法苑珠林 69.9

69.9

As the Samantapāsādikā states: When a woman is about to conceive, the monthly flower water emerges. 'Flower water' is a name for blood. When she is about to conceive, a mass of blood forms at the place of the fetal womb, which bursts naturally after seven days and flows out from there. If the flow of blood does not cease, the male semen does not remain, but flows out together with it. If it has completely flowed out, the male semen returns to that place, and thereafter the fetus is formed. Therefore, after the blood is exhausted and the male semen is able to remain, there is immediately conception. Furthermore, a woman conceives through seven circumstances: first, mutual contact; second, taking garments; third, emission of semen; fourth, stroking with the hand; fifth, seeing forms; sixth, hearing sounds; seventh, smelling fragrance. Question: What is meant by conceiving through mutual contact? Answer: When a woman's monthly flow arises and she takes delight in a man, if the man touches her body with his body, lustful attachment arises immediately and she conceives. Question: What is meant by conceiving through taking garments? Answer: As when Udāyin and his wife left the household life, their sensual desires did not cease and they questioned each other; when lustful semen stained the garment, the nun took and licked it, and further took and placed it inside her organ, whereupon she conceived. Question: What is meant by conceiving through emission of semen? Answer: As when the doe-mother smelled the semen of a practitioner of the Way, drank it with a mind of desire, and consequently conceived and gave birth to the doe-child practitioner of the Way. Question: What is meant by conceiving through stroking with the hand? Answer: As when the parents of the Bodhisattva Śyāma were both blind, and Śakra, knowing this from afar, descended to their abode; because the couple had both left the household life for the Way and would not engage in sexual intercourse, he stroked below the navel with his hand, whereupon she conceived and gave birth to Śyāma. Question: What is meant by conceiving through seeing forms? Answer: There was a woman whose monthly flower water had formed, but unable to unite with a man, her lustful desire became extremely intense and she only gazed at a man; like palace women who are also like this, she immediately conceived. Question: What is meant by conceiving through hearing sounds? Answer: Like egrets, which are all female without males: when the spring season arrives, the yang qi begins to spread, and thunder first sounds; the female egret single-mindedly hears the sound and immediately conceives. Hens also, upon hearing the sound of a rooster, can likewise conceive. Question: What is meant by conceiving through smelling fragrance? Answer: As the Qin cow-mother merely smelled the scent of a bull calf and likewise became pregnant with a calf.