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<\/a><\/p>\nToday I am thrilled to join millions across the country in celebration of the Supreme Court\u2019s decision to legalize same-sex marriage across all 50 states. In honor of the decision, along with joining the facebook \u201cCelebrate Pride<\/a>\u201d campaign with this blog\u2019s facebook profile pic<\/a>, I thought I would repost one of the blog\u2019s most popular entries.\u00a0Please enjoy, comment, take pride, etc, and remember that there is still much work to be done.<\/p>\n ~<\/p>\n The first place I generally turn whenever I come across a broad ethical issue in Buddhism<\/a> is Peter Harvey\u2019s masterful\u00a0Introduction to Buddhist Ethics<\/a><\/em>. There we find a whole chapter devoted to \u201cHomosexuality and other forms of \u2018queerness\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n It shouldn\u2019t be surprising that Buddhism, like any ancient religion, has nothing in particular to say about Gay Marriage. It\u2019s just not an issue that cropped up. Just as marriage wasn\u2019t always a sacrament in Christianity \u2013 I believe it was added in the 11th century, meaning that for the majority of the religion\u2019s history it hasn\u2019t regarded marriage as a sacred event, not to mention reformers who wished to drop marriage as a sacrament, but that\u2019s another story \u2013 Buddhism hasn\u2019t seen marriage as anything other than a social institution.<\/p>\n But through Harvey\u2019s survey, what one comes away with is primarily a sense of acceptance and cultural\u00a0malleability. Part of the problem, Harvey notes, is that our categories and terminology might not fit today in the West with terms used in other contexts:<\/p>\n the modern social category and erotic identity signified by the term\u00a0gay\u00a0<\/em>is notthe same as the homosexual organizations or roles found in ancient times andin other cultures . . . it is in several respects a unique development in humansociety. This suggests a change from a predominantly gender-reversed feminization to a more frequent masculinization of overt homosexuality in popular culture. (Herdt, p.452)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n So we can just look for cases that might be similar or in some way point toward what the Buddha would have thought about gay marriage. One case that comes up may seem, I suppose, a bit silly:<\/p>\n In the Vinaya, there is reference to a monk in whom the sexual characteristics of a woman appeared, and a nun in whom the sexual characteristics of a man appeared. \u00a0In both cases, the Buddha appears to accept this and simply say that the ex-monk nun should follow the rules of the nuns, and the ex-nun monk should follow the rules of the monks. (Harvey, p.412)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n What does it mean that these characteristics \u2018appeared\u2019? In any case, the Buddha\u2019s response was apparently nonjudgmental: if you\u2019re a man now, join the monks order; if you\u2019re a woman, join the nuns.<\/p>\n Hermaphrodites, who are today called \u2018intersex<\/a>\u2018, (those having the characteristics of both sexes) aren\u2019t so lucky, and are ruled ineligible for ordination on the grounds that they might seduce members of either sex. While I can see the sense of it at the time, I look forward to the first intersex monastics paving through this particular barrier.<\/p>\n Next mentioned are\u00a0pandakas<\/em>, or those \u2018without testicles\u2019 \u2013 which likely refers in a metaphorical way toward outwardly\u00a0effeminate\u00a0men. Sometimes female\u00a0pandakas\u00a0<\/em>are mentioned and, by analogy, refer to women who were lesbians (thought it also may have suggested a physical abnormality with their reproductive organs). This section is a bit difficult to sum up, if only because the precise meaning and implications of the term\u00a0pandaka<\/em>\u00a0is unclear. Sometimes the\u00a0pandaka<\/em>\u00a0is described in physical terms as having an \u2018incomplete body\u2019, and in terms of behavior, having insufficient respect for his parents. Harvey sums up, \u201cHe has a sensual, shameless nature replete with the defilements of \u00a0both sexes, but is uncertain and wavering, and cannot reflect on his defilements. He is incapable of spiritual discipline and so cannot be blamed as if he were being undisciplined intentionally. He is unloved by his parents.\u201d (p. 418) Unfortunately, such views were (and no doubt in some cases still are) essentialized to the extent that these people were barred from entering monastic life and generally looked down upon. Gampopa, founder of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism<\/a>, is given as a noteworthy exception to this, as he held that\u00a0pandakas\u00a0<\/em>could practice asbodhisattvas<\/em>\u00a0outside the monastic context.<\/p>\n In terms of homosexual behavior, in monastic life it is seen as no more or less a fault than heterosexual behavior. In lay life, however, both Buddhaghosa (a Theravadin authority) and Shantideva (a major Mahayana authority) condemn same-sex affection.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll spare you the run through that Harvey gives of views in various Buddhist countries (you should get his book though), only to say that there are signs of both acceptance and (usually mild) disapproval. Harvey cites authors a couple times who sum up homosexuality as basically\u00a0not a big deal<\/em>\u00a0in Buddhist texts and thus Buddhist thought. I wrote a short article on this, with regard specifically to the\u00a0Dalai Lama\u2019s statements on homosexuality<\/a>\u00a0in 2005. Gary Daubney, in\u00a0a thoughtful response to my article<\/a>, further noted this sentiment, citing\u00a0A.L. De Silva who wrote, \u201cAs homosexuality is not explicity mentioned in any of the Buddha\u2019s discourses (more than 20 volumes in the Pali Text Society\u2019s English translation), we can only assume that it is meant to be evaluted in the same way that heterosexuality is.\u201d (http:\/\/www.buddhanet.net\/homosexu.htm<\/span>). Furthermore:<\/p>\n A.L. De Silva, quoted above, has also written that homosexuality was only made illegal in predominately Theravadan Burma and Sri Lanka when under British (Christian!) rule, and that Thailand, which was never colonized by a Western power, has never banned homosexual activity. The modern thriving gay scene including the colourful \u2018lady-boy\u2019 subculture are reflections of this traditionally tolerant attitude in the Land of (Buddhist) Smiles.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I conferred with my friend Paisarn, a journalist and activist from Thailand, and he sent me an article he cowrote for Valentines day on the topic:\u00a0Love for a new age<\/a>. There it is noted that:<\/p>\n At least two decades of newspaper headlines from\u00a0Thailand<\/span><\/a>\u00a0about same-sex\u00a0marriage<\/span><\/a>s\u2013like that of Beer and Pick\u2013have left many foreigners thinking that\u00a0gay<\/span><\/a>\u00a0marriage<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is legal here. However, these weddings confer no legal benefits whatsoever.<\/p>\n In contrast, some Western countries grant homosexual couples rights similar to those of heterosexual ones, even while withholding the status of \u201cmarriage<\/span><\/a>\u201d due to its religious definition as a union of man and woman.<\/p>\n Since Buddhist scripture offers no particular objection to same-sex relationships, the concept of \u201cmarriage<\/span><\/a>\u201d in\u00a0Thailand<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is largely familial, communal and social. A wedding reaffirms the couple\u2019s bond and rallies support for them. Often monks are invited to preside and give blessings.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And yet:<\/p>\n On Valentine\u2019s Day 2010, two lesbian couples \u2013 one in Chiang Mai and the other in Pathum Thani \u2013 attempted to register their relationships at their local district offices. Both were politely turned down.<\/p>\n As\u00a0Thailand<\/span><\/a>\u2018s LGBT community continues to grow and mature, the demand for such recognition will only become louder.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Meanwhile, over 8 years ago, the\u00a0king of Cambodia announced his support for gay marriage<\/a>, which raises an interesting question: how many heads of state vocally support\u00a0same-sex marriage<\/a>? Finally, two Theravadin monks who give compelling arguments for equality:<\/p>\n Ajahn Sujato on \u201cWhy Buddhists should support marriage equality.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n Here the Dalai Lama speaks to Larry King about Same Sex Marriage:<\/p>\n