"Two monks on pilgrimage came to a river bank. There they saw a girl dressed in fine clothes and at a loss to know how to proceed, for the river was high and she did not want her clothes spoilt. Without further ado, one of the monks took her on his back, carried her across and put her down on dry ground. Then the monks continued on their way.
After a while the other monk suddenly burst out: 'Surely it is not right to touch a woman. It is against the commandments to have close contact with women. How can you go against the rules for monks?'. . . and so on in a steady stream. The monk who had carried the girl walked along silently, but finally he remarked: 'I set her down by the river. But you are still carrying her.'"
from 1001 Pearls of Buddhist Wisdom
Selected by the Buddhist Society
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