Di Renjie was a native of Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, in the era of the Tang Dynasty. As a youth, he had fair and flawless skin, a handsome and spirited appearance, and a gorgeous face. Such a “charming” appearance once captivated a beautiful young woman. Fortunately, Di’s earnest persuasion and wise counsel, using a simple method once taught to him, managed to eliminate her lustful thoughts, thus preventing future serious mistakes.
This well-known historical story begins with Di traveling to the capital to sit for an exam. He chose to stay overnight at an inn. As he was studying that night, a beautiful young woman secretly entered his room to meet him. The young woman happened to be the innkeeper’s wife. Feeling lonely after her husband’s recent death, she was captivated by Di’s charm during the day and had come to seek comfort from him.
After listening to her, Di remained unmoved by her attempts to seduce him and responded with compassion, stating: “Seeing your charming and seductive manner reminds me of the words an old monk once told me.”
The young woman was shocked at his statement. She timidly asked him: “What do you mean by that?” Seeing her genuine inquiry, Di took the opportunity to counsel her. “When I was studying in a monastery, an old monk once read my fortune. He said: ‘Based on your appearance, you will have great success in the future, but you must be especially cautious not to violate the precept against lust due to greed for beauty.’ I then asked him if beauty is irresistible to people and difficult to control. Is there a method to extinguish desire?”
The old monk’s remedy for lustful thoughts
The old monk kindly advised me: “I will teach you a good method. People have lustful thoughts for each other due to their greed for the other’s beauty. Suppose you try to imagine that beautiful body as suddenly struck by a serious illness, lying on the bed weak and emaciated, with messy hair, sunken eyes, and a terrifying appearance like a ghost. Or imagine that beautiful body as being bedridden for a long time, near death, with convulsions, becoming repulsive, making it unbearable to look at. Furthermore, imagine after death, the body decays and becomes putrid, with maggots in the mouth, nose, eyes, and ears. The once charming and beautiful body suddenly becomes a disfigured mess of bones and flesh gnawed by insects. At this point, I believe you will immediately extinguish the fiery, lustful thoughts, making them as cold as ice and no longer of interest.”
Di said: “I admire and follow the teachings of the old monk, and I dare not forget them. When I first saw you, I was also very fond of your charming figure and alluring demeanor, and I almost couldn’t control myself. But then I immediately remembered the teaching of the old monk, imagining you as if you were dying, about to die, or already dead, and that extinguished my lustful thoughts, making my heart as cold as ashes, never to reignite. I understand that you intended to remain faithful to your husband for life, but due to my appearance, you couldn’t control yourself and came to satisfy your lustful desires. If you could also think of me as the old monk taught, what is there for you to desire?”
At this point, the young woman found his words reasonable and stood silently, pondering his method. Suddenly, tears of gratitude flowed from her eyes as she knelt before Di and expressed her profound thanks. She vowed to remain faithful to her husband for life and never again struggle with uncontrollable lustful desires. With a heart full of admiration, she departed.
Later, this woman’s steadfast adherence to her marital vows earned her recognition from the court and praise from the people. Di went on to assist in stabilizing the Tang Dynasty and became a renowned statesman, ultimately honored as the Duke of Liang during the reign of Emperor Ruizong of Tang.
