Sexuality and Sexual Body in Christianity and Buddhism - Essay Example

Sexuality and Sexual Body in Christianity and Buddhism Introduction Attitudes on sexuality and the sexual body are influenced by culture and religion. Dharmachari1 notes that sex is tied in understanding gender which means that what is viewed as appropriate sexual behaviours for female and male bodies in dependent on the cultural construction of femininity and masculinity and this varies across cultures and over time. Lees notes that the views on sexuality and profoundly ambivalent; “it is recognised and denied, desired and feared, revealed and concealed, spoken and silenced”2 This essay explores the similarities and differences in the attitudes of sexuality and the sexual body in Christianity and Buddhism. To explore sexuality in these religions, it is important to understand their basic belief. Christian faith is anchored on the belief that God sent his Son Jesus to die for the sin of humanity. He was born by humble parents, lived as a selfless man, was crucified and after three days he rose with an immortal body to eternity. Christians are followers of Christ and his teachings. On the other hand, Buddhists believe in the teachings of the faith’s founder Siddhartha Guatama, born in royalty and affluence. He got a vision of a monk who denies comfort and luxury and decided to become one. He abandoned his life of affluence and luxury to pursue enlightenment. Through suffering and travails, he became enlightened and began to be referred to as ‘Buddha’ (the enlightened one). Through this enlightenment, Buddha taught ‘Four Noble Truths’; Living is suffering, suffering is created by desire, eliminating all attachments eliminates suffering which is achieved by following the ‘eightfold path’. The eightfold path involves having a right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration. Buddha is considered a way-shower to others rather than God. Similarities in attitudes of sexuality and sexual body in Buddhism and Christianity It is a challenge to fully express the Buddhist attitude towards sexuality because, as Dharmachari puts it, “Buddhism is reformulated and re-expressed in different cultures and at different times, adopting and redefining aspects of the cultures in which it has taken root.”3 But there are certain features that persisted and can be used when making generalisation. There are not many variations in christinianity and it is easier to make a generalised view. Buddha taught that sex is a form of human suffering.4 Kaza5 say that he left behind his wife and the pleasures of sex. Of all the desires that humanity has, Buddha taught that sex is the strongest. Noah6 points that it is not just the act of sex but rather the whole concept of sexuality which includes love relationships, sexual desire, procreation and intimacy. He was celibate and he prescribed celibacy to eliminate suffering. Celibacy ruled out any intention of sexual experiences including masturbation. Similarly Jesus as well as his first followers (disciples ) were celibate and those who were married left their wives when they started following him. Although they did not rule out marriage both Jesus and Paul, taught that celibacy was a higher calling. Paul7 taught that an unmarried man concerns himself with the affairs of the Lord, but a married one concerns himself with the affairs of his wife. Catholic priests and nuns are celibate and so are Monks and nuns. Monks and nuns are not supposed to engage in sexual activities and those who do so are considered defeated and are expelled8. Nuns are not allowed to be touched, rubbed or fondled by men between their collar-bones and knees. This is similar to Christian nuns who are not allowed to have sex9. In addition, Christian nuns are supposed to be virgins when they join and should remain that way for the rest of their lives. Castelli10 notes that nuns were supposed to ‘renounce the world’ and keep their virginity. The Monks in Buddhism are rules with the same rules as Catholic priests; they are both not allowed to have sexual intercourse and they are not supposed to marry. Lay people in Buddhism were guided by five principles, the third of which requires the lay person to train not in sexual pleasure.11 The punishment for sex for monks and nuns in Buddhism is expulsion from the order as is the case for catholic priests and nuns. However, celibacy among lay people have changed in modern times with Catholic priests marrying and Japanese monks marrying12 Differences in attitudes of sexuality and sexual body in Buddhism and Christianity Neil says that in some respects there is a contrast between the approach to sexuality in Christianity and Buddhism. According to Shingon Buddhism, the world is regarded as the body of the Supreme Buddha. Originally, Japanese Buddhists and the Vajrayana Buddhists of India saw sex as sacred.13 Daly14 says that the ‘Fall of Man’ myth was propagated by males in a male dominated society whose main intention was to reinforce sexual oppression in order to justify the woman’s inferior position in the society. In the story recorded in Genesis,15 the origin of the woman is in man and she is also the cause of all his miseries and his downfall. Women are taken as objects16 and class differences are directed towards women. She argues that in the story of the Fall, the medium is the message. The fall of man should actually be named as the fall of woman since it is the woman who is blamed for the trouble of the world. This myth legitimizes self-hatred on both men to women and inwardly on the part of women. Daly17 observes that if this myth is allowed to dominate the consciousness of human beings and social arrangements, it offers the setting in which women are victimized by both men and women. However, Trible18 aver that Adam was androgynous and incorporated the two sexes; male and female. In traditional Japan, Buddhist priests and samurai military took a view of the female body as less attractive. They considered the youthful male body to be optimally desirable and was taken to be fitting for adult men. Homosexuality was probably grew as a result of organising Buddhist monasteries in sexually segregated communities19 On the contrary, from its origin, Christianity does not condone homosexuality20 and only sex is only allowed if it is between a male and a female21. There is great punishment for homosexuality in the Old Testament; in Genesis 19:1-5, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed as a result of homosexuality. Homosexual rape is also prohibited. 22 In addition, Christian teaching show that both male and female are not supposed to be involved in prostitution and those who do so will not ‘inherit the kingdom of God’23 While Christianity looks at sex as a way of reproduction and furthering family, Budhism was not interested in procreation. Sex in Japanese Buddhism was seen as a religious symbol or as a way of ‘awakening one’s spirit’; religious realisation24 Sex was viewed as good but its procreation role was not uploaded. In Christianity, women are seen to have a role of pleasing males. The judgment of males has been metamorphosed into God’s judgment and women in Christianity have the religious duty accept the burden of guilt and to view herself with male chauvinistic eyes. It is seen as the woman’s fault that the society is sexist. To heal society from this vice, Daly suggests that there should be a reaching out towards the androgynous being – “for women, this means exorcism of the internalised patriarchal presence, which carries with it feelings of guilt, inferiority and self-hatred that extends itself to other women.”25 In Christianity, God is not to be described in sexual terms. However, God is addressed in masculine terms. There is an exception of the Catholics who revere Mary as the mother of Jesus. However, Pagels says that “she cannot be identified as divine in her own right: if she is ‘mother of God’ she is not ‘God the mother’ on an equal footing with God the father”26 Trible27 contends that there are myriad representations of God in the Old Testament. God is seen doing the woman’s work of feeding, looking for water and caring for Israel; which was the woman’s work in Israel. Trible says that God is neither male nor female, neither is he nor she. In the New Testament, women are not allowed to preach or serve in the church. This Contrary to Buddhism where there are female Buddhists for instance Khun Mae Bunruean Tongbuntoem who is acknowledged as one who had extra-ordinary enlightenment.28 However, Appleton29 says that women do not attain the same level of enlightenment as the men. Christianity not only brings the religion of the books but also that of the body. Lees30 mentions the guidelines by Augustine eighth and ninth questions in regards to Mass. There is an emphasis on spiritually cleansing the female body after childbirth as well as the male body after impure dreams. The sexed, the maternal and menstruating female body is looked in relation to sacred space and how women can approach the altar. Some of the issues related to this include answering the question of how soon a woman can approach the altar after menstruation or childbirth. It looks seeks to answer the question of how soon a woman can resume sexual relations after childbirth. Christianity considers menstruation as unclean; many Catholics have the view that sexual intercourse should not happen whe a woman has her menses.31 Aru notes that in western Christianity, the Old Testament rules have faded but the negative attitude remain. In Buddhism, menstruation is natural however in practice this is not followed because Buddhism is influenced by Hinduism.32 Women are thought to lose spiritual energy during menstruation. In addition, a menstruating woman is said to attract ghosts because of the Buddhist belief that ghost eat blood. Sexual promiscuity is deplorable in Christianity because as Paul says, the body is “the temple of the Holy Spirit,”33 and “your bodies are members of Christ,”34 this means that the body is potentially holy. This is the case in Buddhism except in Tantric Buddhism where sexual eroticism is practiced. Daly35 notes of the God in Christianity being Male, the Son being male and the Holy Spirit being male. They are seen as perfect and bonded in love. This mythic trinity is not a product of Christianity as the author notes; it is a patriarchal patterning of society. In her article ‘what became of God the mother.’ Pagels36 discusses the conflicting images of God in Early Christianity. The God of Israel, the God of Christianity does not share his power with female divinity and is not seen as a husband or lover of any. God in Christianity is described in masculine epithets like judge, father, king, Lord and master among others. This is a striking absence of feminine symbolism in Christianity, Judaism and Islam which contrasts sharply against world’s other traditions. Different Buddhists show different gods, both male and female. Bibliography Appleton, Naomi. 2011. "In the Footsteps of the Buddha? Women and the Bodhisatta Path in Theravāda Buddhism." Journal Of Feminist Studies In Religion (Indiana University Press) 27, no. 1: 33-51. Aru Bhartiya, Menstruation, religion and society, International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 3, no. 6 (2013), pp. 523-527. Clarke Shayne, “Monks who have sex: Parajika penance in Indian Buddhist Monasticisms”, Journal of Indian Philosophy, (2009), 37, pp. 1-43. Clare Lees, Engendering religious desire: sex, knowledge and Christian identity in Anglo-Saxon England, Journal of Mediaval and Early Modern Studies, 27, no. 1 (1997), pp. 17-45. Daly Mary, The fall into freedom, in beyond God the father towards a philosophy of women liberation, (1973), Boston: Beacon Press. Daly Mary, “prelude to the first passage”, Feminist studies, 4, no. 3, (1978), pp. 81-86. Dharmachari Anavira, “Homesexuality in the Japanese Buddhist tradition”, Online: http://www.westernbuddhistreview.com/vol3/homosexuality.html Elaine Pagels, what became of God the mother, conflicting images of God in Early Christianity, Signs, 2, 2, (1976), pp. 293-303. Elizabeth Castelli, “Virginity and its meaning for women’s sexuality in Early Christianity”, Journal of Feminist studies in Religion, 2, no. 1, (1986), pp. 61-88. James Neill, The Origins and role of same-sex relations in human society, McFarland & Company Inc. USA, p. 272 Kaza, Stephanie. "Finding Safe Harbor: Buddhist Sexual Ethics in America." Buddhist-Christian Studies no. 24: 23-35. Levine, Noah. 2007. "being present with desire." Ascent Magazine no. 35: 50. MasterFILE Premier Loy, David. 2013. "What's wrong with sex? A Buddhist perspective." Sexual & Relationship Therapy28, no. 1/2: 141-147 M. O’C. Walshe, , Buddhism and sex, 1975, online http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/walshe/wheel225.html Martin Seenger, Reversal of female power, transcendentality, and gender in Thai Buddhism: The Thai Buddhist female saint Khun Mae Bunruean Tongbuntoem (1895-1964), Modern Asian Studies, 37, no. 5, pp. 1488-1519. Nina Cornyetz, Dangerous women, deadly words: phallic fantasy and modernity in three, Stanford University Press, California pp. 128. Phyllis Trible, Depatriarchalizing in Biblical interpretation, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 41, 1, (1973, pp. 30-48. Read More

Catholic priests and nuns are celibate and so are Monks and nuns. Monks and nuns are not supposed to engage in sexual activities and those who do so are considered defeated and are expelled8. Nuns are not allowed to be touched, rubbed or fondled by men between their collar-bones and knees. This is similar to Christian nuns who are not allowed to have sex9. In addition, Christian nuns are supposed to be virgins when they join and should remain that way for the rest of their lives. Castelli10 notes that nuns were supposed to ‘renounce the world’ and keep their virginity.

The Monks in Buddhism are rules with the same rules as Catholic priests; they are both not allowed to have sexual intercourse and they are not supposed to marry. Lay people in Buddhism were guided by five principles, the third of which requires the lay person to train not in sexual pleasure.11 The punishment for sex for monks and nuns in Buddhism is expulsion from the order as is the case for catholic priests and nuns. However, celibacy among lay people have changed in modern times with Catholic priests marrying and Japanese monks marrying12 Differences in attitudes of sexuality and sexual body in Buddhism and Christianity Neil says that in some respects there is a contrast between the approach to sexuality in Christianity and Buddhism.

According to Shingon Buddhism, the world is regarded as the body of the Supreme Buddha. Originally, Japanese Buddhists and the Vajrayana Buddhists of India saw sex as sacred.13 Daly14 says that the ‘Fall of Man’ myth was propagated by males in a male dominated society whose main intention was to reinforce sexual oppression in order to justify the woman’s inferior position in the society. In the story recorded in Genesis,15 the origin of the woman is in man and she is also the cause of all his miseries and his downfall.

Women are taken as objects16 and class differences are directed towards women. She argues that in the story of the Fall, the medium is the message. The fall of man should actually be named as the fall of woman since it is the woman who is blamed for the trouble of the world. This myth legitimizes self-hatred on both men to women and inwardly on the part of women. Daly17 observes that if this myth is allowed to dominate the consciousness of human beings and social arrangements, it offers the setting in which women are victimized by both men and women.

However, Trible18 aver that Adam was androgynous and incorporated the two sexes; male and female. In traditional Japan, Buddhist priests and samurai military took a view of the female body as less attractive. They considered the youthful male body to be optimally desirable and was taken to be fitting for adult men. Homosexuality was probably grew as a result of organising Buddhist monasteries in sexually segregated communities19 On the contrary, from its origin, Christianity does not condone homosexuality20 and only sex is only allowed if it is between a male and a female21.

There is great punishment for homosexuality in the Old Testament; in Genesis 19:1-5, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed as a result of homosexuality. Homosexual rape is also prohibited. 22 In addition, Christian teaching show that both male and female are not supposed to be involved in prostitution and those who do so will not ‘inherit the kingdom of God’23 While Christianity looks at sex as a way of reproduction and furthering family, Budhism was not interested in procreation.

Sex in Japanese Buddhism was seen as a religious symbol or as a way of ‘awakening one’s spirit’; religious realisation24 Sex was viewed as good but its procreation role was not uploaded. In Christianity, women are seen to have a role of pleasing males. The judgment of males has been metamorphosed into God’s judgment and women in Christianity have the religious duty accept the burden of guilt and to view herself with male chauvinistic eyes. It is seen as the woman’s fault that the society is sexist.

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