Buddhism and Sexuality: Conflict of Self, Essay Example

Selected Reading

It seems to me that there are few avenues to exploring the real worth of Buddhism better than the persistently controversial one of sexuality.  As with virtually every other monotheism, Buddhism is about enlightenment and spiritual attainment; as with other religions, sexuality consistently creates dilemmas for both teacher and disciple.  Then, as the inherent nature of Buddhist faith relies so completely on the negation of the self, perhaps more so than in any Western faith, it provides an enormously valuable canvas for examining what sex means to the spiritual life.

The reading, “Traditional Buddhism and Sex”, can only touch upon this complex and problematic issue.  This reading, which encompasses variations on the broader subject following it, simply lays out the basic precepts regarding sexuality as written in the Vinaya, the book of monastic rules for Buddhists.  The emphasis is clear, and not unlike the monastic policies and injunctions of other faiths; sexual behavior is to be discouraged, and severely.  As interpreted in the reading, the Vinaya is not concerned with elements of romance or affection typically associated with sexual conduct, and this is rational.  The essence of any monastic life is extreme discipline and abstention of worldly pleasures, and that the Vinaya reduces sexuality to genital interaction is not unreasonable.

Tantric sex, conversely, is permissible, and even encouraged.  The reading goes on to assert that Tantric sex is primarily focused on the male, with the role of the female in it being mainly  reactive, or responsive.  The reading then addresses other issues of sexuality, as in the Buddhist view of homosexuality and how Christian faiths are, surprisingly, more welcoming of sexuality within proper contexts.

I have elected to focus on these areas because, intentions notwithstanding, I feel a great deal is left unexplored.  For example, Tantric sex, as currently viewed by scholars, is not at odds with Buddhist abstinence; both are actually in place to serve a specialized, high-level of discipline.  In each, “sex” is actually rendered unimportant because a great sense of salvation is the object (Lopez 275).  Then, all the discussions of sexuality in Buddhism appear to contradict the essence of the faith itself, as will be shortly examined.

The Reading in Context

Ironically, and as I alluded to earlier, the issue of sexuality seems to be not only an excellent means of better understanding Buddhism, but also an arena few are willing to leave alone.  A great deal of the other readings divert into various channels of sexuality, and all proponents appear to be – somewhat frantically – trying to make active sexual practice fit neatly in Buddhism.  A gay writer, for instance, has devised a theory that, as same-sex love inherently reflects a self-love, it is more in harmony with Buddhism than heterosexuality, which implies conflict.  As noted, there is also a reading which comes across as disappointed, or thwarted; this is the section that notes how Christian faiths are fine with certain sexual conduct.  The strong implication is that we should expect more in liberal outlook from the enlightened and Eastern Buddhist faith, which is free from Western traditions of hypocrisy.

Other readings focus, at length, on the role of women within Buddhism, notably in the address by Swarna de Silva to the Midlands Buddhist Society in 1988.  Carefully retracing the female role throughout known cultural histories, both Western and Eastern, de Silva soon goes to, and attaches to, to her central point: that Siddhartha Buddha was a man is irrelevant to the teachings, for Buddhism views gender as a transitory property.  In true Buddhism, the woman’s role may not differ from the man’s because, “in the samsaric sense there is no male or female, but only a single karmic stream” (de Silva).  Contextually, this is valuable to what I perceive to be the weaknesses in the approaches to sexuality itself as explored in the reading I selected.

Criticism

As I mentioned, the insistence on establishing something in the way of “permission” from the Buddhist faith, in regard to sexuality, is a striking and ongoing concern.  The reading that briefly outlines sexual practice as denied in Buddhism is direct and, it is felt, not very happy about it. This attitude is further reinforced by the many discussions following it which seek to find Buddhist sanction for homosexuality, as well as simply a natural enjoyment of sex.  Ultimately, the readings indicate an unwillingness to accept that so beautiful a faith would deny mankind of an essential and eagerly embraced component of living, and much of the speculation tries desperately to assert that, if sex is not often addressed in Buddhist doctrine, it may be just fine.

I find this puzzling, and not entirely from a scholarly or academic approach.  The issue appears to me to be more fundamental than that, and it also relates strongly to the gender conflict perceived by many to exist within Buddhism.  That is, as modern people struggle to accept what they feel is an ideal form of spiritual practice, they are as well determined to have all their earthly concerns addressed, and nicely satisfied, also.

The specific role of the woman in Buddhism was not selected by me, yet it has bearing on this conflict.  That de Silva emphatically states that gender is irrelevant to Buddhism may be perfectly true, in its most enlightened incarnations, but the greater reality is that no faith known to humanity has ever been completely free of gender issues.  The enormity of the differences between men and women, culturally, biologically, and in every other sense, is too vast and influential to be harmoniously addressed by any creed.  Buddha may have transcended such concerns, as may have Jesus Christ, but the rest of us are mortal, and gender is a primal, complex, and always difficult force in life.  This must be accepted as existing apart from Buddhism, or of any other true isolation of what a faith offers.  We are all far too biased to incorporate it successfully in any approach to real enlightenment.

As for sexuality, it seems to me that there is intense resistance to the Buddhist path, even by those powerfully drawn to it, because of desire itself.  Rather than simply admit that they want sex and spiritual growth, people keep attempting to fuse the two.  It cannot be done.  The true essence of Buddhism demands, in fact, that it not ever be sought:  “Mahayana Buddhism…argued that the ultimate truth can be discovered only by those who awaken to the reality of desire and are able to transmute it” (Faure 400).   To seek to satisfy sexual longing is to be unprepared for Buddhism because, clearly, there is no real understanding of the freeing agent Buddhism presents abstinence to be.  As the Four Noble Truths express, desire is a chain, and satisfied desire only leads to the wanting of more  (Machacek, Wilcox  137).  Buddhism does accept that we are mortal, but it is not willing to glorify mortal desires for the sake of expediency, and sexual lust is, always, an obstacle to enlightenment, as is any concern with the material and earthly.

These readings, and in particular the reading on sexuality, convince me that mankind is perpetually after a convenient means of satisfying soul and body.  This is intrinsically in defiance of what Buddhism is about, because only the refutation of bodily concerns can allow spiritual growth.  It may not be a “sin” to seek sexual fulfillment, especially with a loved one, but neither is it any sort of progress on the Buddhist path, for it inherently involves the serving of the self.

Works Cited

de Silva, S.  “The Place of Women in Buddhism.”  Retrieved from http://www.enabling.org/ia/vipassana/Archive/D/DeSilva/WomenInBuddhism/womenInBuddhismSwarnaDeSilva.html

Faure, B.  The Red Thread: Buddhist Approaches to Sexuality. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003. Print.

Lopez, D. S.  Critical Terms for the Study of Buddhism. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2005. Print.

Machacek, D. W., & Wilcox, M. M.   Sexuality and the World’s Religions. Santa Barbara, CA: ABL-CLIO, Inc., 2003. Print.