Buddhism and Sexuality: Restraining Sexual Desires for Enlightenment

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Table of Contents

The Laws of Celibacy
Conclusion
References

These days, the topic of sexual life has stopped being a forbidden matter of discussion, and, gradually, people tend to feel more comfortable about covering this aspect. They are interested in diving deep into this part of their life. This tendency also regards religions, as they predominantly imply strict rules regulating sexuality in order to achieve enlightenment. Buddhism also involves a particular attitude to this aspect of life. It does not stimulate its adherents to stick to austerity and chastity, though it does not approve of overindulgence. This way, the purpose of this paper is to review the Buddhist perspective on sexuality, covering the laws of celibacy, homosexuality, monasticism, and sexual yoga, and prove that it is not restraining in most points.

The Laws of Celibacy

Monastic Lifestyle

First of all, it is worthy to distinguish the lifestyles of both monks and laities. As for Theravada tradition, it includes 277 codes of behavior, which are essential to be stuck to in case an individual has completed vestiture. The major aim of these rules is to regulate the lifestyle of a person, which leads to achieving enlightenment. Monks agree on these regulations under their own volition, and in case they are not capable of following them, they have a possibility to exit the monastic community. It is considered to be more honest to refuse to stick to the aforementioned rules than to be a hypocritical member of the community, who consciously violates the codes. There are four primary regulations of a monastic lifestyle, and their violation is perceived as ‘defeat’ and leads to exclusion from the community. The first code regards the topic of this paper and addresses sexual relations.

Sexual abstinence is the most crucial aspect of a monastic lifestyle. Both homosexual and heterosexual sexual acts are considered to be the breakage of abstinence. Committing such an action, a monk excludes himself from the community. Other scandals of a sexual character, except for sex acts, lead to status decline and require guilt expiation. Monk-students, who contravened the vow of chastity, are not a member of the community. This principle appears to be relevant for Mahayana traditions of Buddhism and female monks, in schools where female communities exist (Langenberg 2015). There is no term ‘a married monk’, though there is the practice of ‘halfmonkhood’ when married teachers maintain their order, which is permitted in some cases. However, this event does not refer to the Theravada school of Buddhism.

Lifestyle of Laities

As for laities, the situation appears to be different to some extent, and they have more permissions in this aspect of life. There are five major rules of Buddhists-laities, and the third of them claims the principle of refraining from misbehavior in respect of sensual enjoyments (Langenberg 1971). There are also adherents, who are determined to follow eight codes, so they regard the third one more strictly. They prefer to stick to the vow of chastity, as is the case with monks. Consequently, these laities, as well as monks, are disciplined and devoted to religion considerably, so their sexuality is restrained significantly.

However, there are people, who are more liberated in this respect. They perceive the third code as a rule of learning, as well as other ones. It is not a commandment, which is heaven-sent, as there are no corresponding instructions in Buddhism. An individual is the only one, who is responsible for following or not following this principle. An adherent attempts to stick to a particular rule not for the reason of one’s will, but for the reason of understanding its benefit for himself or herself (Langenberg 1971). In case a person does not consider a particular rule helpful for him or her, he or she is not obliged to stick to it. In addition, whether a laity has hesitation on his or her moderation and capability to refuse from sex acts totally, he or she should make an effort and receive advice, which may relieve the challenge.

It is also worthy of determining the sphere the third rule is aimed to address. It contains the phrase ‘sensual enjoyments’, which is not restricted by sexuality. The desire to eat delicious food and others are also included in this term. Buddhism involves the thesis about the relationship between the feeling of disappointment in life and desires and preferences. It is essential to take the latter under control in order to minimize the suffering. Although this principle is easy to understand, it appears to be changeling to realize it.

The third code has some connections to the Christian commandment against committing adultery, though there is a significant difference between approaches and intentions of such an instruction. The traditional Christian perspective on this issue admits the possibility of having sex between spouses, and other options do not exist. Even whether this condition is followed, sexual relationships may be considered vicious, unless spouses intend to conceive a child. Other purposes of sex acts should be minimized, and for this reason, Christian tradition does not support using contraceptives. In general, this religion contains a wide range of restrictions, which are difficult to apply to real life. That leads to constant violation of commandments, which also regards sexual context, and people prefer to stick to permissiveness.

From the perspective of Buddhism, both Puritanism and permissiveness are extremities, and the correct approach implies finding the balance between them. Buddhism stimulate people to be conscious of their behavior and make their own choice based on their own reflections. Although Buddhism involves some codes restraining sexuality, compared to other religions, it appears to be more liberal in respect of sexual life. This way, its rules cannot be considered restrictive to a large extent.

The Attitude to Homosexuality

As is evident from the aforementioned, Buddhism appears to be quite understanding concerning sexuality issues, though its position on homosexuality may be exact. The traditions of this confession determine this event as incorrect sexual behavior, and it is proclaimed in Vinaya. As for the Theravada school, the adherent stick to the model described at the beginning of the paper. Vinaya, which is obligatory for monks, contains restrictions of gender presenting features and homosexual desires and actions. The primary five precepts, which laities follow, do not mention homosexual relationships (Gleig 2012). However, the majority of interpretations consider that these codes cover both heterosexuals and homosexuals (Gleig 2012). Despite the fact that this issue causes multiple discussions, adherents tend not to start practicing non-traditional relationships.

Other theories of Buddhism, namely Mahayana and Vajrayana, appear to be radical in this context. In the canonical Lotus Sutra, which underlies the doctrines of Buddhist schools Nichiren and Tendai, a bodhisattva is forbidden to have close relationships with five types of non-men. This list involves passive and active homosexuals, eunuchs, hermaphrodites, and impotent (Gleig 2012). It should be highlighted that such an attitude to homosexualism is common among Buddhist theories, and none of them admit it.

Sexual Yoga

There is a great variety of theories in Buddhism, and Vajrayana is one of them. It implies a tradition within Mantrayana, which is associated with Tantra. It presents an esoteric system, and its main purpose is reaching freedom as a psychological condiion, when an individual does not encounter any frames. This theory involves sexual yoga or tantric sex, which is a range of practices, aimed to exercise sexuality using yoga poses.

According to Tantra, sex may be one of the methods of achieving enlightenment. This perspective involves the perception of sex as a practice of self-perfection, and the partner is depicted as the personification of God. In addition, all the poses are titled yoga asanas. Tantric sex is characterized by the sloth of moves, which supplies the long duration of the act and gradual learning of new and higher energetic conditions, and aestheticization of the enjoyment. Participants are determined to acknowledge each moment in order to perceive the energy, which creates during this process, via their consciousness (Langenberg 2015). Tantric sex does not always include reaching the final point, but focuses on the continuous growth of consciousness.

This way, some theories of Buddhism may accept sexuality, and moreover, sex may be a part of practices aimed to achieve enlightenment. Such an aspect is not common among other confessions, which tend to regulate sexual life more strictly. They perceive it only as a method of conceiving a child and appear to be totally opposed to having sex for other purposes. For this reason, Buddhism may be considered flexible and free to any expression of sexuality and any attitude to it as soon as it is conscious.

Conclusion

As is evident from the information presented above, these are particular restrictions in the context of sexual life in Buddhism. Monks are obliged to refuse from it totally, and the violation of this rule may cause negative consequences and lead to exclusion from the community. Laities are required to follow the vow of charity, as they have a possibility to make a conscious decision in this regard. It is also should be highlighted that the Buddhism perspective implies a radical negative attitude to homosexuality. However, there are significant liberations in this confession, for instance, Mantrayana regards sex as a method of achieving enlightenment. For this reason, this confession may be considered the most flexible in relation to sexual life.

References

Gleig, Ann. “Queering Buddhism or Buddhist De-Queering?: Reflecting on Differences Amongst Western LGBTQI Buddhists and the Limits of Liberal Convert Buddhism.”Theology & Sexuality 18, no. 3 (2012): 198–214. Web.

Langenberg, Amy Paris. “Reading Against the Grain: Female Sexuality in Classical South Asian Buddhism.”Religion (London. 1971) 49, no. 4 (2019): 728–34. Web.

Langenberg, Amy Paris. “Sex and Sexuality in Buddhism: A Tetralemma: Sex and Sexuality in Buddhism.” Religion Compass 9, no. 9 (2015): 277–86. Web.

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