Fred Shapiro's "Penis"

[Laurence Horn]

At 9:03 PM -0400 8/10/02, Bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:
>    From FOOD IN TIBETAN LIFE (London: Prospect Books, 1985) by Rining Dorje,
>pg. 42:
>
>    There is an old proverb that goes _mengul shi, jengul lang_.  It means:
>"when one plays with fire, it dies out; when one plays with one's penis, it
>rises up".  This might be told to a youngster by an older person, but more
>often, it would be a comment by an adult.  However, it is not something that
>a mother would say in the family circle, as it would not be considered proper
>to talk like this.  But, if a child needed a warning, almost anybody might
>say it.  Roughly it means it is better to play with anything instead of fire.
>
Sounds to me more like advice to play with fire.  Hmmm.

Larry