This thought came to the ascetic, the monk Pārāsariya, as he was seated alone meditating in seclusion:

“Following what procedure, what observance, what conduct, may a person do what they need for themselves, without harming anyone else?

The faculties of human beings can lead to both welfare and harm. Unguarded they lead to harm; guarded they lead to welfare.

By protecting the faculties, taking care of the faculties, I can do what I need for myself without harming anyone else.

If your eye wanders among sights without check, not seeing the danger, you’re not freed from suffering.

If your ear wanders among sounds without check, not seeing the danger, you’re not freed from suffering.

If, not seeing the escape, you indulge in a smell, you’re not freed from suffering, being besotted by smells.

Recollecting the sour, the superbly sweet and the bitter, captivated by craving for taste, you don’t understand the heart.

Recollecting lovely and pleasurable touches, full of desire, you experience many kinds of suffering because of lust.