Sexual and Religious Ideologies of Buddhism in North India

Sexual and Religious Ideologies of Buddhism in North India

Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the world, exceeded only by Christianity, Islam and Hinduism (Robinson, 1982). The Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, founded Budhiam in Northern India. When Buddha was 29, he left his wife, children and community involvements in order to seek truth and Nirvana. At the time, it was acceptable for men to leave their family and seek spiritual enlightenment.

Buddha rejecting both extremes of the mortification of the flesh and of hedonism as paths toward the state of Nirvana (Warren, 1963). Buddha spread the belief that in order to live a life without pain and suffering, people are required to eliminate any attachments to worldly goods. Only when this is accomplished will they be afforded peace and happiness. Buddhists believe that they must rid themselves of greed, hatred, and ignorance.

Buddhists strive to cultivate four attitudes into their lives: loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. Their basic religious and moral code prohibits killing, stealing, harmful language, sexual misbehavior, and the use of intoxicants.

Morality, wisdom, and samadhi (concentration) form the foundation of Buddhist faith. By observing these things, lust, hatred, and delusion will disappear. This state is known as Nirvana, which is a realistic goal only for members of the monastic community.

In the past, the most devoted followers of the Buddha were organized into the monastic sangha. Their shaved heads identified the sangha, as did their robes made of unsown orange cloth.

Many early monks wandered around, settling down only during the rainy season when traveling was hard. The Buddhists have lasted because they have the ability to adapt to changing conditions and to a variety of cultures.

Monks are required to live a life of poverty, meditation, and study, avoiding all sexual activity. They devote themselves to work, study, and prayer. They all dress in special robes. Monks play an important part in preserving and spreading Buddhism.

Within monasteries, everyone has the same goal, which is to attain Nirvana. Nirvana is ridding oneself of all traces of desire, which represents the final enlightenment and releases a person from the cycle of rebirth.

An excerpt from the Buddhist Scriptures defines how pleasure and sexuality can keep a monk from realizing Nirvana. In the Buddha's early years, he had a son but was not able to engage in pleasure again.

In the course of time the fair-bosomed Yashodhara bore to the son of Shuddhodana a son, who was named Rahula. It must be remembered that all the Bodhisttvas, those beings of quite incomparable spirit, must first know of all know the taste of the pleasures which the senses can give. Only then, after a son has been born to them, do they depart to the forest. Through the accumulated effects of his past deeds the Bodhisattva possessed in himself the root cause of enlightenment, but he could only reach it after first enjoying the pleasures of the senses." (Conze, 1959)

After this, every time he succumbed the to the pleasures of women, bad things happened to him. When the prince made his final decision and combated temptation, he had succeeded in his mission.

Buddhism does not strictly prohibit the sexual experience but warns that pleasure is not lasting and will eventually lead to greater suffering. Therefore, Buddhists only accept sexual relations in marriage. Buddhism prohibits abortion because, in their view, it would prevent reincarnation by stopping the cycle by destroying the new life form.

In the Dhammapada, the dangers of sexuality are explained in detail (Mascaro, 1973). If a man seeks pleasure, he will "suffer life and old age," according to one passage. Men are expected to conquer desire before they can truly be free.

The Buddha said, "If this triad of old age, illness and death did not exist, then all this loveliness would surely give me great pleasure." (Conze, 1959) However, the Buddha had seen the consequences and made a decision to give up sexual pleasure.

In addition, the Buddha said, " If people, doomed to undergo old age, illness and death are carefree in their enjoyment with others who are in the same position, they behave like birds and beasts." (Conze, 1959) The Buddha's realization of this led him to find Nirvana.

According to the Buddha, all men desire happiness, security, success, long life, and many other things for himself and his loved ones. However, pain, frustration, sickness and death are all inevitable and the only way to eliminate these evils is to overcome these desires.

In Tales from the Kathasaritsagara (Somadeva, 1994), the Buddha acquired divine insight and attained the status of an Enlightened Being when he gave up pleasure. "A wise man should renounce selfish desires and do that which benefits others, even giving up his body in order to acquire the ultimate insights." (Somadeva, 1994)

The focus of Buddhism is spiritual progression, rather than marriage and procreation. In fact, the Buddha left his own family to find enlightenment. However, his teachings do not forbid or discourage marriage. His ideologies show that a proper relationship between a man and a woman can even be seen to help one in spiritual pursuits.

On the other hand, divorce can be seen as necessary if the marriage hinders the progression of an individual. Therefore, spiritual pursuit takes precedence over the institution of marriage.

An excerpt from The Divine Madman: the Sublime Life and Songs of Drukpa Kunley (Dowman, 1980) provide evidence for this theory. The Master of Truth, Kunga Legpa pursued his spirituality with great effort. His mother pressured him to get married instead. To prove his point, he selected an old lady to marry. His mother rejected her, so he cme to his mother in the middle of the night, seducing her. In the end, he announced to the market place, "If you persist, you can seduce even your own mother!"