In some historical Buddhist monastic traditions, particularly in more austere or conservative settings, a teacher’s response to sexual cravings might have been stricter or even harsh by modern standards. While Buddhist teachings generally emphasize compassion and mindfulness, certain schools or teachers could resort to tougher methods to enforce discipline. Here are some of the more brutal or severe ways they might have reacted:
1. Physical Punishment
• Corporal Discipline: In some strict monastic settings, physical punishment or discomfort could have been used to correct behaviour, especially if a student repeatedly gave in to cravings or violated the monastic code. This could include methods like beatings, enforced long hours of manual labour, or periods of isolation.
• Sleep Deprivation or Fasting: A teacher might enforce extreme ascetic practices such as depriving the student of sleep or food as a form of discipline, believing that denying bodily comforts could help weaken the cravings and desires that disrupt spiritual focus.
2. Public Shaming or Humiliation
• Shaming Rituals: In some cases, monks who violated their vows (including celibacy) might be subject to public shaming in front of the monastic community. This could involve forced confessions, wearing special robes or markings to signify their misconduct, or sitting separately from the rest of the community during meals or meditations.
• Expulsion from the Monastery: If the behaviour persisted or was seen as a serious threat to the spiritual integrity of the community, the student might be expelled from the monastery. In a harsh environment, this could mean not only social isolation but being cut off from the resources and protection that the monastic life provided.
3. Harsh Meditation Practices
• Extended Meditation Sessions: A teacher might force a student to endure extremely long, physically punishing meditation sessions without breaks, sometimes in uncomfortable or painful positions. This would be done to force the student to confront and overcome their cravings through sheer endurance.
• Meditation in Graveyards or Cremation Grounds: Some teachers in certain Buddhist traditions (especially in the Vajrayana and ascetic sects) would send monks to meditate in graveyards or cremation grounds to reflect on the impermanence of the body and life. This brutal, fear-based method was meant to shock the student into detachment from worldly desires, including sexual cravings.
4. Extreme Asceticism
• Harsh Self-Denial: The student might be forced into a period of extreme asceticism, where they would deny themselves basic bodily needs, such as food, warmth, or even sleep, for extended periods. This was sometimes thought to weaken bodily desires by pushing the body to its limits.
• Self-Mortification: Although the Buddha rejected extreme self-mortification, some sects or teachers may have adopted similar practices, where students were encouraged to punish their bodies as a way to rid themselves of worldly desires. This could include things like wearing uncomfortable or painful clothing or engaging in difficult physical tasks.
5. Isolation or Solitude
• Solitary Confinement: In certain cases, students who struggled with sexual cravings could be isolated from the rest of the monastic community. They might be sent to meditate in isolation in a remote cave, a secluded part of the monastery, or even in the wilderness, with minimal food or contact with others. This would be done as a way to force them to confront their cravings without any distractions or comfort.
• Extended Silence (Vow of Silence): A teacher could impose a vow of silence for an extended period as a form of self-reflection and penitence, forcing the student to focus entirely on their inner struggles and cutting off any external expression of desire.
6. Threats of Spiritual Consequences
• Fear of Rebirth in Lower Realms: Teachers might use fear-based tactics, warning that succumbing to sexual cravings could lead to rebirth in a lower realm, such as in the animal or hell realms, according to Buddhist cosmology. This spiritual threat could be a form of psychological pressure to force students to control their desires.
• Invoking Karmic Retribution: They might also emphasise that indulgence in sexual cravings would bring severe negative karma, resulting in suffering in this life or future lives. This could be framed in a very harsh way to deter the student from indulging in desires.
While these more severe methods were not the norm across all Buddhist traditions, certain schools or teachers- especially those with a strong emphasis on asceticism and renunciation- may have resorted to such brutal or extreme forms of discipline in an attempt to break a student’s attachment to worldly desires, including sexual cravings.