1 (1)
Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus: “Bhikkhus!”
“Venerable sir!” those bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One said this:
“Bhikkhus, I do not see even one other form that so obsesses the mind17 of a man as the form of a woman. The form of a woman obsesses the mind of a man.”
2 (2)
“Bhikkhus, I do not see even one other sound that so obsesses the mind of a man as the sound of a woman. The sound of a woman obsesses the mind of a man.”
3 (3)
“Bhikkhus, I do not see even one other odor that so obsesses the mind of a man as the odor of a woman. The odor of a woman obsesses the mind of a man.”18 [2]
4 (4)
“Bhikkhus, I do not see even one other taste that so obsesses the mind of a man as the taste of a woman. The taste of a woman obsesses the mind of a man.”19
“Bhikkhus, I do not see even one other touch that so obsesses the mind of a man as the touch of a woman. The touch of a woman obsesses the mind of a man.”20
6 (6)21
“Bhikkhus, I do not see even one other form that so obsesses the mind of a woman as the form of a man. The form of a man obsesses the mind of a woman.”
7 (7)
“Bhikkhus, I do not see even one other sound that so obsesses the mind of a woman as the sound of a man. The sound of a man obsesses the mind of a woman.”
8 (8)
“Bhikkhus, I do not see even one other odor that so obsesses the mind of a woman as the odor of a man. The odor of a man obsesses the mind of a woman.”
9 (9)
“Bhikkhus, I do not see even one other taste that so obsesses the mind of a woman as the taste of a man. The taste of a man obsesses the mind of a woman.”
10 (10)
“Bhikkhus, I do not see even one other touch that so obsesses the mind of a woman as the touch of a man. The touch of a man obsesses the mind of a woman.” [3]
17 Here and elsewhere I render the Pāli idiom cittaṃ pariyādāya tiṭṭhati simply as “[it] obsesses the mind.” Literally, it would be rendered “having overcome the mind, [it] remains [there].”
18 Mp: “The bodily odor of a woman is foul (duggandha), but what is intended here is the odor that comes from her body due to ointments, etc.”
19 Mp: “The taste of a woman is the taste of her lips, saliva, etc., and the taste of the porridge and rice, etc., she gives to her husband. Many beings meet disaster after receiving sweets from a woman.”
20 Mp: “Because of the different inclinations and underlying tendencies of beings, the Buddha mentions each of the [five sense objects] such as forms, saying: ‘I do not see anything like this.’ When a man esteems form, the form of a woman obsesses and impedes him—binds, captivates, deludes, and confuses him; but not so the other sense objects such as sounds. So too, sound but not form captivates one who esteems sound, etc. For some people, only one sense object obsesses the mind; for others, two objects—or three, four, or five objects—obsess them. Thus these five suttas are expounded because of the five kinds of esteem [for different sense objects].”
21 Mp: “It is not only men who esteem the five sense objects but women too. Therefore the next five suttas are formulated with women as the subject.”