Buddhism and sexual orientation
In the earliest texts, the word seems to refer to a socially stigmatized class of trans-feminine and/or cross-dressing people, some of whom may have been sex workers.
[16][17] Some modern commentators interpret the word ubhatovyanjañaka as including those who are not physically intersex, but display behavioral and psychological characteristics of both sexes, such as a woman who is attracted to other women.
Ananda — Buddha's cousin and disciple — was said to be a paṇḍaka in one of his many previous lives, as was the Buddhist nun Isidāsī (from the Therigatha).
In the Samantapasadika, a work of the 5th century CE Theravadin commentator and scholar Buddhaghosa, paṇḍaka are described as being filled with defiling passions (ussanakilesa), unquenchable lusts (avapasantaparilaha) and are dominated by their libido (parilahavegabhibhuta).
[24] The 4th century Mahayana Buddhist writers Vasubandhu and Asanga contend that the paṇḍaka has no discipline for spiritual practice, due to their defiling passions of both male and female sexes.
Asanga, like Vasubandhu, refuses the pandaka recognition as a layman on the grounds that such persons are unfit to associate with or serve the Sangha.
A position similar to Asanga view was also featured in the Lotus Sutra, where sangha members were advised to avoid the paṇḍaka.
Peter Jackson, the scholar of sexual politics and Buddhism in Thailand, speculates that the Buddha was initially reluctant to allow women to join the sangha for this reason.
Jackson explains: Buddhism, the middle path, has always been concerned with the maintenance of social order and since the Buddha's time the sangha has never claimed to provide a universal vehicle for the spiritual liberation of all individuals in society, explicitly excluding those who are considered to reflect badly on the monkhood in terms of prevailing social norms and attitudes.
[34][35] In the Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom (Sanskrit: Mahā-prajñāpāramitā-śāstra), the Madhyamaka scholar Nagarjuna mentioned the non-vagina sex restriction as based on coerced action toward one's own spouse.
[38] The 13th-century Tibetan monk Gyalwa Yang Gönpa, who was one of the significant figures in the early Drukpa Kagyu sect,[39] writes about ma ning as a balanced state between maleness and femaleness.
[40] Most Mahayana teachings assert that all beings who correctly practice the dharma may reach enlightenment, since all possess innate Buddha nature.
Historically, Gampopa (12th century), one of the main early masters of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, followed the Indian Buddhist tradition, starting with the 3rd-century Hinayana texts of Vasubandhu, and stated that oral and anal sex, whether with a man or a woman, are violations of the third precept regarding inappropriate sexual behavior.
"[47][44][48] The Dalai Lama cited the Indian Buddhist texts of Vasubandhu, Asanga, and Ashvaghosha as his sources concerning what constitutes inappropriate sexual behavior.
[57][58] Several writers have noted the strong historical tradition of open bisexuality and homosexuality among male Buddhist institutions in Japan.
Western Christian travellers to Japan from the 16th century have noted (with distaste) the prevalence and acceptance of forms of homosexuality among Japanese Buddhists[62]—Jesuit priest Francis Cabral wrote in 1596 that "abominations of the flesh" and "vicious habits" were "regarded in Japan as quite honourable; men of standing entrust their sons to the bonzes to be instructed in such things, and at the same time to serve their lust".
[63] A 17th-century Japanese Buddhist scholar, Kitamura Kigin (北村季吟,きたむら きぎん), wrote that Buddha explained the pursuit of homosexuality over heterosexuality among priests: It has been the nature of men's hearts to take pleasure in a beautiful woman since the age of male and female gods, but to become intoxicated by the blossom of a handsome youth... would seem to be both wrong and unusual.
Nevertheless, the Buddha preached that [Mount] Imose[64] was a place to be avoided and the priests of the law entered this Way[65] as an outlet for their feelings, since their hearts were, after all, made of neither stone nor wood.
— Wild Azaleas (1676)A later Japanese legend attributed the introduction of monastic homosexuality to Japan to Shingon founder Kukai, although scholars now dismiss the veracity of this assertion, pointing out his strict adherence to the Vinaya.
"[70] An example of an older view in opposition to homosexuality is given by the traditional master, Hsuan Hua, an important figure for Buddhism in both China and the United States.
Master Hsuan Hua stated that homosexuality "plants the seeds that lead to rebirth in the lower realms of existence".
[71] In his commentary on the Sutra of Forty-two Chapters, he described homosexuality as behavior caused by confusion, as the product of sexual desires.
[73][74][75][76] In contrast to Buddhism in Asia, modern Buddhism in the Western world (European Union, United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) is typically associated with a concern for social equality—partly as a result of its largely middle-class intellectual membership base, and its philosophical roots in freethought and secular humanism.
LGBT people such as Issan Dorsey,[78] Caitriona Reed,[79] Pat Enkyo O'Hara[80] and Soeng Hyang[81] have been ordained as Buddhist monastics and clergy.
A more anachronistic assessment comes from the western scholar Alexander Berzin, The texts in Buddhist traditions have been written from the point of view of a heterosexual male.
We need to explore the intention of the teachings on sexual misconduct, which ultimately is to eliminate attachment, obsessive desire, and dissatisfaction.
[82][83] The Shambhala Meditation Center of New York hosts a weekly practice group, Queer Dharma, specifically catering to the needs of the LGBTQ Buddhist community.
"[86][87] The U.S. branch of Soka Gakkai International, a Japan-based new religious movement (Japanese new religion) influenced by Nichiren Buddhism, announced in 1995 that they would start holding wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples,[88] and in 2001 established a conference for LGBTQ members and their supporters.
[89] A Buddhist temple in Salt Lake City connected with Jodo Shinshu, another Japanese school of Buddhism, also holds religious rites for same-sex couples.
Applying this philosophy, we see that social customs are not fixed laws but evolving conventions that serve a purpose in a particular culture and time.
