Homosexuality

[bgruagach]

Originally Posted by Flame

I heard a gay dude say that gay men are more likely to have maritial affairs, because "men are dongs," he said.

Is that true?

If you were forced by family, friends, and society in general to marry someone even though you were not at all attracted to them, do you think you'd do a good job at restraining yourself from acting on your genuine desires?

[Vajradhara]

Namaste Flame,

thank you for the post.

Originally Posted by Flame

Kaldayen,

I dont wish to argue anything.

your actions tend to belie your words, it would seem.

The truth of what I said is already obvious, and you already know it.

ah.. the claim to be able to read anothers mind.. i really like these... ok.. what am i thinking right now? how about now? now? or now? hmm... perhaps, you should take your mind reading crystal ball back to the shop for a little tune up.

whilst you may feel as if your religious view is not only true, but Truth, this is not a belief that others share as such, it generally tends to facilitate conversation if forum members try to keep their mind reading abilities in check.

If you ever lied, or broke any of God's Commandments, you're already condemned and guilty.

or... you are more of a James type of Christian, eh?

You need a Savior,

agreed. fortunatley for Kal, the saviour lies within

[Paladin]

Originally Posted by Vajradhara

agreed. fortunatley for Kal, the saviour lies within

Simply brilliant.

[truthseeker]

My, My, My. Flame was on Fire. Looks like a crash and burn.

[Kaldayen]

"We're doomed!" -C3P0

Thanks for the inspiring sentence, Vajradhara.
___
Kal

[Faithfulservant]

Just a quick thought.. I believe that most of society's problem with homosexuality is a religious belief issue.. whether it be from a Christian or the child of a Christian or the grandchild of a Christian.. or great grandchild of a Christian..

[Vajradhara]

thank you for the kind words

[truthseeker]

I think the disgust with homosexuality is definately a religious issue. The people who have a problem with it may not be religious, but in regard to politics and society, the system that is founded on religious foundation in which the values reject homosexuality (if I phrased all this right), the people have a hard time excepting it.

Vajradhara,
Does Buddhism have a problem with homosexuality?

[Vajradhara]

Namaste Truthseeker,

thank you for the post.

Originally Posted by truthseeker

Vajradhara,
Does Buddhism have a problem with homosexuality?

good question.

actually, this question has two answers from the Buddhist point of view, depending if one is a monk or nun or laiety.

let's step into the "way back" machine for just a moment and journey to the time of Buddha in India.

at this point in Indian history, homosexuality, per se, wasn't a big deal at all. in point of fact, homosexuals were considered the third gender in India and had their own pronoun and so forth.

the Buddhist view, then, of homosexuals, themselves, is the same as it is for any other sentient being.

within the context of the monastics, sexual activity of any kind is not permitted (though i understand that there are some orders which don't adhere to this), thus homosexual activity would be grounds for being expelled from the monestary or nunnery. if a being were a monk or nun and also homosexual, they would have no particular issue within the monastic setting provided that there was no sexual activity... the same is true for heterosexuals as well... sexual activity is grounds for being expelled from the monestary or nunnery.

within the context of the laiety, however, homosexuality isn't condemned or hardly even discussed. the Precept that the laiety follow in this regard simply enjoins one to refrain from sexual misconduct. in this case, it is generally meant to indicate the type of sexual encounter that takes place outside the confines of a comitted relationship. Buddhism isn't down on sex, per se, it is rather down on promiscuity, however. so... homosexuals in a comitted relationship engaging in sexual activity is of no import to Buddhism.. it is when sexual misconduct enters the scene that Buddhism teaches against.

it has recently come to my attention that some individual Buddhist teachers are expressing their disapproval of the homosexual lifestyle. it is my view that this is more of an expression of their cultural norms more than anything else and finds little, if any, basis within the Sutras.