an.10.45 Aṅguttara Nikāya (Numbered Discourses)

Entering a Royal Harem

“Mendicants, there are ten drawbacks to entering a royal harem.
What ten?
Firstly, a king is sitting with his chief queen
when a monk enters.
When the queen sees the monk she smiles, or when the monk sees the queen he smiles.
So the king thinks:
‘They’ve done it for sure, or they will do it.’
This is the first drawback of entering a royal harem.
Furthermore, a king has many duties, and much to do. He has sex with one of the women but doesn’t remember.
She gets pregnant from that.
So the king thinks:
‘No-one else has entered here, except for that monk.
Could this be the monk’s doing?’
This is the second drawback of entering a royal harem.
Furthermore, a gem is lost somewhere in the royal harem.
So the king thinks:
‘No-one else has entered here, except for that monk.
Could this be the monk’s doing?’
This is the third drawback of entering a royal harem.
Furthermore, secret deliberations in the royal harem are leaked outside.
So the king thinks:
‘No-one else has entered here, except for that monk.
Could this be the monk’s doing?’
This is the fourth drawback of entering a royal harem.
Furthermore, in a royal harem, a father longs for their son, or a son longs for his father.
They think:
‘No-one else has entered here, except for that monk.
Could this be the monk’s doing?’
This is the fifth drawback of entering a royal harem.
Furthermore, the king promotes someone to a higher position.
Those who are upset by this think:
‘The king is close to that monk.
Could this be the monk’s doing?’
This is the sixth drawback of entering a royal harem.
Furthermore, the king demotes someone to a lower position.
Those who are upset by this think:
‘The king is close to that monk.
Could this be the monk’s doing?’
This is the seventh drawback of entering a royal harem.
Furthermore, the king dispatches the army at the wrong time.
Those who are upset by this think:
‘The king is close to that monk.
Could this be the monk’s doing?’
This is the eighth drawback of entering a royal harem.
Furthermore, the king dispatches the army at the right time, but orders it to turn back while still on the road.
Those who are upset by this think:
‘The king is close to that monk.
Could this be the monk’s doing?’
This is the ninth drawback of entering a royal harem.
Furthermore, in the royal harem there is a trampling of elephants, horses, and chariots, as well as arousing sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches that do not befit a monk.
This is the tenth drawback of entering a royal harem.
These are the ten drawbacks of entering a royal harem.”