Others see through mortal vanity and refuse to dwell among ordinary folk. They repair to famous mountains to cultivate Dao, seeking longevity through spiritual practice.
They ought to have hearts firm as iron and stone, firmly closing the gates of their monastic seclusion.
Being monks or Daoist priests, they ought to possess minds as unyielding as iron and stone, keeping the gates of their monastic quarters tightly shut, not associating with women.
Yet unexpectedly, they drink wine and eat meat, privately breaking the fasts and abstinences they once observed.
Monks and priests attach great weight to ritual fasting; wine and meat are forbidden. That they should break these observances comes as a surprise, which is hard for people to comprehend.
They indulge in illicit carnal unions, reversing luan and feng, chasing nothing but fleeting earthly gratification.
The phoenix‑like luan and feng birds mate only with their proper counterparts, symbolizing chaste marital fidelity. Yet licentious monks and priests seduce virtuous women, plotting against husbands or eloping with them, engaging in disorderly unions. They pursue nothing but momentary pleasure for their own hearts.
They defile the lotus pond, stirring the wrath of heavenly gods.
The lotus pond within a temple is a place of purity. When monks or priests commit sexual misdeeds there, they pollute this sacred ground. How could the heavenly gods not grow angered?
They are cast into the karmic sea of suffering, doomed to remain submerged for a long time.