LeighAnn Coleman

12/9/16
Buddhism Final
Buddhism and Sexuality
Buddhism is well known for teaching tolerance and compassion, but do those teaching
apply to sexuality? Since Buddhism widely varies from place to place and time period to time
period, there is no defiant answer that covers all of Buddhism. To have a clear answer one must
look at Buddhist countries individually and look at their stances on sex, homosexuality, and what
is acceptable for monks and nuns verse laypeople. One must also look into that countries culture
to understand the reasoning for their stances on these topics.
Before one can look into the different cultures of these counties, one must first
understand certain categories of people when talking about sexuality. Firstly, is monks and nuns.
Monks and nun are people whom have taken vows and follow strict rules in order to gain
enlightenment. One of the vows is to be celibate. Buddha talked about how the social obligations
of being a breadwinner or a housewife can stop one from reaching nirvana (Machacek). The next
one is transgender. Transgender means for one to change their sex. Buddhism is accepting of
transgender people because they do not see it as getting in the way of spiritual enlightenment.
Another category is hermaphrodite. A hermaphrodite is someone who has the genitals and
characteristics of both genders. Hermaphrodites have been barred from being ordained as a monk
or nun because it is believed that they are overly sexually aroused and will tempt both monks and
nuns to break their vows of celibacy. One more is pandaka, which means one without testicles.
This term has been translated literally as someone who has been castrated or metaphorically has
someone who is weak and cowardly. The term is usually used to describe someone who lacks the

characteristic of their gender. While a hermaphrodite has the characteristics of both genders a
pandaka lacks the characteristics of either gender. Due to their lacking characteristics, they are
viewed as non-males. In some countries if a monk or nun breaks their vow of celibacy with a
pandaka it is seen as a lesser offense than if it was with a normal male, other countries have the
exact opposite view. There are five types of male pandakas: the sprayed; one who quenches his
lust by preforming oral sex on other men, the jealous; one who quenches their lust by watching
other engaging in intercourse, the by-a-means; one who ejaculates by a special means, the
fortnight; one who, because of past karma is pandaka(impotent) half of the month, and the nonmale; one who is lacking since conception (Harvey). A female pandaka is a woman who is
sexually attracted to women and has a natural abnormality of the uterus. In the Mahvastu branch
of Buddhism pandakas can be people with deformities such as: hunchbacks, cripples, dwarfs, and
pigmies. Pandakas, like hermaphrodites are also barred from being monks because they are seen
as full of defilement and unquenchable lust (Harvey). Now that these categories have been
clearly defined, lets move on to individual countries view point on sexuality.
In Thailand, the leader of the Thai sangha, Phra Chao translate the barring of pandakas as
also banning homosexuals from becoming monks. A Thai social critic name Sulak Sivaraksa,
argued against that translation. He argued that, Buddha never mentioned sexuality and only said
that we should not use sex harmfully (Harvey). Since Buddhist monks are supposed to be
celibate, Thailands stances on homosexuality is should only affect the laypeople. Thailand has a
very accepting culture when it comes to homosexuality and transgenders, unfortunately, that
accepting cultured mixed with their high prostitution rate has led to an extreme outbreak of
AIDS.

In Burma, sexuality isnt talked about much because monks are held to a higher standard.
The laypeople expect the monks to follow the word of the Vinaya and up hold their vow of
celibacy. Due to the openness of Burmese monasteries it would be very difficult to hide an
intimate relationship. As for their views on the laypeople, they believe sex like anything must be
done in moderation (Walshe).
In Sri Lanka, there are conflicting reports about the sexual nature of Buddhist monks.
Melford Spiro, an American anthropologist, states that while in Sri Lanka he was told the
homosexual relationships between monks, monks and novices, and monks and laymen were not
uncommon in the sangha. Martin Southwold, anthropologist and author, argues against Spiros
claims. He found that Sri Lankan laypeople laughed at the idea that most monks show
homosexual characteristic. The laypeople said that in their experience they noticed that the
monks seem to enjoy the company of women and find them attractive.
As for the Tibetan culture, homosexuality is highly discouraged except for a group of
irregular monks known as IDab idobs. IDab idobs are monks that do not fit in with regular
monastic life, but do not want to lose the security that comes with being a monk. These monks
have been known to engage in homosexual activities with young monks and abducted lay youth.
To prevent themselves from being expelled they follow Buddha rule of no penetration sex.
Though they are seen as bad monks they are still respected by the laypeople for their good works
in the community. They are also not seen as the worst monks. Tibet highly values honesty so any
monk who lies and try to hide any form of sexual activity is viewed as an awful monk.
Next is China. Chinese culture has had a profound effect on the view of sexuality. In the
beginning, as long as it didnt interfere with social obligations the laypeople were allowed to
engage in homosexual intercourse. It was not uncommon for wealth men to have male lovers

along with a wife to fulfill his social obligations of continuing his family lineage. As time went
on, China turned to a communist country, thus its openness to sexuality has declined and is now
viewed as pointless and in poor taste.
Early Chinese influence had a vast impact on how Japanese culture viewed sexuality.
Japanese Buddhism highly encouraged sexual activities, both heterosexual and homosexual.
They taught that sexual activities could be used as a way of achieving enlightenment for both
monks and laypeople. There were schools where monks would engage in sexually activities with
novice monks to help them reach nirvana. As time moved on some people opposed the teaching
and said that the monks that engaged in homosexual activities were going to hell.
Lastly, is the USA. Due to Americas rather liberal culture and a strong influence from
Japan, Buddhism there is very accepting of peoples sexuality. Their view on it is that it doesnt
matter because ultimately one should be trying to transcend their desires, to become enlightened.
Western Buddhism has worked hard in the community to help spread knowledge about AIDS
and teach tolerance of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities.
In conclusion, monks and nuns are supposed to be celibate in all countries, except for
early Japan. As for Buddhisms stance on sexuality for the lay people that varies from place to
place. Thailand, early China, Japan, and the USA are accepting of homosexuality. Burma, Sri
Lanka, Tibet, and modern China oppose intimate relationship with member of the same sex.

Work Cited
Harvey, Peter. An introduction to Buddhist ethics: foundations, values, and issues.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge U Press, 2000. Print.
Machacek, David W., and Melissa M. Wilcox. Sexuality and the world's religions. Santa
Barbara, Cailf.: ABC-CLIO, 2003. Print.
Walshe, M. O'C. "Buddhism and Sex." Access To Insight. N.p., 2006. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.