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(1)What
is meant by the statement ‘the place of birth is impure?’
The head feet belly, back,
sides, ribs, and all the impure things are joined together; this is what
is meant by a ‘woman’s body’. Within this (body) there are the
impurities of the immature and mature embryos, feces, and urine; outside
is the wind of defilement (klesa), actions (karma), causes (hetu), and
conditions pratyaya), which blows the seed of consciousness into the
space between the two embryos. There for eight or nine months it is as
if in a pit of feces and urine. Thus it has been said:
This
body is stinking and dirty; 199a
It
is not born from a flower blossom;
Nor
is it born from a Campaka Tree;
Further,
it is not from a jewel mountain.
This
is what is meant by the phrase ‘the impurity the place of birth.
(2)
‘The semen is impure.’
Because
the father and mother blow upon the flame sexual desire with the wind of
false imagining and wrong thoughts, blood, marrow, and fat flow forth,
and being heated, change into sperm. The seed of consciousness, which is
caused and conditioned by former actions, dwells in the midst of
menstrual and seminal fluid. This is what is meant by ‘semen of the
body’.
This
body’s semen is impure;
1t
is not an excessively wonderful treasure;
Not
from a pure source does it arise;
It
is only from the urine path.
This is what is meant by ‘the semen is impure’.
(3) ‘Own—nature is impure.’
From
the soles of the feet to the top of the head, covered on four sides by
skin, one is full of impurities Even though decorated with cloth,
perfumed and fed with the best tasting delicacies, not for the space of
a single night is (one’s body) pure. Even if
the clothes are those of the gods and the food that of gods, because
of its nature the body is impure. How much more so when it is the
clothes and food of men.
The
nature of earth, water, fire, and wind,
Can
be changed from impurity;
But
though an entire ocean be poured over this body,
Still
it could not be made fragrant or pure.
This
is what is meant by ‘own-nature is impure’.
(4)
‘Self—attributes are impure.’
This
body has nine holes from which impurities always drain. From the eyes
flow tears; from the ear comes wax; from the nose snot; from the mouth
saliva; from the anus and penis there always flows feces and urine, and
all the hair pores excrete perspiration.
(5)
‘Totally impure.’
If
the body is thrown into the fire, it will become ashes; if eaten by
worms, it becomes feces; if it lies on the ground, it decomposes and
becomes dirt. Put into the water, it will become distended and swollen,
and then it will rot and be eaten by water worms. Of all dead bodies,
the human body is the most impure. The impure dharmas of the nine marks
are to be explained in detail.
If
you observe this body closely,
In
the end it goes to the cemetery;
It is difficult to manage and unpredictable;
Like
a petty man, it turns its back on favors done.
This
is what is meant by ‘totally impure’.
This body, from the time it is born until it dies,
is impure, as are all the things that approach near it or the spot on
which it rests. This
(situation) can be compared to fragrant, delicious, and pure water,
which flows in a hundred streams and is changed into salty and bitter
water when it enters the great ocean. Even though one eats various good
tasting and beautifully prepared foods that are delicious to smell and
finely textured, when this food enters the stomach (which corresponds to
the) ocean, it is changed into impurity.
The
body is like this from birth to death. It is always impure and extremely
despicable. When the practitioner contemplates this body,
notwithstanding the fact that it is impure, (the notion) that there is
the slightest bit of permanence is an error, for it will revert to
impermanence. Furthermore, even if (there is the knowledge of) impurity
and impermanence on the one hand, the slightest (notion) of pleasure on
the other is an error, for it will revert to suffering. This body is the
birthplace of all suffering. Water comes from the earth, wind from
space, fire from fuel and suffering external as well as internal comes
from the body. By internal suffering is meant such things as old age,
sickness and death. External suffering includes the sword, the stick,
cold, heat, hunger, thirst and the like. Thus if one has a body, one has
suffering.
Question:
The
body not only has suffering for its nature, but from the body there also
comes pleasure. If one could be bodiless as (you) desire, who then would
be the receiver of the pleasure of the five senses?
Answer:
The
Truth of Suffering as expounded in the Four Noble Truths is understood by
the enlightened man to be really suffering. Foolish men call it pleasure.
We should rely on the enlightened person and disregard the foolish ones.
This body is in truth a thing of suffering, but since slight suffering can
put an end to great suffering, (the foolish) regard it as pleasure. Take
for example, a man who has been condemned to death. He will rejoice in a
lighter punishment. The fact of the matter is that the lighter punishment
is suffering, but because it saves him from death, he considers it to be
pleasure.
Another
case is newly (arisen) suffering which mistaken for pleasure. When one
first sits it is pleasurable; after a long period of time it becomes
suffering. When one first walks, stands, or lies down there is pleasure,
but doing so for a long period is suffering. By doubling up, stretching
out, looking up and down, rolling your eyes, or panting, pain constantly
adheres to the body. From the first moment of conception and birth, to
death, there is not a moment when there is pleasure.
If
you take sexual desire to be pleasure, then, because the malady of this
desire is so acute, another woman must (always) be sought. But the more
you get the more acute the malady.
It
is a similar situation to having fire cauterize a skin wound; for a moment
there is a slight pleasure, but then the pain becomes deeper. This slight
pleasure is, in fact, caused by the sickness, and thus there is no real
pleasure.
The
man who has recovered from sickness has compassion when he observes
others (who are ill). A man who is free of desire sees sexual desire in
the same light. He pities (those with this) madness, consumed as they are
by the flame of lust and suffering so much pain. It is for reasons such as
these that we know the manner and cause of suffering in the body.
The
Practitioner knows that the body is only an impure and impermanent thing
of suffering. However, there is no choice but to sustain it. When a son is
born, even if he is corrupt and evil, because he is theirs, the parents
must nurture and rear him.
The
body, in fact of matter, is without a self. Why is this? (It is without a
self) because it is not its own master. Just as a paralyzed man cannot
look up or down, cannot go out or come back, or a man who has had a
disease of the throat cannot talk, in the same way we know that the body
is not its own master. It cannot be used in the way of a man who has
possessions and uses them as he wishes. Since the body is not its own
master, you know that it is without a self.
The
Practitioner contemplates the body in this light: viz, that it is impure;
impermanent; full of suffering; empty; and without a self. It is an
unlimited evil. Similar to these are (all his) observations of the body.
This
is what is meant by ‘Application of Mindfulness to the Body’.
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