Beauty's harm destroys the heart

The title of that book is Beauty's harm destroys the heart. A passage reads:

' Sexual lust is the primary evil. A sage should be very careful about it, and not do anything against principle, even for one moment. He should resist and prevent sexual passion from arising as if protecting himself from the harm of a tiger. Thus, his virtue can become firm in purpose, through which he can protect himself. One should be wary of the arising of disgrace and scandal that would cause the loss of both fortune and honor. Upon seeing a beautiful woman, one's thought arises even though one may not commit any actions. Nevertheless, since one's thought has already arisen, one's spirit will also move. As one's spirit moves, one's heart will be disturbed. Caution! Caution!'

' As for the form of beauty, everyone loves it. It is like a beautiful object that everyone envies. Therefore, sexual passion is difficult to cut off. Along with an arising thought, one's heart moves. When one's heart is out of control, one can barely protect oneself. Even if the timing is not right to physically indulge, one's heart has already become disturbed. If the opportunity ripens, one loses virtue, and the body is in danger.'

' To prevent the harm of sexual passion, one should first restrict one's heart, not allowing it to go lax. One should take caution to prevent one's thought from arising. One should realize that when one's eyes act like a thief, and one's ears act like a robber, one's thought arises. When the thief and robber invade the internal arena, one's body and heart will lose control. Thus internally, one should guard one's heart; externally, one should take extra caution to guard one's ears and eyes. When one's ears and eyes no longer function to steal external objects, one's will and heart will become determined. If one's mind is virtuous, then devious thoughts will no longer arise.'

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