The Offense of Sexual Misconduct in Three Places

Original text of Section Three of the Upāsaka Five Precepts Sūtra: 若优婆塞与人女。非人女。畜生女。三处行邪淫。犯不可悔。若人男。非人男。畜生男。黄门二根。二处行淫。犯不可悔。若发心欲行淫。未和合者。犯下可悔。若二身和合。止不淫。犯中可悔。若优婆塞。婢使已配嫁有主。于中行邪淫者。犯不可悔。余轻犯如上说。三处者。口处大便小便处。除是三处。余处行欲皆可悔。若优婆塞婢使未配嫁。于中非道行淫者。犯可悔罪。后生受报罪重。

Explanation: If an upāsaka engages in sexual misconduct with a human woman, a non-human woman, or a female animal, in the three places—the mouth, the anus, and the urethra—he commits an irredeemable offense. If an upāsaka engages in sexual acts with a human male, a non-human male, or a male animal, as well as with a pandaka or a hermaphrodite, in the two places—the mouth and the anus—he commits an irredeemable offense. If he forms the intention to engage in sexual acts but has not yet physically united with the other party, he commits a lesser redeemable offense. If the two bodies have united and he stops midway, not continuing the sexual act, he commits a middling redeemable offense. If an upāsaka's maidservant has already been married off and has a spouse, and he engages in sexual misconduct with her, he commits an irredeemable offense. Other minor offenses are as stated above. The three places refer to the mouth, the anus, and the urethra. Apart from these three places, engaging in sexual acts in other places is all redeemable. If an upāsaka's maidservant has not yet been married off, and he engages in sexual acts with her through improper means, he commits a redeemable offense, but the retributive karma in future lives will be heavy.

Committing sexual misconduct in the three places refers to the mouth, the anus, and the urethra. Apart from these three places, engaging in sexual acts in other places can all be eliminated through repentance. If an upāsaka's servant has not yet been married and has no spouse, and he engages in sexual acts with her through improper channels—not in the three places of the mouth, the anus, and the urethra—he commits a redeemable offense, but the retributive offense suffered in future lives is very heavy.

Original text: 若优婆塞有男子僮使人等。共彼行淫二处。犯不可悔罪。余轻犯罪同上说。若优婆塞共淫女行淫。不与直者。犯邪淫。不可悔。与直无犯。若人死乃至畜生死者。身根未坏。共彼行邪淫。女者三处犯。不可悔。轻犯同上说。

Explanation: If an upāsaka engages in sexual acts with his boy servants and hired workers in the two places—the mouth and the anus—he commits an irredeemable offense. Other minor offenses are the same as stated above. If an upāsaka forms the intention to engage in sexual acts but the bodies have not yet united, he commits a lesser redeemable offense. If the bodies have already united in the sexual act and he stops midway, not continuing, he commits a middling redeemable offense.

If an upāsaka engages in sexual acts with a prostitute and afterward does not pay, he commits the offense of sexual misconduct, which is irredeemable. If he pays the prostitute an appropriate price, then paying does not constitute the offense of sexual misconduct. If a human has died, or even an animal has died, and the body's faculties have not yet decayed, and the upāsaka engages in sexual misconduct with the corpse—if it is with the corpse of a human woman or a female animal in the three places, he commits an irredeemable offense. If he forms the intention to engage in sexual acts but the bodies have not yet united, he commits a lesser redeemable offense. If the bodies have already united and he stops midway, not continuing the sexual act, he commits a middling redeemable offense.

The conduct of prostitutes belongs to the category of commercial transactions; their purpose is to earn money and obtain living expenses, not to indulge in sexual desire. Because their physical bodies belong to them personally and are to be managed by them personally, they themselves do not violate the precept against sexual misconduct; a man who engages in sexual acts with them must abide by the rules of the transaction and pay the fee.

However, if such conduct violates public order and good morals, it will also incur moral condemnation in worldly society; if it violates national laws and regulations, it will also be subject to legal sanctions. Modern people live in affluence and have many channels for earning money, so situations of lacking living expenses do not arise; therefore, the prostitution industry is illegitimate and constitutes conduct that violates both the precepts and the law. A definitive conclusion can only be reached by examining the specific intentions of the parties involved as well as the consequences and impact of the conduct.