How do gay Buddhists explain this one?

General discussion, particularly exploring the Dharma in the modern world.
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catmoon
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Re: How do gay Buddhists explain this one?

Post by catmoon »

treehuggingoctopus wrote:
gregkavarnos wrote:Shouldn't there be a clause in the ToS about racism, homophobia, etc...?
Seconded. Very much so.
underthetree wrote:
gregkavarnos wrote:Shouldn't there be a clause in the ToS about racism, homophobia, etc...?
Thirded. The offensiveness of the opinions on this and other recent threads are matched only by their incoherence, and I suspect that, were they more coherent, they'd be much more offensive.
Fourthed. And I think we can take the departed Tobes as a fifth in absentia.

However, there are reasons those items do not appear in the ToS. I'm sure those responsible for their absence will be happy to explain those reasons to you.
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Re: How do gay Buddhists explain this one?

Post by Norwegian »

How about common sense?

I reported this post a day ago, when it was made. Post still stands as is.

Is hatespeech allowed on Dharma Wheel? If it is, please tell us. It'd be less confusing that way.
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Re: How do gay Buddhists explain this one?

Post by Yudron »

I missed the "dirt" comment before, Greg, thanks for pointing that out.

Instead of removing his posts, I'd prefer they would be moved and prominently displayed in the Dzogchen forum -- where he usually posts -- so that everyone can know who they are dealing with.
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Re: How do gay Buddhists explain this one?

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Thread closed for temporary clean-up. (apologies for the slow response.)

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greentara
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Re: How do gay Buddhists explain this one?

Post by greentara »

It's not only the brahmins who have a hand in this. The Dalai Lama has repeatedly maintained that homosexual acts are a violation against the precepts. At the same time, he insists on compassion and full human rights for all. His stance is solely concerned with what is appropriate behaviour for a Buddhist practitioner, not what should be made law. His argument is that the sexual organs are designed for procreation and should be used solely for that purpose. So any form of sex that is not for procreation is out.
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Lhug-Pa
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Re: How do gay Buddhists explain this one?

Post by Lhug-Pa »

It's not that dramatic guys. I mean it's not like I've hurled insults at anybody or used pejoratives or anything like that. So we agree to disagree. Is that alright?

Anyway, in reply to Greentara:

"Procreation" can also refer to the creation of the Illusory Body: Karmamudra
Last edited by Lhug-Pa on Sun Sep 30, 2012 5:15 am, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: How do gay Buddhists explain this one?

Post by Adumbra »

The deeper question here is how should Buddhism be defined? By what the Buddha allegedly said, or by what has actually been practiced for over 2000 years? Is sexual continance of any kind necessary? What about monks like Ikkyu who regularly visited the local whorehouse?

With an quasi-open cannon, there are many practices which can be either condemned or condoned (vegetarianism comes to mind.) While I'm not aware of any scripture that says 'Yeah, go ahead an screw members of your own sex', homosexuality, especially pederasty, has been a common practice for centuries in Buddhist monastaries throughout Asia and, unlike Catholicism which turned a blind eye to a practice which was definitely considered sinful, it was often practiced very openly as an acceptable form of sexual release for monks who couldn't get married.

Here's an interesting article: Homosexuality in Japanese Buddhist Tradition.
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Re: How do gay Buddhists explain this one?

Post by Yudron »

greentara wrote:It's not only the brahmins who have a hand in this. The Dalai Lama has repeatedly maintained that homosexual acts are a violation against the precepts. At the same time, he insists on compassion and full human rights for all. His stance is solely concerned with what is appropriate behaviour for a Buddhist practitioner, not what should be made law. His argument is that the sexual organs are designed for procreation and should be used solely for that purpose. So any form of sex that is not for procreation is out.
First of all, taking the five genyen vows is not mandatory--it is something one elects to do.

Secondly, people should follow the explanation of their preceptor about what the vows mean. My preceptor, a great monk and scholar, made it very clear what we as lay people should regard as sexual misconduct. That did not include renouncing all oral and anal sex, or masturbation, and certainly not all recreational sex. I think few contemporary lay vow holders (of any sexual preference) understood it that way when they decided to take that vow.
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Re: How do gay Buddhists explain this one?

Post by Kunzang »

Lhug-Pa wrote:It's not that dramatic guys. I mean it's not like I've hurled insults at anybody or used pejoratives or anything like that.
Your dramatic lack of self-awareness and insight into how intensely hurtful the things you've said, in this thread alone (not to mention the other similar things you've said elsewhere), is as astonishing as it is sad.
Critics slap labels on you and then expect you to talk inside their terms. - Doris Lessing
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Lhug-Pa
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Re: How do gay Buddhists explain this one?

Post by Lhug-Pa »

Lhug-Pa wrote:So we agree to disagree. Is that alright?
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Re: How do gay Buddhists explain this one?

Post by Kunzang »

Lhug-Pa wrote:
Lhug-Pa wrote:So we agree to disagree. Is that alright?
Nope. Not when it comes to hate.
Critics slap labels on you and then expect you to talk inside their terms. - Doris Lessing
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Re: How do gay Buddhists explain this one?

Post by Namgyal »

Adumbra wrote: homosexuality, especially pederasty, has been a common practice for centuries in Buddhist monastaries throughout Asia and, unlike Catholicism which turned a blind eye to a practice which was definitely considered sinful, it was often practiced very openly as an acceptable form of sexual release for monks who couldn't get married.

Here's an interesting article: Homosexuality in Japanese Buddhist Tradition.
Homosexuality for lay Buddhists is one thing, but for oath-bound celibate monastics it is quite another. To suggest that it is openly acceptable for monks is completely incorrect. The problem is that your argument is based on a source that is not even remotely credible.
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Lhug-Pa
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Re: How do gay Buddhists explain this one?

Post by Lhug-Pa »

Kunzang wrote:Nope. Not when it comes to hate.
Is H.H. the Dalai Lama's saying that homosexual acts are forbidden "hate"?

(By the way, he never retracted his statement, he only said he would consider revising his view if he ever found evidence which contradicts his statement)
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Re: How do gay Buddhists explain this one?

Post by Yudron »

Lhug-Pa wrote:
Kunzang wrote:Nope. Not when it comes to hate.
Is H.H. the Dalai Lama's saying that homosexual acts are forbidden "hate"?

(By the way, he never retracted his statement, he only said he would consider revising his view if he ever found evidence which contradicts his statement)
So no oral sex for you, Lhugpa?
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Re: How do gay Buddhists explain this one?

Post by Kunzang »

Lhug-Pa wrote:
Kunzang wrote:Nope. Not when it comes to hate.
Is H.H. the Dalai Lama's saying that homosexual acts are forbidden "hate"?

(By the way, he never retracted his statement, he only said he would consider revising his view if he ever found evidence which contradicts his statement)
No. I don't think so. I think his statements are understandable from his conservative position with regards the rigid definitions of the Mulasarvastivadin Vinaya and the way changes in vinaya take place. I don't think they are coming from a place of hate at all. I think his statements have been widely misunderstood.

Personally, I hope you, Lhug-pa, aren't actually coming from a place of hatred and contempt from your heart the way some of your posts appear and I want to believe the best in you, so I'll elaborate on your question. And this also ties in with OP's original question about the Upasika Sutra.

The way I understand it, is that he was talking about specific definitions of the layperson ordination with regards to the precept on "sexual misconduct". And he was discussing how he or other vow-conferrers can't unilaterally change definitions of those vows -- it takes a whole assembly of the sangha to vote on it. That's what that was about. My own main Nyingma teacher, a monk, also talked about it in this way when I came out to him 25 years ago. So, technically speaking, as a layperson, you can't in the Mulasarvastivadin tradition hold the precept against "sexual misconduct" if you are, as they say, a "practicing homosexual".

However, in the Mulasarvastivadin tradition, you can still be considered a layperson without taking all five precepts. As far as I understand, you only have to hold one (and that one has to be the first one against non-killing) to hold the layperson vow (which is also then necessary for the bodhisattva vow, which is also necessary for the vajrayana samayas).

My teachers, all of them, have stressed loving-kindness and compassion and the cultivation of bodhicitta as so much more important than this one technical definition of the layperson precepts. I first took refuge 25 years ago. My teachers have always been encouraging and helpful with regards to my relationship, even though my husband isn't a Buddhist though he has always shown great respect for Buddhism and my teachers. We had our 26th anniversary this past Tuesday, Sept. 25.

So, I know the traditional specific defintions about "sexual misconduct" in texts like the Upasika Sutra and other similar texts. Even if one considers them authoritative, it doesn't matter. That's not how Buddhism works. It's not like if you have one "flaw", you can't practice everything else not related to that one "flaw" or it won't work.
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Grigoris
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Re: How do gay Buddhists explain this one?

Post by Grigoris »

Lhug-Pa wrote:
Kunzang wrote:Nope. Not when it comes to hate.
Is H.H. the Dalai Lama's saying that homosexual acts are forbidden "hate"?

(By the way, he never retracted his statement, he only said he would consider revising his view if he ever found evidence which contradicts his statement)
Don't use the Dalai Lama to justify your hatred. It does nothing to bolster your position. In academic circles it is called an appeal to authority. Why not appeal to your own bodhicitta instead? You deal with your issues (homophobia) and let the Dalai Lama deal with his. In the mean time try applying right speech to your outbursts. Look at your statements and see how you would feel about them if they were directed at things that you may identify with (and even that is not quite enough, since homosexuality cannot be reduced to just a mode of identification). Look at your outbursts and see how you would feel if they were directed to an integral aspect of yourself: your skin colour, your sex, your height, the colour of your eyes, etc...
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Lhug-Pa
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Re: How do gay Buddhists explain this one?

Post by Lhug-Pa »

Yudron, I have done oral sex with women in the past; yet I refrain from doing it now.

Thank you for elaborating Kunzang. I really do not wish to drag this out anymore; so as things currently stand here, I'd rather just leave it as us agreeing to disagree.

Although I do want to point out, Gregkavarnos, that using inapplicable words like "hatred" and referring to my posts as "outbursts" is every bit a logical fallacy as any "appeal to authority".

:anjali:
Last edited by Lhug-Pa on Sun Sep 30, 2012 9:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: How do gay Buddhists explain this one?

Post by Kunzang »

Lhug-Pa wrote:
Thank you for elaborating Kunzang.
:anjali:
You're welcome. I think I can understand where you are coming from.

Upon reflection, I don't think you're intentionally trying to be hateful in your comments, it just comes across that way in numerous places.

You might want to look into that.

Deeply.
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Re: How do gay Buddhists explain this one?

Post by underthetree »

Lhug-Pa wrote:I really do not wish to drag this out anymore; so as things currently stand here, I'd rather just leave it as us agreeing to disagree.
Agreeing to disagree with you would imply that your views had some validity or integrity. They do not. Whatever it is you intend to say, you are communicating a deep and hostile prejudice.
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Re: How do gay Buddhists explain this one?

Post by Lhug-Pa »

Agreeing to disagree means respecting other's right to have their own views, even if you don't think that the other individual's views have any validity or integrity.
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