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What the Ancients Believed about Obscene Thoughts (Clearwisdom.net) There is an ancient saying, "All evil
originates from lust." I believe that there is definitely some truth to it. By violating moral standards on sex, human beings have created significant
amounts of karma. Before the decline in moral standards, people frowned upon
those who had a lust for sex. In China during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 A.D), Ji Xiaolan was well-known
official and the chief editor of Si Ku Quan Shu [note: collection of
books compiled during Qing dynasty]. He wrote a book called Yue Wei Cao Tang
Biji (reference English translation: The Thatched Study of Close Scrutiny)
in which he recorded many fantastic stories he had heard or personally
experienced. One of the stories goes as follows: The emperor sent an officer to the region known today as Taiwan on official
business. On his way to Taiwan he stayed at a hotel. While there one evening, he
saw a gorgeous girl peeking over a wall into the courtyard where he was staying.
Loudly and angrily, he rebuked her and sent servants to search for her, but they
didn't find her. While sleeping at night, Ji Xiaolan was awakened by a sound and a piece of
tile flying onto his pillow. Angry, he shouted, "Being a monster, how dare
you insult the emperor's envoy?" A girl's voice came from outside the window, "You are an official. I
tried to avoid you during the day, but you saw me, scolded and searched for me.
I did not want God to know about this and get blamed. Hence, I was really
worried." "However, when you went to bed, you were thinking that possibly I was
the daughter of the owner of this hotel. You were conceiving a plan to have me
as your second wife. Of course you are not aware that any thought you entertain,
God will know about it. Whenever a person conceives an evil thought, it will
attract the harassment of an evil spirit. Under this circumstance, God will not
blame the evil spirit. Hence, when I threw a tile at you, you really had no
right to be angry." Listening to her explanation, the envoy felt dejected and ashamed. Before day
break, he ordered his servants to pack up and leave. From the above story we can see where such sayings by the ancients as
"God is always watching you" and "When you entertain a thought,
God knows about it" come from. As soon as a person conceives an obscene
thought, God will know about it and will despise the person. It will also be all
right for an evil spirit to harass this person. Thus, one must not say or act in
an obscene way, and must also even avoid entertaining any obscene thoughts. June 25, 2008 Posting date: 7/12/2008 |