We should try to be conscious of these standards of cleanliness. If we touch something, drink something, and want to
chant on our beads, we should first wash our hands. We should never touch something as sacred as our beads with unclean hands. We should also always bathe after becoming contaminated, such as after evacuation. Sometimes that may be difficult, but such situations should be rare.
Lectures from a disciple Vol 1, Pg 352, 2nd paragraph.