Does Buddhism address Homosexuality? Is it prohibited?
From this below source… for what it’s worth…
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_budd.htm
“Apparently, the Buddha did not leave any teachings on homosexual orientation or homosexual behavior. He strongly encouraged his followers to “be a lamp onto yourself” – to examine and test the truth of religious teachings before accepting them.”
Oddly enough, if you decided to become a monk and accept The Buddha’s monastic code, homosexual activity would not automatically get you kicked out of the Order… however, (heterosexual) intercourse on the other hand would get you automatically expelled.
The Monastic Code does not apply to lay followers, though.
From the Wikipedia article on the Dalai Lama:
Sexuality
In his view, oral, manual and anal sex (both homosexual and heterosexual) is not acceptable in Buddhism or for Buddhists, but society otherwise should tolerate gays and lesbians.[56] He explains in his book Beyond Dogma: “homosexuality, whether it is between men or between women, is not improper in itself. What is improper is the use of organs already defined as inappropriate for sexual contact”. In 1997 he explained that the basis of that teaching was unknown to him and that he at least had some “willingness to consider the possibility that some of the teachings may be specific to a particular cultural and historic context”.[57] In a 1994 interview with OUT Magazine, the Dalai Lama explained “If someone comes to me and asks whether homosexuality is okay or not, I will ask ‘What is your companion’s opinion?’. If you both agree, then I think I would say ‘if two males or two females voluntarily agree to have mutual satisfaction without further implication of harming others, then it is okay’”.[58] He has said that sex spelt fleeting satisfaction and trouble later, while chastity offered a better life and “more, independence, more freedom” [59] He says that problems arising from conjugal life could even lead to suicide or murder.
It’s not really feasible to map eastern religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, etc., to the moral codes of western religion. It’s usually going to come down to something like “Well, as long as you’re not hurting anybody … but, really, your soul will be better off if you refrain from worldly pleasures.”
Can you expand on this? It doesn’t seem to wash with Dalai. Are you thinking of a ‘technicality’ the like of which Pres. Clinton used to support his ‘non-sexual’ relationship with Ms. Lewinsky? or is there actually verbiage in the code that says, “Man on Woman=Bad; Man on Man=shortcut to enlightenment”
Just my WAG: I think that sexual contact with a woman is probably explicitly barred, which leaves wiggle room for homosexual conduct.
he he he … wiggle
^One more reason why I consider him to be one of the wisest religious leaders today. No throwbacks to thousand year laws, no pointless citation of culture or tradition. Just a simple explanation 
Edit: Meant to say that my arrow was pointing to Le Ministre’s post
But that’s a bit of problem, isn’t it? If “oral, manual and anal sex” are banned for any two people then that makes sex forbidden between any two consenting gays, doesn’t it? I’m glad he feels they can be together and, I gather, kiss and cuddle to their hearts’ content, but that still gives them the short end of the deal.
No blowjobs or masturbation isn’t exactly a walk in the park for heteros, either. Looks like he’s coming from the “sex only for procreation” attitude. I always wonder, with those types, if masturbation for the purpose of artificial insemination is better or worse than sex for the purpose of natural insemination. I mean, at least with artificial insemination, there’s no chance of a second person accidentally enjoying themselves.
Re: Does Buddhism address Homosexuality?
If it does, it’s probably something like
Homosexuality
General Delivery
San Francisco, CA 94101
I’m going to hell, aren’t I?
Come visit me - just up from the Lethe; don’t forget!
Perhaps, but “let’s not kill all the gays” isn’t exactly setting the bar very high, is it?
I don’t know enough with specific texts to comment, other than the bit said here, but I do know where to tell you to look with good solid backing:Jeffrey Hopkins is a recently retired Professor of Tibetan Studies, and for 10 years was HH The Dalai Lama’s translator. He has done great work in translating Buddhist texts for the West. And, he’s also a gay man.
He wrote Sex, Orgasm, and the Mind of Clear Light: The 64 Acts of Gay Male Love" in 1998, and I remember it being a big stir in the Buddhist community, for such an acclaimed scholar to come out with that manual. I haven’t read it, but, would trust it entirely as being informed by a thorough knowledge of Buddhist texts, and a good grasp of those texts being interpreted for modern Western minds.
As someone else said about Judaism in another thread, there is no Buddhist Pope, not even the Dalai Lama. I know of Buddhist sects or offshoots that are very conservative about sexuality–culturally at least, if not in terms of scripture; at least one (eg Falun Gong) is virulantly anti-gay.
Ok, yes, what Miller said (post 11).
But it does sound like frot & tribadism would be rules-lawyerable…
Yeah, screw that.
For what it’s worth, homosexuality was said to be widespread in Japanese temples. Homosexuality in Japan - Wikipedia
The thing is, Buddhism at its core isn’t supposed to be dogmatic. It’s not about a deity coming down and handing some prophet a neat set of arbitrary rules. The prohibitions about sex exist because buddhist philosophy identifies passions and desire as the root cause of suffering. Sex is dangerous because of its association with desire. Unbridled quest for and dependance on sensual pleasure is the taboo. Procreation has strictly nothing to do with it.
There are some Buddhist writers who embraced sexuality, for example the famous monk Ikkyu, penned the following poem (among others):
I’ve never heard of Buddhism addressing homosexuality, although admittedly I’m not a Buddhist. I can tell you that while it’s widely tolerated here, the more conservative of the Thais still get all squicky about it. Public displays of affection between anyone, hetero OR gay, is widely frowned upon.
It’s only a problem if you’re looking to Buddhism for an absolute set of rules that say “okay” on this side and “not okay” on that side. It’s not what Buddhism is about. And asking someone like the Dalai Lama isn’t what it’s about either. He can only offer you advice. It’s up to you to take it or not.
No, he’s coming from the “all pleasure will ultimately be regretted” attitude.
I doubt very much that a Buddhist lama spends much of his time considering questions like this. If you were to ask him, he’d probably try to give you an answer, but he’s likely to say something like “You’re better off eliminating your desire for anything, including sex and children.” That’s ultimately what Buddhism is about.
The joke would be on you. Buddhism doesn’t really care what you do.