The Problem with Sex According to Buddhism |
| |
| Authors: | Paul David Numrich |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Paul David Numrich, PhD teaches at the Theological Consortium of Greater Columbus, Ohio, as Associate Professor in the Snowden Chair for the Study of Religion and Interreligious Relations, Methodist Theological School in Ohio;2. Associate Professor of World Religions and Interreligious Relations, Trinity Lutheran Seminary;3. and Adjunct Professor, Pontifical College Josephinum. He also retains a research appointment in the McNamara Center for the Social Study of Religion, Department of Sociology, Loyola University Chicago, and is an ordained minister in the Church of the Brethren. |
| |
| Abstract: | Abstract : This essay offers a primer for readers unfamiliar with Buddhist sexual ethics. Sex is a problem for Buddhism because it epitomizes the human predicament and the difficulty of its resolution. The essay begins with religious views of the human predicament and its resolution, and how these views shape religious ethical systems. Next follows a brief section on the Buddha and his teachings about human existence and ethical living, focusing particularly on the ultimate goal of liberation from the unsatisfactoriness of a life driven by desire. Given Buddhism's historic emphasis on a renunciatory ideal modeled by a monastic community, a substantial portion of the essay examines the disciplinary rules and sexual behaviors of Buddhist monks and nuns. Sexual ethics for lay Buddhists and non‐conventional sexual categories round out the essay. |
| |
| Keywords: | Buddhism desire sexual ethics vinaya homosexuality |
|
|
