印光老人曰。节欲一事。其理甚深。其关系甚大。其话甚不易说。夫天生男女。圣人法
天立则。令男女居室。以为人伦之最大者。以上关风化。下承宗祧。岂为人日图快乐。
而常以欲事为事乎。贪欲之人。其精薄而无力。如 种不能生芽。故难生。即生。多多
皆未成人而夭。即幸而不夭。亦必单弱柔懦。无大树立。若能保养精神。节欲半年。待
其妇天癸行后。择良宵吉期。相与一交。决定受孕。从此永断欲事。则所生之子。不但
性行贞良。欲念轻薄。而且体质庞浓。无诸胎毒痘疹疾病等患。天癸即经水也。经水
尽后方受孕。余时多不受孕。经水未尽断。不可交。交则妇即受病成带。勿望受孕矣。
人之大伦之事。岂可恶日恶时而行。故须择良宵也。礼记月令篇。记圣王于仲春。先
雷三日。奋木铎以令兆民曰。雷将发声。有不戒其容止者。生子不备。必有凶灾。奋木
铎以令兆民者。令地方官声铎以告百姓也。容止。犹言动静。不戒容止。谓行房事也。
生子不备。即五官不全等。世每有生子。或异人类。或形体缺损。皆坐此故。必有凶灾。
言其父母。尚有凶祸灾殃。如恶病。夭寿等。不止生子不备也。古圣王重民生。故特注
意其事。奋木铎以告之。不但震雷当忌。即大风大雨。恶星值日。及天时交节（五月。十
一月。乃阴阳相争之节。一有走泄。损伤最重。古云。此两月内。有因犯色欲。而夫妇三
年内双亡者。故色欲不节。四时皆伤人。惟夏至及冬至之前半月。后半月。尤必绝欲。）佛
耶诞期。（一岁之中。有断宜斋戒之日。盖神明降鉴之期。宜存敬畏。不可笑为迂拘。世人
不知禁忌。将房事应戒之日。恣意触犯。小则致疾。大则伤生。每见少年之人。精神强旺
。忽遭急症而死。并有夫妻并亡。生产妖异者。大率由此。与其追悔而莫挽。何如遵戒以自
新。惜命之士。幸谨守焉。戒期详载寿康实鉴。宜请阅。）皆所当忌。（余若祖先生辰忌日
。暨夫妇本命生日。亦宜谨戒。）此宝尊天敬圣。遵王制而敦人伦之大道。惜世人概
不肯出诸口。俾其子子孙孙。体质一代劣于一代。或者少年早夭。或由欲事过度。虽
不早夭。竟成衰残。无大树立。多半皆乃父乃母不知人伦之道之所致也。乃父乃母
之不知。由于乃祖乃妣之无教也。子女成人时。当以节欲保身等委曲开导。父教女
不便。母则无妨。能如此。方为真爱子女。而世之爱者。多皆任其纵欲。则其害更有甚
于杀子女者。可不哀哉。圣人重胎教。于此致意。乃未胎而预教也。予滥厕僧伦。何得
论夫妇房室之事。一以出家之前。曾阅过古人敦本至论。欲以馈知己而报护法之
恩。一以佛为大医王。无病不疗。光为佛弟子。亦欲随分随力而行医道。此病乃举世
间人之通病大病。若通病大病。任其发生滋长。而去详治别病小病。岂非轻重倒置
乎。邓伯诚亦欲求子。光答书亦略述此意。湖南一儒士姓刘忘其名。娶妻不与相亲。
妻谓曰娶妻原为生子。汝不相亲。则宗支断绝矣。遂亲一次。即生子。因名传支。即绝
欲。妻又谓曰。一子独立。孤无倚靠。曷若再生一子。又亲一次。复生一子。名再支。二子
皆入翰院。其人一生。止行两次房事。而又详述房事忌日。并清心寡欲。保元育神之
事。载于家乘。冀子孙世守焉。湖南友为予言之。欲求贵子。舍是而求。纵得之。亦属侥
幸。根据是而求。求则得之矣。
印光法师说：节制欲望这一件事，其中的道理非常深奥，其关系也非常重大，其中的话很难说清楚。上天生成男和女，圣人效法天道建立准则，让男女婚配居住，作为人伦中最大的事。这上关乎社会风气教化，下关乎宗庙祭祀的继承，难道是让人每天图谋快乐，而常常把房事当作正事吗？贪恋欲望的人，他们的精气稀薄且无力，就像种子不能发芽一样，所以难以受孕；即使受孕了，大多也未能成年就夭折；即使侥幸没有夭折，也必然单薄虚弱、柔弱懦弱，无法成就大事业。如果能够保养精神，节制欲望半年，等到妻子月经来潮后，选择良辰吉时，与之交合一次，必定能够受孕。从此永远断绝房事，那么所生的孩子，不但性情品行端正善良，欲念淡薄，而且体质强壮浓厚，没有各种胎毒、痘疹等疾病隐患。“天癸”就是经水（月经）。在经水完全干净后才受孕，其他时候大多不受孕。经血没有完全断绝时，不可行房，行房则妇女就会生病形成带下病，不要指望能受孕了。人之常伦大事，怎么能厌恶某些日子或时辰而行房呢？所以必须选择良辰吉时。《礼记·月令》篇记载，圣王在仲春时节，在雷声响起前三天，摇动木舌铜铃向百姓宣告说：“雷声即将发声，有不谨慎自己言行举止的人，生下的孩子会有缺陷，必定有凶灾。”摇动木舌铜铃向百姓宣告，是命令地方官员摇铃告知百姓。“容止”，犹言动静，“不戒容止”指行房事。“生子不备”即五官不全等。世间常有生下孩子，有的不像人类，有的形体缺损，都是因为这个缘故。“必有凶灾”，是说他们的父母还会有凶祸灾殃，如恶病、短命等，不仅仅是孩子有缺陷而已。古代圣王重视民生，所以特别注意这件事，摇动木舌铜铃告诫他们。不但打雷时要忌讳，就是大风大雨、恶星值日以及天时交接节气的时候（五月、十一月，是阴阳相争的节气，一旦精气外泄，损伤最重。古语说，这两个月内，有因犯色欲而导致夫妇三年内双双亡故的。所以色欲如果不加节制，四季都伤人，尤其是夏至和冬至的前半月和后半月，尤其必须禁欲。）佛诞期和耶诞期。（一年之中，有应当斋戒的日子，因为这是神明降临监察的时期，应当心存敬畏，不可笑其为迂腐拘泥。世人不知道禁忌，将应当戒除房事的日子肆意触犯，轻则致病，重则伤命。常见年轻人精神强旺，忽然遭遇急症而死，并有夫妻双双亡故、生产怪异之物的，大率都是由此引起。与其事后追悔莫及，何如遵守戒律以自我更新。爱惜生命的人，希望谨慎遵守。戒期详细记载在《寿康实鉴》中，宜请查阅。）这些都是应当忌讳的。（其余如祖先生辰忌日，以及夫妇各自的本命生日，也应当谨慎戒除。）这是尊重上天、敬奉圣贤、遵循王制并敦厚人伦的大道。可惜世人都不肯把这些话说出来，致使子孙后代的体质一代比一代差，或者少年早夭，或者由于房事过度，虽然不早夭，竟成为衰残之人，无法成就大事业，多半都是由于父亲母亲不懂人伦之道所造成的。父亲母亲之所以不懂，是由于祖父母辈没有教导。子女成年时，应当把节欲保身等道理委婉地开导他们。父亲教导女儿不便，母亲教导则无妨。能做到这样，才是真正爱子女。而世上所谓的爱，多是任由他们放纵欲望，那危害更有甚于杀害子女的，难道不可悲吗？圣人重视胎教，对此很用心思，这是在胎儿未成形之前就预先教育。我混迹于僧侣行列，怎么敢谈论夫妇房室之事？一是因为在出家之前，曾阅读过古人关于敦本培元的至理名言，想要以此馈赠知己以报答护法之恩；二是因为佛是大医王，无病不疗，我是佛弟子，也想随分随力地行医道。这种病乃是举世间人的通病大病，如果是通病大病，任其发生滋长，而去详细治疗别的病小病，岂不是轻重倒置吗？邓伯诚也想求子，我在回信中也曾略述此意。湖南有一位姓刘的儒生，忘了他的名字，娶妻后不与妻子亲近。妻子对他说：“娶妻原本是为了生子，你不亲近，那么宗族支脉就要断绝了。”于是亲近了一次，就生了儿子，因此取名“传支”。之后便断绝了房事。妻子又说：“一个儿子独立存在，孤单没有依靠，不如再生一个儿子。”又亲近了一次，又生了一个儿子，取名“再支”。两个儿子都进入了翰林院。这个人一生，只行了两次房事，并且详细列出了房事忌讳的日子，以及清心寡欲、保全元气养育精神的事，记载在家谱中，希望子孙世代遵守。湖南的朋友告诉我，想要求得优秀的儿子，舍去这个方法去求，即使得到了，也属于侥幸。根据这个方法来求，求就能得到了。
Master Yin Guang said: The matter of restraining desires is profound in principle, significant in consequence, and difficult to explain. Heaven created males and females, and sages modeled their laws after heaven, allowing men and women to marry and cohabit as the greatest aspect of human relations. This concerns social customs above and the continuation of ancestral sacrifices below. Is it for people to seek daily pleasure and make sexual intercourse their primary concern? Those greedy for desire have thin and weak essence, like seeds that cannot sprout; thus, conception is difficult. Even if conception occurs, most children die before reaching adulthood. Even if they survive, they are likely to be frail, weak, and cowardly, unable to achieve great things. If one can preserve spirit and restrain desires for half a year, waiting until the wife's Tian Gui (menstrual blood) has flowed, then choosing an auspicious night and date to engage in intercourse once, conception will surely occur. From then on, permanently abstaining from sexual activity ensures that the born child will not only have virtuous character and light desires but also a robust constitution, free from fetal toxins, smallpox, measles, and other diseases. "Tian Gui" refers to menstrual blood. Conception should only occur after menstruation has completely ceased; otherwise, pregnancy is unlikely. Intercourse during incomplete cessation of menstrual blood causes the woman to contract leukorrhea disease, making pregnancy impossible. Human ethical duties should not be performed on days or times one dislikes; hence, one must choose auspicious times. The *Book of Rites · Monthly Ordinances* records that in mid-spring, three days before thunder sounds, kings shook wooden-tongued bells to announce to the people: "Thunder is about to sound. Those who do not guard their conduct will bear defective children and face disaster." Shaking the bell meant instructing local officials to warn the populace. "Conduct" refers to movement and stillness; "not guarding conduct" means engaging in sexual intercourse. "Defective children" refers to incomplete facial features. It is common to see children born with non-human traits or physical defects due to this reason. "Must face disaster" implies that parents may suffer misfortune, such as severe illness or premature death, not just that the child is defective. Ancient sage kings valued people's lives and paid special attention to this matter, warning them via the bell. One must avoid intercourse during thunderstorms, heavy winds and rain, when malefic stars are dominant, and at seasonal transitions (May and November are periods of yin-yang conflict; leakage of essence causes severe damage. Ancient saying: some couples died within three years due to sexual indulgence in these two months. Thus, unrestrained desire harms in all seasons, especially the fifteen days before and after Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice, when abstinence is strictly required.) Also, Buddhist and Christian feast days. (There are specific days in the year suitable for fasting and abstinence, as deities inspect the world. One should maintain reverence and not dismiss this as pedantic. Ignorant people violate these prohibitions, leading to minor illnesses or major loss of life. Young people with strong spirits suddenly dying of acute conditions, or couples dying together, or giving birth to abnormalities, are mostly caused by this. Rather than regretting afterwards, why not observe precepts to renew oneself? Those who cherish life should observe these carefully. Detailed dates are in *Shou Kang Shi Jian*; please consult it.) All these are taboo. (Also, ancestors' birthdays and death anniversaries, as well as spouses' natal birthdays, should be observed with caution.) This is the great way of respecting heaven, honoring sages, following royal regulations, and strengthening human ethics. Alas, worldly people rarely speak of this, causing descendants' constitutions to deteriorate generation by generation, resulting in early death or chronic debility due to excessive sexual activity. This is largely due to parents' ignorance of ethical principles, stemming from grandparents' lack of instruction. When children come of age, parents should gently guide them on restraining desires and preserving health. Fathers teaching daughters is inappropriate, but mothers can do so. Only then is it true love for children. Worldly "love" often allows indulgence, which is more harmful than killing one's children—how tragic! Sages emphasized prenatal education, teaching before conception. I, a monk, dare not discuss marital sex. However, having read ancient treatises on fundamental preservation before ordination, I wish to share this with friends to repay benefactors. Moreover, Buddha is the Great Physician who cures all diseases. As a disciple, I wish to practice medicine according to my capacity. This malady is universal and severe among humanity. If we ignore such widespread, serious diseases while focusing on minor ones, is this not putting the cart before the horse? Deng Bocheng sought offspring, and I briefly explained this in my reply. A Confucian scholar named Liu in Hunan (name forgotten) did not approach his wife after marriage. She said, "Marriage is for procreation. If you do not approach me, our lineage will end." They engaged in intercourse once, resulting in a son named "Chuan Zhi" (Transmit Lineage). He then abstained. His wife said, "One son alone is lonely and unsupported. Better to have another." They engaged again, resulting in a second son named "Zai Zhi" (Re-transmit Lineage). Both sons entered the Hanlin Academy. This man had sexual intercourse only twice in his life. He detailed taboo days for intercourse and methods for clearing the mind, reducing desires, preserving yuan qi, and nourishing spirit, recording these in his family genealogy for descendants to follow. A friend from Hunan told me this. To seek noble offspring, abandoning this method for others yields only luck. Following this method guarantees success.