Buddhism on Sexuality and Enlightenment

Presented by: Malorie Dobbin Ashley Cooke   1. Three major events: 3 unseemly sights: Old age Sickness Death 2. 3.  Prince Siddhattha’s leaving the life of a householder on the same night his consort gave birth to their first child Last temptation of Prince Siddhattha   The most important aspect to Buddhism is being one’s self, which is defined by one’s individual karma and journey to enlightenment This applies to both men and women Reproductive sex is not a main religious concern in Buddhism for women       -Buddhist say that women have the capability to become enlightened -Most of the records in the Tripitaka are about men disciples -The passages portray a negative image of women -Buddha told the monks not to have female visitors in fear that that will lead to relationships, which will lead to attachment  According to Buddha, “Nothing can take hold of one’s mind as much as bodily appearance, voice, scent, taste, and touch of the opposite sex This applies for both men and women Women are compared to as wild lions who kill and hunt for food and eat flesh and blood It is also said that women who don’t act loyally are condemned to death These statements are just to warn people about sexual attachment and how it can danger one’s journey to Buddhist truth  Feminists from the Liberal West argue that reproduction should be the reason for sex before sexual pleasure In Buddhism, it is believed that there are five sensual pleasures in recognizing what sexual pleasure is : touch, smell, voice, taste, and form It is also believed that these five pleasures are only temporary and they will only lead to suffering later on in life        The Buddha encourages his disciples to meditate in the cemetery to prove that the five senses are only temporary  Buddhism does not condemn the desire for wealth or sexual pleasure  Eliminating faithfulness, the five duties of wives to their husbands are different then those of the husbands to their wives  For those who want to obtain enlightenment they must resist sexual attachment and sex  Buddhism creates a new society that does not reproduce biologically, but rather ignores the complex rules of lay life by leaving it behind  In the first five years of Buddha’s mission there were only monks; no nuns Nuns were seen as sexual distractions to the minds of the monks   Even female householders distracted them therefore, the thought of putting nuns and monks together was feared because it would interfere with their path to enlightenment*** Buddha’s final permission to allowing them to come together was influenced by his aunt nursing him as a child, and felt that it would look ungrateful for him to reject women from their journey of truth  5 to 10 percent of the 227 rules for monks are sex related whereas, 10 to 15 percent of the 311 rules for nuns are sex related 1. No matter how long they have been there, they need to show proper respect to monks Females who wish to become nuns have to be in the presence of monks and nuns, but males who are trying to become monks do not need to do the same Monks can teach nuns, but nuns cannot teach Monks There are Four Major Offenses for monks, but eight for nuns If a nun touches a man, she gets expelled, but the same punishment do not apply to monks *8 RULES FOR POTENTIAL NUNS 2. 3.    If sex in Buddhism is seen as an entanglement that leads to attachment to life it should be studied by four different observations: 1. When sexual desires are overcome, you reach a sense of freedom The biology of sex still operates in an enlightened being The only difference is there is no psychological attachment to sexual drives Buddha honors those who have strong spiritual ability regardless to their sexual actions 2. 3. 4.  Buddhism describes Therigatha as freedom and enlightenment In the bhikkhunis it discusses all forms of attachment: beauty, love, family, rebirth, and household chores If you are enlightened you are liberated from all sexual pleasures   Enlightened monks believe that if one emits semen it is due to biological factors and the fluid is just from food and drink intake, not sexual intentions One cannot have wet dreams because sexual passions do not come from the subconscious Even if one is dreaming they still do not have any psychological attachment to sex because there is no sexual desire in the subconscious mind either     If one is raped, the sin is on the shoulders of the rapist Ubonvanna who had recently become enlightened was the reason the Buddha created the rule that nuns cannot be alone during the rainy season without a monk because she was raped   1. 2. 3. 4. Women cannot become the highest power of anything, for example: Political World Heavens World of Evil Brahma This indicates that women cannot become a Buddha Scholars have objected to this because those statements were added to the text later on   There is one impossibility for women to become Buddha which is one of the eight prerequisites in becoming the Buddha.  The impossible prerequisite is to be a man  It states that this is only possible through sexual transformation into male form and absence of gender differentiation or emptiness People have argued that the eightfold noble path is not gender blind because a woman can become a man in her afterlife, or next lifetime If a woman wishes to become a Buddha, she can wish to become a man and behave well ( have good karma). It is then that she is likely to get her wish    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMnSK8 Hp-gs