(Minghui.org) The ancient Chinese said, “Lewdness is the worst of all sins.” These time-honored Chinese placed rigid restrictions on the relationship between men and women, and considered lustful thoughts as a serious fault. In “Chapters on Action and Response According to the Most High,” one of the most identified and serious crimes was: “On seeing beauty in another, one is stirred to appropriate it.” The standards in Western society are also high. Jesus said in the Holy Bible: “That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”
As cultivating practitioners, it is very important to eliminate all lustful thought.
First, lustful thoughts trigger many attachments. Chinese historian Wang Zhouci said, “The moment a thought of lust begins, other wicked thoughts arise too. If a lustful wish doesn't get fulfilled, one becomes delusional. If seduction doesn't work, one will create a crafty plot. The person will get angry at anything that gets in the way of the plot. Once one is infatuated with lust, he clings to it. Seeing another's attractive spouse, one becomes jealous. When attempting to acquire someone's love, the thought of killing may arise. Sense of shame and ethics are totally lost. Various forms of bad karma is generated from lustful thought. Kind wishes are killed by lustful thought.” Without getting rid of lustful thought, all that has been gained through cultivation becomes very fragile.
Second, lustful thoughts do great damage to one's health. Renowned ancient Chinese doctor Sun Simiao advised to not harbor this kind of thinking or activity, because it exhausts one's energy and even makes one look tired and weary. Many types of diseases can then infect one's body. Another ancient Chinese book stated, “As soon as sexual desire arises, it gets stronger and compresses the internal organs. The fundamental substance of one's body is discharged through Mingmen (an acupuncture point in Chinese medicine). Even if it isn't discharged, sexual desire is like fire, boiling water in a pot. It doesn't take long before the water evaporates and the pot cracks.”
Even though one may live without a partner, it only takes a lustful thought to damage his health. Lustful thoughts are considered a big taboo for this reason.
Master stated,
“A person is like a container, and he is whatever he contains. All of what a person sees with the eyes and hears with the ears are: violence, lust, power struggles in literary works, struggles for profit in the practical world, money worship, other manifestations of demon-nature, and so on. With his head filled with these, this kind of person is truly a bad person, no matter what he appears to be. A person’s behavior is dictated by his thoughts. With a mind full of such things, what’s a person able to do? ”
and,
“On the other hand, if a person accepts the kind, traditional thoughts of mankind that have prevailed for thousands of years, believes in proper human behavior and standards, and is filled with all good things, what will this person’s conduct be like? Whether or not this person shows it, he is genuinely a good person.” (“Melt Into the Fa” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
Master's told us that eliminating lust and desire isn't limited to putting an end to such behavior. One has to stop the lustful thoughts themselves.