Section: Viewpoint


WHEN ASKED TO SUM UP BUDDHA'S TEACHING IN ONE WORD, the great 20th-century
teacher the Karmapa responded, "Change." The idea that truth and change are
not enemies but friends is pervasive in Buddhist thought. It extends even
to the ongoing evaluation of Buddhist tradition itself--as was demonstrated
in June when the Dalai Lama of Tibet, a worldwide spokesman for Buddha's
way, was questioned about Buddhist teaching on homosexuality.

In his own writings the Dalai Lama has defined sexual misconduct as
behavior not conducive to full awakening, freedom, and peace of mind. When
asked about homosexual behavior, the Dalai Lama, with no personal animosity
toward gay people, has responded that Buddhist tradition also considers as
sexual misconduct certain "inappropriate partners, organs, times, and
places." Inappropriate partners, he has explained, include men for men and
women for women. Organs "not intended for sex" are the mouth, anus, and
"using one's hand."

Like the Buddha himself, however, the Dalai Lama encourages Buddhist
practitioners to question the truth and consequences of all traditional
teachings. "Be a lamp unto yourself," the Buddha instructed. In Buddha's
way, moral ethics are not dictated from God in heaven. A supposedly
infallible spiritual authority, such as the Catholic pope, does not
exist--not even in the person of the Dalai Lama.

Participating in a June 11 meeting with the Dalai Lama and six other gay
and lesbian scholars and activists, I asked him directly, "If the Buddha is
our teacher, where and when did he teach that homosexual partners are
inappropriate, that homosexual behavior is sexual misconduct?" The Dalai
Lama candidly responded, "I don't know." Lourdes Arguelles, a Cuban-born
lesbian Buddhist, asked, "What is the origin of the teachings on
inappropriate organs?" Again he replied, "I don't know." (Can you imagine
the pope saying "I don't know" to such questions?) It's clear that since
the Dalai Lama was unable to provide a foundation for these doctrines, they
are, to say the least, questionable.

He went on to say that some sexual-misconduct codes may have been left over
from ancient India and the social mores of that time. While honoring
Buddhist tradition, he called for a deeper investigation of the origin of
Buddhist scriptural teachings on sexual conduct. Avidly interested in
science, he noted that homosexual behavior occurs among animals. Tinku Ali
Ishtiaq, a Muslim from Bangladesh and a board member of the International
Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, piped up, "Yes! Even among
intelligent animals!" The Dalai Lama laughed heartily. He then urged us to
take our questions and concerns to the world's Buddhist communities and
leaders. Soon after our meeting the Dalai Lama issued a press release from
the Office of Tibet opposing "violence and discrimination based on sexual
orientation" and urging "full recognition of human rights for all."

Traditional Buddhist teaching on sexual misconduct has not yet changed. We
cannot control religious tradition and politics. We cannot control
psychological and physical violence born of delusion. But Buddha's way is
not about the control of suffering; it's about responding honestly, with
open awareness to suffering. Our only freedom as human beings is in the
fullness and integrity of our response. When one perceives or finds harm or
unfair discrimination embedded in a spiritual tradition, one shouldn't walk
away. No one can hide on a meditation cushion or in a pew or in another
branch of the same tradition, particularly a tradition emphasizing the
interrelatedness of all beings. We can only be in the truth of who we are
and respond from this truth.

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By Steve Peskind

Peskind is coordinator of the San Francisco-based Buddhist AIDS Project.
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