you may now return to lay life so that we may delight together.”

The bhikṣu replied: “Since here and there, in the byways and at the crossroads, an evil reputation has arisen concerning me and you, that we have drawn near to one another and done what is improper, now I would rather slay myself.”

Then that deity manifested again its heavenly form and spoke a verse, saying:

Though one hears much evil report,

The ascetic patiently endures it;

One should not, in suffering, harm oneself,

Nor should one give rise to affliction.

To hear a sound and be afraid—

That is the way of the beasts in the forest;

Such shallow, hot-tempered beings

Do not fulfill the Dharma of one gone forth (Pravrajyā).

The venerable one should bear with

Evil reports, be they low, middling, or high;

One who keeps the mind firmly abiding—

That is the Dharma of one gone forth.

It is not by another’s words

That you are made into a thief and robber;

Nor is it by another

That you are made an Arhat (Arhant: Arhat).

When, in accord with the Dharma, you yourself have come to know it,

The devas too shall likewise know.

At that time the bhikṣu, having been awakened by that deity, then single-mindedly and diligently reflected, severed the afflictions, and attained Arhatship.

THE SUTRA OF THE BHIKṢU WHO, SHUNNING AN EVIL REPUTATION CONCERNING A WOMAN, WISHED TO TAKE HIS OWN LIFE The End