Gay & Buddhism

All religions hate us, just accept it.

There are many schools of Buddhism most of which don't hold this belief. My guess is that you're friend is probably involved with one of the branches of Tibetan Buddhism.

ALL organized religion is bullshit.

"His explanations aren't homophobic"

Are you stupid? Yes, they are!

Organised religion is for one purpose; control of people.

Only because you asked OP... He sounds insufferable. I couldn't be friends with someone that off, especially one who told me I suffered an affliction. I would tell him straight away the only affliction I suffered from was him. Daft cunt.

What R4 said. Everything he’s saying is homophobic to the core. What is wrong with you? Just because it’s not couched in talk about Jesus and sin, it’s not homophobic?? He’s saying you don’t really exist!!

Weird how every religion shits on women and gays. Except the Wiccans. I’m not sure about the Satanists.

I've studied in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery. They have no problem with homosexuality among consenting adults.

It's compassion and kindness all the way.

Don't lie cunt

That monk in OP's photo would be hotter without his robe and on my face.

I'm not sure Wikipedia can be used as evidence in any debate credibly.

From my own experience in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Nepal, my teachers informed us (a class of 200) that homosexuality is not a problem.

I'm sorry if this upsets your narrative.

Peace and love to you all.

The 'explanation' is balderdash. No one knows why we're gay, and really it's not important. What's important is acceptance.

His entire "explanation" smacks of patriarchy in that it just goes with age-old talking points instead of listening to modern science on this issue. Only clueless men could be dismissive and privileged enough to do that. More broadly speaking, this "I know better than anyone" attitude is so pervasive and does so much damage, even when we're not talking about religion.

I don’t know any Buddhists who think this way. Souls don’t have sexes so it shouldn’t matter which body and sexuality we choose in this lifetime to help us grow and love. If it wasn’t meant to be then there wouldn’t be so many gay people throughout history.

Aren't Buddhist supposed to be celibate anyway?

Nice try, OP.

"He's" homophobic. Period.

Cherry picking what to believe in a religion to support homophobia is among the worst kinds of bigotry. Same with misogyny, racism, bigotry against the poor and the rest.

Stop trashing the DL. No difference here from someone who's Xtian spouting shit. There's no magic message in much of the many forms of Buddhism. Or anything else. People who don't aim at the best of a sect or faith are not "wise."

Ridiculous. They are also celibate so*

groovy and sexy

I wouldn’t have made it longer than a few seconds of that conversation before I disconnected.

Uh, he's idiotic. Buddhism does not condemn homosexuality in any way. It's not an Abrahamic Religion.

OP, btw, what your friend says sounds no different from what Christians say. The fact that he says it with a smile on his face makes it worse, not better.

There is nothing in Buddhism to say that homosexuality is wrong, but being more of a philosophical system than a religion, it is open enough for people to decide what they think, and your friend is a bigot.

Quakerism is weirdly similar to Buddhism (no one talks about it though) but they are much more specific about accepting everyone as they are.

[quote] Weird how every religion shits on women and gays.

What do women have to do with what he said? He said being gay is an affliction precisely because they have rejected the complement, which is women.

Buddhists are about as likely to condemn homosexuality as they are to perpetrate genocide against an ethnic or religious minority, such as the Rohingias. Oh, wait...

R24, I am Buddhist and I'm from one of those countries that commits those kind of atrocities. Unfortunately, Buddhism mixed with politics is just as deadly as Christianity plus politics. Any organized form of religion is messed up to a large degree. I read a lot of the pali teachings of The Buddha but I try to live my life the best as I can without hurting others. I think religion should be a personal thing, not something you constantly yammer on and on about, especially on social media.

I believe homosexuality is the Nirvana of sexuality and combines both the positive and negative energies more so than heterosexuality does (which tends to be unbalanced).

OP, your friend comes across as stealthily homophobic. This kind of sly thinking destroy young gaylings and fosters self hatred. I see a lot of this down south, where being gay is some sort of lower level we have to evolve through.

I will never get why people don’t understand it. Religions don’t like gay people, no matter what. Even if they say that they do, usually their scripture says otherwise. Bible/Torah/Quran/Whatever-The-Fuck-Hindu-And-Buddhists-Read thumpers are not our friends. Seems like after years of the WBC screaming at us we still can’t seem to get it. Jesus/God/Muhammad/Buddha freaks don’t like us. Just accept it, accept religions are evil and homophobic, and move on.

Ive never heard of Buddhism being homophobic. Weird. But I guess anything could be twisted that way. But I know myself - and many others - take it up because it is so accepting and undogmatic. Seems like the anti-Christianity. Has helped me - and I hate organized religion. Seems like your friend is going through hoops to turn it into something homophobic.

It comes pre-twisted, r29. There is no rational basis for belief in God(s). There has been no evidence presented, faith and revelation are not tools to live our lives by.

Why are gay men (lesbians etc) always the victim of such vitriol and abuse, we, as a group, have never done anything wrong? Now or in the past.

The core of Buddhism says nothing matters in the end. There is no god; there is no common consciousness. Walk the median path to have the most fulfilling life.

PERIOD.

The problem is existing cultures (East Asian and South Asian) took parts of Buddhism and integrated into the existing culture. Op, your friend has twisted Buddhism to fit what he already believes.

Eastern religions has nothing bad to say about homosexuality until the West, especially Britain, took over.

OP, Buddhism doesn’t teach that. Your friend may believe that, but it has nothing to do with Buddhism.

[quote]The core of Buddhism says nothing matters in the end.

Um, no it doesn’t.

R34, Um, yes it does

Buddhism is basically an atheistic religion

Yes, R26, that is why almost all gay LTR eventually turn into "open," or "throuple"

R35, your high school world history class did not provide you with an in depth understanding of Buddhism.

R36 is also wrong. Buddhism is basically polytheistic.

Exactly R36. What I’ve always liked about Buddhism is it is just advice - no God. R30 - I don’t think it was pre-twisted like other organized religions. R31 is right.

[quote] Buddhism is basically polytheistic.

You are mixing up basic Buddhism with the Chinese versions of it

[quote][R35], your high school world history class did not provide you with an in depth understanding of Buddhism.

Um, I didn't go to Reader's Digest High school, apparently your alma mater

Your friend is drinking the koolaid of a cult. Yes, it's a cult. People are born gay, they don't have to work on it, nor can they 'conditioned' to be gay. A straight person can perform 'gay' acts, but he is still straight btw.

All I know is that I want to fuck the hot monk in OP's photo.

The Dalai Lama has stated that he is against homosexuality within Buddhism, but if gentiles want to, go for it. That’s why there are so many closet cases in Boulder, CO.

[quote]All I know is that I want to fuck the hot monk in OP's photo.

How come no one told me monks are this sexy now? Where do I sign up?!

The linked article talks in depth about what the Dalai Lama says about homosexuality. It is a far more complex answer that "He's against it." He says some Buddhist texts are against it but they also have crazy rules for straight sex too--no oral sex; a straight couple can only have sex 5 times, etc. He admits the text reflect the culture at the time.

[R46] Sounds pretty fucked up. Many will think it’s ok because they think Buddhism is cool and exotic.

And what is UP with that guy?

[quote]Deciphering what the Dalai Lama says also requires understanding how Buddhists regard the Precepts. Although they somewhat resemble the Ten Commandments, the Buddhist Precepts are not considered to be universal moral rules to be imposed on everyone. Instead, they are a personal commitment, binding only on those who have chosen to follow the Buddhist path and who have taken vows to keep them.

[quote]So when His Holiness told Larry King," Like Buddhism, there are different kinds of sexual misconduct, so you should follow properly. But then for a non-believer, that is up to them," he's basically saying that there's nothing wrong with homosexual sex unless it violates some religious vow you have taken. And that's what he's been saying all along.

[quote]Other schools of Buddhism -- Zen, for example -- are very accepting of homosexuality, so b a gay Buddhist isn’t necessarily a problem.

[quote]His explanations aren't homophobic and have a lot to say about culture today. He even explains why there are more male homosexuals, which statistically he is right, because of patriarchy and how it all plays out. What do you think?

I think it's kind of you to befriend retards.

[quote]You are mixing up basic Buddhism with the Chinese versions of it

No, even the earliest Buddhist scriptures mention devas and all manner of deities and heavenly beings, many of whom protect practitioners of Buddhism. It has nothing to do with Chinese anything.

Any western person who is Buddhist is just trying to be cool.

The Dalai Lama is an insatiable bottom.

R51, the deities and heavenly beings are not things to be worshipped in Buddhism. They are being that apparently watch over us and protect us. This is embedded right in East Asian culture and didn't arise out of Buddhism

[R25] is right. The basic Dhamma outlined by the Buddha has comingled with all sorts of non-canonical beliefs and practices wherever it traveled over the last 2400 years. And though [R8] and [R11] were taught that their particular monastic traditions didn't oppose homosexuality, be reminded that there is no single "Tibetan school". There are many (Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, etc) and not all share the same teachings about homosexuality.

Buddha was a fat slob. Who gives a rat's ass about his teachings?

The more I consider religion, the more it looks EXACTLY like a bunch of conmen wanting others to support their lies in luxury. And I'm not talking about the representatives, but the founders.

Gay Buddhist here. It's complicated... so, technically, the Buddhist teachings (with some exceptions in the commentaries, especially later ones) are not homophobic. Cultures and people can be homophobic, however. (Hence, the homophobia in some of the commentaries in some traditions.) As a general rule of thumb, Western Buddhism of most traditions/lineages tends to be very LGBT-friendly. My same-sex marriage was blessed by (Western) monks of the Thai Forest Tradition, for instance.

Your friend does sound homophobic to me, however. I would confront him about that because his position is in no way universally recognized among Buddhists. He chose to have this opinion himself.

To add to my previous post, the Buddha didn't allow certain groups to become monks. Among these, there were the paṇḍakas, which cannot be translated to a modern mindset easily. Modern Buddhist acknowledge that the concept of "paṇḍaka" does not correspond with homosexuality.

Post more pics of hot Buddhist monks.

Ah, well... have a fake one.

And a temporary one.

R54, all that is correct, and Buddhism generally lays on top of existing animism in various Asian countries, but Buddhist scriptures are replete with references to devas. The realm of the devas is one of the six realms of transmigration. It’s baked into the teachings.

I find it unsettling that religion has to cogitate on sex and find meaning where there is none. We are biologically wired to fuck and naturally bisexual. Various complicated social constructs complicate everything for us and religion is not helping at all. While it is refreshing to have someone, anyone, in fact, approach differences with curiosity instead of hate, it's still intrusive, judgemental and unnecessary. He, like everyone else, should just focus on looking inward and not have to judge or explain anyone else's life.

[quote] Among these, there were the paṇḍakas, which cannot be translated to a modern mindset easily.

The pandaka thing is kind of obscure and doesn’t even make a lot of sense in modern understanding. There are several kinds of pandaka, only one of which could possibly be interpreted as homosexual, but it’s actually more specific than homosexual. The actual description of this kind of pandaka is a man who can only become aroused by ingesting another man’s semen. Which I guess was a thing in India 2500 years ago, or people thought it was.

Another kind of pandaka is a eunuch. The whole thing seems to be about sexual dysfunction, not homosexuality. Which makes sense, because people with disabilities are also prohibited from ordaining.

It should also be noted that the Buddha made rules for specific reasons; he didn’t make them for the sake of making rules, and he also was clear that the rules could be changed.

R64, I’m only speaking for Buddhism here, but sex is an incredibly powerful urge. People’s horny behavior has literally altered the course of human history countless times. It’s a mistake to underestimate it, and Buddhism certainly doesn’t.

It’s not about being intrusive. Sex can get in the way of spiritual development (and a lot of other things) if you’re not really careful with it, and I think that is the basic point.

Also, the various Buddhist sects are really different from each other, especially across different Asian cultures. Much more so than in other religions. I don’t think people realize that. At times, they can seem like different religions entirely.

[R62] is that one supposed to be hot because he’s white?

R67, first of all, he is Thai (one of his parents might be white, I don't know). Second, I think he's very cute. But suit yourself getting all worked up over nothing.

[R68] I get what game you’re playing, you want people to think it’s ok to steal someone else’s culture to be cool.

R69, He's not white. He's a buddhist monk.

Is a black guy in a Catholic priest's robes stealing culture?

Ignore are the Buddhists texts and concentrate on what the founder (the Buddha) says. It's the same with Christianity. Ignore how other people interpret what Jesus supposedly said and decide for yourself.

Love you neighbor. Lead a median-path life.

That's all you have to know.

[R70] No, Catholicism was forced on him, just as bad. Describing someone as “black” is inappropriate, and shows that you’re insensitive.

R69, troll somewhere else, Boris. I assume that you didn't check his Instagram account. If you had, you would have realized that he's a Thai TV personality. Now you look like an ass.

[R73] that makes so much sense. Unfortunately, many Eastern cultures tend to prefer lighter skin. Am I ruining your Eastern religion and culture fetish? So sorry, but they’re just as fucked up as the rest of the world. Namaste.

R74, thanks for sharing your deep thoughts with us. We appreciate it.

Trolls will cunt this mess around!

There is no such thing as “auras.” Religion is just a bunch of hocus pocus, mythmaking and bigoted projection.

Your buddy IS homophobic. He could use Buddhism to support homosexuality, like the many gay and gay-friendly practitioners of Buddhism do.

Lifelong gay Buddhist here. What's mentioned upthread is very true. There are thousands of different sects of Buddhism, so it depends on the affiliation. Buddhism is neutral on gay. Any negative attitudes toward being gay likely come from the people who are practicing that particular sect and their own attitudes. In my experience Buddhism was way ahead of society on recognizing equal rights for gay people. There is essentially only one mandate in Buddhism and that every person has the power to become the Buddha.