Homosexuality and Buddhism

Lesbian Satori does not pretend to be an expert on the religion of Buddhism. Although we dislike generalizations, we believe it's safe to say that Buddhism is not as hung up on sex as Western Christianity. Sex in and of itself is neither good nor bad. The puritanical belief that sex is intrinsically bad or evil is not present in Buddhism. There is no such thing as original sin. There is no such thing as an omnipotent god waiting to strike us with lightening for our transgressions. For the lay Buddhist, sexual relationships based on mutual respect and genuine care for another is in accordance with Buddhist principles. An attachment to any behavior that harms others is not acceptable. Sexual exploitation, rape, molestation, deceit, or coercion is not proper conduct according to Buddhist beliefs. It is not proper conduct for the lay Buddhist, and certainly improper for monks and nuns. Doing harm to others and taking what is not freely given are taken seriously in Buddhism. The Five Precepts of ethical behavior are discussed below.

The reader should be aware that Buddhist monks and nuns traditionally are expected to refrain from all sexual activity and take vows of celibacy while in the monastic community or sangha. No sex applies to any type of sexual activity. The monastic life is more rigid. Unlike Western Christianity, sex in and of itself is not considered impure or evil. The issue is not sex itself. Rather, powerful cravings and desires are a hindrance to enlightenment and nirvana. Sexual lust is a very powerful force and emotion. Suffering is caused by greed, lust, and attachments. In order to be free of attachment and gain enlightenment, it is necessary to identify and overcome the obstacles to renunciation and detachment.

As it relates to homosexuality, an article entitled Buddhism and Homosexuality says it best:

"A sexual act motivated by love, mutuality and the desire to give and share would be judged positive no matter what the gender of the two persons involved. Therefore, homosexuality as such is not considered immoral in Buddhism or against the third precept, although this is not always understood in traditional Buddhist countries.

If a homosexual avoids the sensuality and licence of the so-called 'gay scene' and enters into a loving relationship with another person, there is no reason why he or she cannot be a sincere practising Buddhist and enjoy all the blessings of the Buddhist life."

Source: Buddhism and Homosexuality

Buddha Net is a respected online source of insight and information on Buddhism. An article entitled, Buddhism Sexual Ethics states:

"Like all religions, Buddhism takes a strong ethical stand in human affairs and sexual behaviour in particular. The most common formulation of Buddhist ethics are the five precepts:

I undertake the training precept of:

1. Refraining from harming living beings/practising loving kindness
2. Refraining from taking the non-given/practising generosity
3. Refraining from committing sexual misconduct/practising contentment
4. Refraining from false speech/practising truthful communication
5. Refraining from intoxicants/practising mindfulness.

These precepts take the form of voluntary, personal undertakings. They are not commandments; there is no god in Buddhism, so none to issue any.

The precepts express basic principles rather than fixed, legalistic rules that any one action falls inside or outside of. Like any non-fundamentalist ethical system, Buddhism provides us with general guiding principles while in no way relieving us of the obligation to make appropriate moral judgements in each morally significant situation we come across. Moral judgement is never a question of blindly applying a rule.

The five precepts constitute an integrated set - each precept supports the others. To know what 'sexual misconduct' means you look at the other precepts. 'Sexual misconduct', in the spirit of the precepts as a job lot, means any sexual conduct involving violence, manipulation or deceit - conduct that therefore leads to suffering and trouble. By contrast good sexual conduct is based on loving kindness, generosity, honesty, and mental and emotional clarity - conduct that has good results.

The third precept about sexual misconduct is strictly superfluous - if in our sexual lives we act non-violently, do not take what is not freely given, do not deceive and do not act out of delusive and irresponsible mindstates, we cannot fall foul of the third precept anyway. Buddhism's very tough sexual ethic would be complete without the third precept. It's really there for the sake of emphasis. Sexuality is a very strong energy, the focus of many cravings, vanities and delusions. It calls for its very own precept! If we have a propensity to make fools of ourselves, to act stupidly and destructively - and we all do have this propensity - then we are likely to manifest it in our sex lives. On the other hand, each of us also has the opposite propensity to act out of friendliness, generosity and wisdom."

Source: Buddhism Sexual Ethics

Another insightful article entitled Buddhism and Homosexuality states:

"The third of the five precepts refers to sexual behaviour. In the Theravada tradition of Buddhism, with which I am most familiar, the third precept is perhaps more precisely rendered as "I undertake the rule of training not to go the wrong way for sexual pleasure". What then would constitute "going the wrong way" and would this include homosexual acts? To determine this, we need to consider the criteria which Buddhists are advised to use in making ethical judgements. From the Buddha's discourses, there can be discerned three bases on which we can make judgements about our behaviour:

- We should consider the consequences of our actions, their effects on ourselves and others.

- We should consider how we would feel if others did the same thing to us.

- We should consider whether the behaviour is instrumental to our goal of Nirvana.

Using these criteria, Buddhist commentators have usually construed sexual misconduct to include rape, sexual harassment, molestation of children, and unfaithfulness to one's spouse. Clearly, these manifestations of sexual misconduct can apply equally to homosexual and heterosexual behaviour. The third precept is not a blanket prohibition, nor a simplistic depiction of some behaviours as wrong and other behaviours as right.

In fact, Buddhist ethics have been described as utilitarian, in that they are concerned less with "good" and "evil" and more with whether an action is "skillful", ie conducive to a good end in relation to the criteria mentioned above and whether it is motivated by good intentions based upon generosity, love and understanding."

Source: Buddhism And Homosexuality