Deviant Sex and Buddhism: By Ven. Dr. Wadinagala Pannaloka
Emerging Perceptions in Buddhist Studies, No. 24
DK PrintWorld – Publishers of Indian Traditions (First Edition – 2020)
Reviewed By Adrian Chan-Wyles PhD
This is a remarkable research document written by a contemporary Sri Lankan (Theravada) Buddhist monk (Ven. Dr. Wadinagala Pannaloka), who has received higher education on the island of Taiwan, and in so doing, has become familiar with the strictures of Chinese (Mahayana) Buddhism. This study, however, primarily focuses upon the Vinaya and (secondarily) the Sutta texts as preserved within the Pali Canon of Early Buddhism. The title of this work is entitled ‘Deviant Sex and Buddhism’, and examines the Buddha’s attitude (and those of his senior monks of subsequent generations) to the issue of sexuality surrounding the broader practice (and development) of Early Buddhist monasticism (perhaps the first type of organised monachism developed anywhere in the world). The Vinaya began with the Buddha in the 6th century BCE, and continued to develop through the 5th, 4th and even 3rd centuries BCE, before forming the familiar ‘received’ version accessible today. The Buddha advocates two approaches toward sexuality, both of which are distinct and designed for use by two totally different populations. For the male and female monastics, ALL sexual ‘desire’ (which is inherently linked to greed, hatred and delusion), is declared ‘deviant’ by the Buddha, as its manifestation in the mind (as amorous thoughts), body (as sexualised actions) and environment (as desirous relationships and off-spring), leads to the perpetuation of the wheel of suffering (samsara)! The mind of the Buddhist monastic must be thoroughly cleansed of all vestiges of greed, hatred and delusion, as well as the burning-desire (tanha) that leads to procreation through the misuse of the body! If the mind is cleansed of all-desire, then the body will be at peace and exist within an environment free of any cause and effect which leads to suffering. To aid this process of gradual purification, each monk agrees to adhere to the 227 rules of the Vinaya Discipline, whilst all nuns take the 311 rules. Contact with the outside world is either forbidden (to prevent temptation), or highly ritualised to prevent any element of desire from creeping into the interaction (such as during the daily ‘begging’ rounds, or when the laity visit the temple, etc).
For Buddhist lay-people, the situation is very different. Before he was married, the Buddha experienced sexuality all the time, as he was able to interact with his numerous maids in this capacity. India had a number of marriage conventions all operating in parallel during the Buddha’s lifetime. This was regulated through caste-membership, but even then, possessed a certain latitude. Brahmin priests (the highest caste) could have the most wives (at least four), with the numbers increasing or decreasing as the man saw fit. Kshatriyas (warriors and kings) could marry between two to four wives – but this depended upon situation and location. Where the Kshatriyas had established the Northern Republics in India, it was their caste that held ultimate power. This was the Buddha’s caste, but he only seems to have married one woman called ‘Yasodhara’, although certain ancient Buddhist texts refer to her as ‘Gopi’ and maintain that he in fact was married to three women, although this is still a matter of debate. Whatever the case, possessing two to four wives would have been acceptable for a member of a ruling Kshatriya family during the Buddha’s lifetime. As a lay-person, the Buddha experienced the sexual act and even sired a son named Rahula.
The Buddha’s attitude is that lay-people may participate in sexual activity whilst ‘married’, but defined marriage as following the laws of the land. He did not favour sexual activity outside of marriage (fornication), and discouraged the use of pornography (in the form of looking at erotic statues and temple engravings). The Buddha considered prostitution ‘immoral’, as was masturbation outside of marriage. Whereas the Vinaya demands total celibacy for the Buddhist monk or nun, the Buddha defines allowable sexual activity between a man and woman as the ‘penis’ only penetrating the ‘vagina’. The oral and anal equivalents are considered abhorrent and are forbidden. Lay-people must remain ‘celibate’ before marriage, but may participate in sexual intercourse when married. When married, the couple must remain ‘loyal’ to one another and not commit ‘adultery’ with the partners of other married people, or single people as of yet not married. A lay-person (either married or unmarried) must never ‘suggest’ or ‘initiate’ any sexual activate with a monk or nun as this attracts hellish retributory karma (indeed, engaging in any form of sexuality outside of that as defined by the Vinaya – attracts a hellish retributory karma).
Bestiality is absolutely forbidden for monastics and the laity, as is any form of paedophilia. It seems that Brahmanic society had a very low attitude toward animals which can still be seen today (in India) with the mass slaughtering of animals as a means to pay homage to ‘imaginary’ gods. It also seems that human men ‘raping’ animals was common enough in his day for the Buddha to condemn this abhorrent activity out of hand. As he taught a primitive form of ‘rebirth’ to the laity (as a ‘moral’ incentive to ‘behave’ properly), the Buddha said that many animals were once the mothers, fathers, sons and daughters of the humans doing the killing or raping! Humans engaging in this kind of insane behaviour face the possibility of being ‘reborn’ as an animal that will be ‘raped’ by a human, or ‘killed’ for fun, sport or food, etc! To prevent this possibility, humans must uproot greed, hatred and delusion from their minds, and set about treating animals correctly. As for paedophilia, many societies define the legal age of appropriate sexual activity in different ways. Whereas the UK is 16-years, Germany is 14-years and Sri Lanka 12-years, etc, the Buddha forbade any sexual activity with a young girl who was unavailable for marriage (probably around 14-years in ancient India). Bear in mind that people lived shorter life-spans on average in ancient societies, with women having babies around 20-years old (or younger) to maximise the chances of the baby and the mother surviving the birthing process. The Buddha also forbade the sexual abuse of young boys.
The Buddha defined the agency of human desire as the cause of all human suffering. In this sense, it makes no particular difference how this desire culturally manifests, as all sexual activity – whether allowed or considered abhorrent - hinders, prevents or slows-down the process of purifying the mind and modifying behaviour. The Pali Canon records that a number of laymen and women attained enlightenment despite not living in a monastery, and the Buddha explained that although it is harder for lay-people to attain enlightenment, it is not impossible, and once attained, there is no difference between an enlightened lay-person and an enlightened monastic. Furthermore, there are ‘hints’ of the Mahayana and Tantrayana attitudes extant in the Pali Canon, which more than suggests that the Buddha may well have instructed others (outside the Theravada) in a slightly different or more indepth manner on other occasions (not recorded by the Theravada School). For instance, an elderly Buddhist nun named ‘Uppalavanna’ was ‘raped’ by a young man – but as she had already attained enlightenment – the Buddha (whilst condemning the young man) stated that she remained entirely ‘pure’ and was ‘not guilty’ of committing any offence with regards to the breaking of the Vinaya Discipline. This was because her mind was permanently ‘free’ of any vestiges of greed, hatred and delusion, whilst her body was empty of all desire. On another occasion, a monk was asleep whilst possessing an erection (which a number of passing lay-women made use of). When the monk reported this to the Buddha, the Buddha stated that no offence had been made on his part as he was ‘asleep’ and did not wilfully participate in any of the acts. In the (Mahayana) Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra, the monk Upali is criticised by Vimalakirti (a layman) for being ‘attached’ to a one-sided sense of morality. Although Vimalakirti is married and possesses many children – his mind is permanently ‘pure’ according to the Buddha. This suggests that the Vinaya Discipline is only required up until the moment of enlightenment – where the practitioner becomes both ‘pure’ and ‘free’ to act without hindrance in the Ten Directions. This is the premise of the Tantrayana where an enlightened being may participate in a sexual act whilst their minds remain free of greed, hatred and delusion, and their bodies free of desire.
©opyright: Adrian Chan-Wyles (ShiDaDao) 2020.
For Buddhist lay-people, the situation is very different. Before he was married, the Buddha experienced sexuality all the time, as he was able to interact with his numerous maids in this capacity. India had a number of marriage conventions all operating in parallel during the Buddha’s lifetime. This was regulated through caste-membership, but even then, possessed a certain latitude. Brahmin priests (the highest caste) could have the most wives (at least four), with the numbers increasing or decreasing as the man saw fit. Kshatriyas (warriors and kings) could marry between two to four wives – but this depended upon situation and location. Where the Kshatriyas had established the Northern Republics in India, it was their caste that held ultimate power. This was the Buddha’s caste, but he only seems to have married one woman called ‘Yasodhara’, although certain ancient Buddhist texts refer to her as ‘Gopi’ and maintain that he in fact was married to three women, although this is still a matter of debate. Whatever the case, possessing two to four wives would have been acceptable for a member of a ruling Kshatriya family during the Buddha’s lifetime. As a lay-person, the Buddha experienced the sexual act and even sired a son named Rahula.
The Buddha’s attitude is that lay-people may participate in sexual activity whilst ‘married’, but defined marriage as following the laws of the land. He did not favour sexual activity outside of marriage (fornication), and discouraged the use of pornography (in the form of looking at erotic statues and temple engravings). The Buddha considered prostitution ‘immoral’, as was masturbation outside of marriage. Whereas the Vinaya demands total celibacy for the Buddhist monk or nun, the Buddha defines allowable sexual activity between a man and woman as the ‘penis’ only penetrating the ‘vagina’. The oral and anal equivalents are considered abhorrent and are forbidden. Lay-people must remain ‘celibate’ before marriage, but may participate in sexual intercourse when married. When married, the couple must remain ‘loyal’ to one another and not commit ‘adultery’ with the partners of other married people, or single people as of yet not married. A lay-person (either married or unmarried) must never ‘suggest’ or ‘initiate’ any sexual activate with a monk or nun as this attracts hellish retributory karma (indeed, engaging in any form of sexuality outside of that as defined by the Vinaya – attracts a hellish retributory karma).
Bestiality is absolutely forbidden for monastics and the laity, as is any form of paedophilia. It seems that Brahmanic society had a very low attitude toward animals which can still be seen today (in India) with the mass slaughtering of animals as a means to pay homage to ‘imaginary’ gods. It also seems that human men ‘raping’ animals was common enough in his day for the Buddha to condemn this abhorrent activity out of hand. As he taught a primitive form of ‘rebirth’ to the laity (as a ‘moral’ incentive to ‘behave’ properly), the Buddha said that many animals were once the mothers, fathers, sons and daughters of the humans doing the killing or raping! Humans engaging in this kind of insane behaviour face the possibility of being ‘reborn’ as an animal that will be ‘raped’ by a human, or ‘killed’ for fun, sport or food, etc! To prevent this possibility, humans must uproot greed, hatred and delusion from their minds, and set about treating animals correctly. As for paedophilia, many societies define the legal age of appropriate sexual activity in different ways. Whereas the UK is 16-years, Germany is 14-years and Sri Lanka 12-years, etc, the Buddha forbade any sexual activity with a young girl who was unavailable for marriage (probably around 14-years in ancient India). Bear in mind that people lived shorter life-spans on average in ancient societies, with women having babies around 20-years old (or younger) to maximise the chances of the baby and the mother surviving the birthing process. The Buddha also forbade the sexual abuse of young boys.
The Buddha defined the agency of human desire as the cause of all human suffering. In this sense, it makes no particular difference how this desire culturally manifests, as all sexual activity – whether allowed or considered abhorrent - hinders, prevents or slows-down the process of purifying the mind and modifying behaviour. The Pali Canon records that a number of laymen and women attained enlightenment despite not living in a monastery, and the Buddha explained that although it is harder for lay-people to attain enlightenment, it is not impossible, and once attained, there is no difference between an enlightened lay-person and an enlightened monastic. Furthermore, there are ‘hints’ of the Mahayana and Tantrayana attitudes extant in the Pali Canon, which more than suggests that the Buddha may well have instructed others (outside the Theravada) in a slightly different or more indepth manner on other occasions (not recorded by the Theravada School). For instance, an elderly Buddhist nun named ‘Uppalavanna’ was ‘raped’ by a young man – but as she had already attained enlightenment – the Buddha (whilst condemning the young man) stated that she remained entirely ‘pure’ and was ‘not guilty’ of committing any offence with regards to the breaking of the Vinaya Discipline. This was because her mind was permanently ‘free’ of any vestiges of greed, hatred and delusion, whilst her body was empty of all desire. On another occasion, a monk was asleep whilst possessing an erection (which a number of passing lay-women made use of). When the monk reported this to the Buddha, the Buddha stated that no offence had been made on his part as he was ‘asleep’ and did not wilfully participate in any of the acts. In the (Mahayana) Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra, the monk Upali is criticised by Vimalakirti (a layman) for being ‘attached’ to a one-sided sense of morality. Although Vimalakirti is married and possesses many children – his mind is permanently ‘pure’ according to the Buddha. This suggests that the Vinaya Discipline is only required up until the moment of enlightenment – where the practitioner becomes both ‘pure’ and ‘free’ to act without hindrance in the Ten Directions. This is the premise of the Tantrayana where an enlightened being may participate in a sexual act whilst their minds remain free of greed, hatred and delusion, and their bodies free of desire.
©opyright: Adrian Chan-Wyles (ShiDaDao) 2020.