Buddhism and sexuality

In the Buddha's first discourse, he identifies craving (tanha) as the cause of suffering (dukkha). He then identifies three objects of craving: the craving for existence; the craving for non-existence and the craving for sense pleasures (kama). Kama is identified as one of five hindrances to the attainment of jhana according to the Buddha's teaching. Throughout the Sutta Pitaka the Buddha often compares sexual pleasure to arrows or darts. So in the Kama Sutta from the Sutta Nipata the Buddha explains that craving sexual pleasure is a cause of suffering.

If one, longing for sexual pleasure, achieves it, yes, he's enraptured at heart. The mortal gets what he wants. But if for that person — longing, desiring — the pleasures diminish, he's shattered, as if shot with an arrow.

— Kama Sutta, Sutta Nipata[1]

The Buddha then goes on to say:

So one, always mindful, should avoid sexual desires. Letting them go, he will cross over the flood like one who, having bailed out the boat, has reached the far shore.

The 'flood' refers to the deluge of human suffering. The 'far shore' is nibbana, a state in which there is no sexual desire.

The meaning of the Kama Sutta is that sexual desire, like any habitual sense pleasure, brings suffering. To lay people the Buddha advised that they should at least avoid sexual misconduct which meant following generally accepted norms of sexual morality and behavior. From the Buddha's full-time disciples, the ordained monks and nuns, strict celibacy (called brahmacarya) had always been required.

Overview

Former Vice President of the Buddhist Society and Chairman of the English Sangha Trust, Maurice Walshe, wrote an essay called 'Buddhism and Sex' in which he presented Buddha's essential teaching on human sexuality and its relationship to the goal (nibbana). The third of the five precepts states:

Kamesu micchacara veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami,

The literal meaning of this statement is, "I undertake the course of training in refraining from wrong-doing in respect of sensuality." Walshe comments,

There is, in the Buddhist view, nothing uniquely wicked about sexual offenses or failings. Those inclined to develop a guilt-complex about their sex-life should realize that failure in this respect is neither more, nor, on the other hand, less serious than failure to live up to any other precept. In point of fact, the most difficult precept of all for nearly everybody to live up to is the fourth — to refrain from all forms of wrong speech (which often includes uncharitable comments on other people's real or alleged sexual failings!)...What precisely, then, does the Third Precept imply for the ordinary lay Buddhist? Firstly, in common with all the other precepts, it is a rule of training. It is not a "commandment" from God, the Buddha, or anyone else saying: "Thou shalt not..." There are no such commandments in Buddhism. It is an undertaking by you to yourself, to do your best to observe a certain type of restraint, because you understand that it is a good thing to do. This must be clearly understood. If you don't think it is a good thing to do, you should not undertake it. If you do think it is a good thing to do, but doubt your ability to keep it, you should do your best, and probably, you can get some help and instruction to make it easier. If you feel it is a good thing to attempt to tread the Buddhist path, you may undertake this and the other precepts, with sincerity, in this spirit.[2]

The Buddha's teaching arises out of a wish for others to be free from dukkha. According to the doctrine he taught, freedom from suffering involves freedom from sexual desires and the training (Pali: sikkha) to get rid of the craving involves to a great extent abstaining from those desires. This is based on the understanding that indulging in such desires perpetuates the underlying craving.

In Theravada

Theravada uses the suttas as a reference. Bhikkhu Nyanamoli has provided an English Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya 41

“He is given over to misconduct in sexual desires: he has intercourse with such (women) as are protected by the mother, father, (mother and father), brother, sister, relatives, as have a husband, as entail a penalty, and also with those that are garlanded in token of betrothal.”

Here the protector needs to give the permission for the daughter to have sex, usually in lifetime marriage. In the West the father usually gives away the bride which makes the third precept complete. However, eloping would technically break this precept. While marriage is usually the case for the precepts to be upheld, simply getting the consent of the protector would be enough to fulfill this precept's requirements. In modern times this would seem irrelevant, but that is how the original rule was made.[3]

Celibacy and monasticism

Apart from certain schools in Japan and Tibet, most who choose to practice Buddhism as ordained monks and nuns, also choose to live in celibacy.[4]

Sex is seen as a serious monastic transgression. Within Theravada Buddhism there are four principal transgressions which entail expulsion from the monastic Sangha: sex, theft, murder, and falsely boasting of superhuman perfections.[5] Sexual misconduct for monks and nuns includes masturbation.[6] In the case of monasticism, abstaining completely from sex is seen as a necessity in order to reach enlightenment. The Buddha's criticism of a monk who broke his celibate vows—without having disrobed first—is as follows:

"'Worthless man, [sexual intercourse] is unseemly, out of line, unsuitable, and unworthy of a contemplative; improper and not to be done... Haven't I taught the Dhamma in many ways for the sake of dispassion and not for passion; for unfettering and not for fettering; for freedom from clinging and not for clinging? Yet here, while I have taught the Dhamma for dispassion, you set your heart on passion; while I have taught the Dhamma for unfettering, you set your heart on being fettered; while I have taught the Dhamma for freedom from clinging, you set your heart on clinging."

"'Worthless man, haven't I taught the Dhamma in many ways for the fading of passion, the sobering of intoxication, the subduing of thirst, the destruction of attachment, the severing of the round, the ending of craving, dispassion, cessation, unbinding? Haven't I in many ways advocated abandoning sensual pleasures, comprehending sensual perceptions, subduing sensual thirst, destroying sensual thoughts, calming sensual fevers? Worthless man, it would be better that your penis be stuck into the mouth of a poisonous snake than into a woman's vagina. It would be better that your penis be stuck into the mouth of a black viper than into a woman's vagina. It would be better that your penis be stuck into a pit of burning embers, blazing and glowing, than into a woman's vagina. Why is that? For that reason you would undergo death or death-like suffering, but you would not on that account, at the break-up of the body, after death, fall into deprivation, the bad destination, the abyss, hell..."

"'Worthless man, this neither inspires faith in the faithless nor increases the faithful. Rather, it inspires lack of faith in the faithless and wavering in some of the faithful.'" [7]

Lay Buddhism

The most common formulation of Buddhist ethics are the Five Precepts and the Eightfold Path, which say that one should neither be attached to nor crave sensual pleasure. These precepts take the form of voluntary, personal undertakings, not divine mandate or instruction. The third of the Five Precepts is "To refrain from committing sexual misconduct.[8]

Fornication, or sex outside of marriage, is seen as a violation of the Brahmacharya vow from the Five Precepts.


According to the Theravada traditions there are some statements attributed to Gautama Buddha on the nature of sexual misconduct. In Everyman's Ethics, a collection of four specific suttas compiled and translated by Narada Thera, it is said that adultery is one of four evils the wise will never praise.[9] Within the Anguttara Nikaya on his teachings to Cunda the Silversmith this scope of misconduct is described:

"...one has intercourse with those under the protection of father, mother, brother, sister, relatives or clan, or of their religious community; or with those promised to someone else, protected by law, and even with those betrothed with a garland" [10]

This and other teachings within the Pali Canon are important and fundamental guidance for Theravada Buddhists.

Sexual Yoga

According to some Tibetan authorities, the physical practice of sexual yoga is necessary at the highest level for the attainment of Buddhahood.[11] The use of sexual yoga is highly regulated. It is only permitted after years of training.[12] The physical practice of sexual yoga is and has historically been extremely rare.[13] A great majority of Tibetans believe that the only proper practice of tantric texts is metaphorically, not physically, in rituals and during meditative visualizations.[13] The dominant Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism holds that sexual yoga as an actual physical practice is the only way to attain Buddhahood in one lifetime. The founder of the sect Tsongkhapa did not, according to tradition, engage in this practice, but instead attained complete enlightenment at the moment of death, that being according to this school the nearest possible without sexual yoga. The school also taught that they are only appropriate for the most elite practitioners, who had directly realized emptiness and who had unusually strong compassion. The next largest school in Tibet, the Nyingma, holds that this is not necessary to achieve Buddhahood in one lifetime.[14] The fourteenth Dalai Lama of the Gelug sect, holds that the practice should only be done as a visualization.[13]

Homosexuality

Among Buddhists there is a wide diversity of opinion about homosexuality. Buddhism teaches that sensual enjoyment and desire in general, and sexual pleasure in particular, are hindrances to enlightenment, and inferior to the kinds of pleasure (see, e.g. pīti, a Pāli word often translated as "rapture") that are integral to the practice of jhāna.

The Five Precepts of the "Sexual misconduct" is a broad term, subject to interpretation according to followers' social norms. Early Buddhism appears to have been silent regarding homosexual relations.[15] Still, Some Buddhists of Asian background hold prejudices against gay/lesbian or transgender persons, despite no saying that same or opposite gender relations have anything to do with sexual misconduct in the Early Buddhist scriptures and many later Buddhist texts.

According to the Pāli Canon and Āgama (the Early Buddhist scriptures), there is not any saying that same or opposite gender relations have anything to do with sexual misconduct,[16][17] and some Theravada monks express that same-gender relations do not violate the rule to avoid sexual misconduct, which means not having sex with someone underage (thus protected by their parents or guardians), someone betrothed or married and who have taken vows of religious celibacy.[18]

Some later traditions feature restrictions on non-vagina sex, though its situations seem involving coerced sex.[19][20][21] This non-vagina sex view is not based on what Buddha's said, but from some later Abhidharma texts.[22][23]

Conservative Buddhist leaders like Chan master Hsuan Hua have spoken against the act of homosexuality.[24] Some Tibet Buddhist leaders like the 14th Dalai Lama spoke about the restrictions of how to use your sex organ to insert other's body parts based on Je Tsongkhapa's work.[25][26][27] Though the Dalai Lama expressed “the possibility of understanding these precepts in the context of time, culture and society", he doesn't seem to change his view about what constitutes "sexual misconduct" after that.[28][29] the Dalai Lama called for further research and dialogue on this topic, "and concluded by reiterating the fact that, however the notion of sexual misconduct comes to be defined, it can never be used to justify discrimination against sexual minorities."[28]

Other prominent Buddhists diverge from this position. The Bhutanese lama Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche has argued that sexual orientation is irrelevant to Buddhist concerns about sexuality, explaining that culture is to blame for homophobia.[30]

The situation is different for monastics. For them, the Vinaya (code of monastic discipline) bans all sexual activity, but does so in purely physiological terms, making no moral distinctions among the many possible forms of intercourse.[31]

Regarding transsexual people, the earliest texts mention the possibility of a person supernaturally changing sexes; such a person is not barred from ordination, and if already ordained, simply changes orders.[32]

Western Buddhism

Western Buddhism is often relatively gay-friendly,[33] often carrying these views prior to their conversion to Buddhism, and the interpretation of what is sexual misconduct is an individual decision and not subject to judgment by any central authority. A notion of accepting all peoples while rejecting certain types of sexual acts is more predominant.[34]

When applying Buddhist philosophy to the question of homosexuality, Western Buddhists often emphasize the importance the Buddha placed on tolerance, compassion, and seeking answers within one's mind.[34]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kama Sutta, Sutta Nipata 4.1
  2. ↑ "Buddhism and Sex". Accesstoinsight.org. 2012-12-01. Retrieved 2013-09-14.
  3. ↑ "Theravada Buddhism and Sex: The Third Precept on Sexual Misconduct - American Monk: Bhante Subhūti". americanmonk.org. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  4. ↑ Saddhatissa, Hammalawa (December 1987). Buddhist Ethics: The Path to Nirvana. Wisdom Pubns; New Ed edition. p. 88. ISBN 0-86171-053-3.
  5. ↑ Lopez, Donald S. Critical Terms for the Study of Buddhism. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 2005
  6. ↑ Olson, Carl. The Different Paths of Buddhism: A Narrative-Historical Introduction. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. 2005
  7. ↑ "Introduction". The Buddhist Monastic Code I: The Patimokkha Training Rules Translated and Explained. Access to Insight. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  8. ↑ Higgins, Winton. "Buddhist Sexual Ethics". BuddhaNet Magazine. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
  9. ↑ Thera, Narada. "Everyman's Ethics Four Discourses of the Buddha" (PDF). Buddhist Publication Society. Retrieved 2010-04-16.
  10. ↑ Thanissaro Bhikkhu. "Cunda Kammaraputta Sutta". Access to Insight. Retrieved 2010-04-16.
  11. ↑ Routledge Encyclopedia of Buddhism, page 781
  12. ↑ An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics: Foundations, Values and Issues - Peter Harvey - Google Boeken. Books.google.com. 2000-06-22. Retrieved 2013-09-14.
  13. 1 2 3 The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama - Thomas Laird - Google Boeken. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2013-09-14.
  14. ↑ Routledge Encyclopedia of Buddhism, page 781; the briefer statement in this article by Powers should be understood in the light of his fuller statement in his book Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, Snow Lion, 1995, pages 252f
  15. ↑ James William Coleman, The New Buddhism: The Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition. Oxford University Press 2002, page 146.
  16. ↑ "Cunda Kammaraputta Sutta" [To Cunda the Silversmith]. Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight. 1997. AN 10.176. Retrieved 2011-03-14. Abandoning sensual misconduct, he abstains from sensual misconduct. He does not get sexually involved with those who are protected by their mothers, their fathers, their brothers, their sisters, their relatives, or their Dhamma; those with husbands, those who entail punishments, or even those crowned with flowers by another man
  17. ↑ 優婆塞經(Upāsaka Sutra from Madhyam āgama):復次，舍梨子！白衣聖弟子離邪婬、斷邪婬，彼或有父所護，或母所護，或父母所護，或兄弟所護，或姉妹所護，或婦父母所護，或親親所護，或同姓所護，或為他婦女，有鞭罰恐怖，及有名雇債至華鬘親，不犯如是女。彼於邪淫淨除其心，白衣聖弟子善護行，此第三法
  18. ↑
    • Ajahn Punnadhammo. "Same Sex Marriage". The lay man is told to abstain from sex with "unsuitable partners" defined as girls under age, women betrothed or married and women who have taken vows of religious celibacy. This is clear, sound advice and seems to suggest that sexual misconduct is that which would disrupt existing family or love relationships. This is consonant with the general Buddhist principle that that which causes suffering for oneself or others is unethical behaviour. ("Unskillful behaviour" would be closer to the original.) There is no good reason to assume that homosexual relations which do not violate this principle should be treated differently.
    • Somdet Phra Buddhaghosacariya (1993). Uposatha Sila The Eight-Precept Observance. There are four factors of the third precept (kamesu micchacara)
    1. agamaniya vatthu — that which should not be visited (the 20 groups of women).
    2. asmim sevana-cittam — the intention to have intercourse with anyone included in the above-mentioned groups.
    3. sevanap-payogo — the effort at sexual intercourse.
    4. maggena maggappatipatti — sexual contact through that adhivasanam effort.
    • Bhikkhu Bodhi (1981). Going for Refuge & Taking the Precepts (The Five Precepts). Buddhist Publication Society.
  19. ↑ harvey, peter (2000). An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics. Cambridge University Press. pp. 421-. ISBN 9780511800801.
  20. ↑ Huifeng. "Re: Gay Marriage: What Would Buddha Do?". Dharma Wheel. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  21. ↑ 《Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom》（Sanskrit: Mahā-prajñāpāramitā-śāstra; 中文: 大智度論）卷13：非道之處，則非女根，女心不樂，強以非理，故名邪婬。（The wrong orifice is not through the female organ, the lady does not like this, and so forcing it [upon her] is inappropriate, therefore it is said to be "sexual misconduct）
  22. ↑ Thubten Chodron. Dealing With Life’s Issues (PDF). The Pali scriptures make no mention of homosexuality being unwise sexual conduct. For monastics, all sexual intercourse is a root downfall. It doesn't specify the gender of one's partner. Vasubandhu, a teacher who came several centuries after the Buddha, discouraged homosexuality. Personally speaking, I think what's most important is the motivation behind how we use our sexuality. In other words, if people use their sexuality unkindly or unwisely, it doesn't matter if it is directed to someone of their own sex or the opposite sex.
  23. ↑ José Ignacio Cabezón. "Thinking through Texts: Toward a Critical Buddhist Theology of Sexuality". Retrieved 17 February 2017. Now the obvious historical question then becomes this: If the early doctrine of sexual misconduct is so simple and elegant, when and why did it get so complex and restrictive – that is, when do we find the transition to “organ/orifice mode”? The answer to the “when” question is simple. We don’t find any examples of the more elaborate formulation of sexual misconduct before the third century CE.
  24. ↑ Prebish, Charles: The Faces of Buddhism in America, page 255. University of California Press, 1998.
  25. ↑ "Even with your wife, using one's mouth or the other hole is sexual misconduct. Using one's hand, that is sexual misconduct". (Dalai Lama, at a meeting with lesbian and gay Buddhists, June 11, 1997). Reported widely, including in: Dalai Lama Speaks on Gay Sex – He says it's wrong for Buddhists but not for society. By Don Lattin, Chronicle Religion Writer, Tuesday, June 11, 1997, San Francisco Chronicle. Text online
  26. ↑ Dalai Lama urges "respect, compassion, and full human rights for all", including gays, by Dennis Conkin, Bay Area Reporter, June 19, 1997. Text online
  27. ↑ Dalai Lama says 'oral and anal sex' not acceptable, Jack Nichols, May 13, 1997. Text online
  28. 1 2 Thinking through Texts: Toward a Critical Buddhist Theology of Sexuality by José Ignacio Cabezón, Public Lecture, Naropa University, September 23, 2008
  29. ↑ The Huffington Post, 07/13/09, Gay Marriage: What Would Buddha Do?, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-shaheen/gay-marriage-what-would-b_b_230855.html
  30. ↑ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche about Homosexuality and Buddhism Public Speech, uploaded January 2015
  31. ↑ George E. Haggerty, Gay histories and cultures: an encyclopedia. Taylor and Francis 2000, pages 146–147.
  32. ↑ Peter Harvey, An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics. Cambridge University Press, 2000, page 412.
  33. ↑ "Buddhism and homosexuality". Religioustolerance.org. Retrieved 2013-09-14.
  34. 1 2 "BuddhaNet Magazine Article: Buddhist Sexual Ethics". Buddhanet.net. Retrieved 2013-09-14.
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