Buddhist view of marriage explained

Buddhism considers marriage a secular affair[1] and as such, it is not considered a sacrament.[2] Buddhists are expected to follow the civil laws regarding marriage laid out by their respective governments.[2]

While the ceremony itself is civil, many Buddhists obtain the blessing from monks at the local temple after the marriage is completed.[1]

History

Gautama Buddha never spoke against marriage[3] but instead pointed out some of the difficulties of marriage.[3] He is quoted in the Parabhava Sutta as saying:[4]

Views

While Buddhism may neither encourage nor discourage getting married, it does provide principles regarding it.[5] [6]

In the Sigalovada Sutta (Digha Nikaya 31), Gautama Buddha advised husbands to honor and respect their wives, be faithful, and share authority in managing household affairs. Similarly, wives were encouraged to perform their duties well, be hospitable to relatives, and be faithful and industrious.[7] [8]

In Tibetan Buddhism

The Dalai Lama has spoken of the merits of marriage:[9]

Same Sex Marriage

The Pali Canon (the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language, and the most complete extant early Buddhist canon) bars both female and male monastics from both homosexual and heterosexual activities.

Among Buddhists there is a wide diversity of opinion about homosexuality and gay marriage.[10] According to the Pāli Canon and Āgama (the Early Buddhist scriptures), there is not any saying that same-sex or opposite sex relations have anything to do with sexual misconduct.[11] [12] Scholars argue that early Buddhism did not see sexual orientation as a moral issue and that tolerance aligns with core values of Buddhism as a whole.[13] As such, Buddhist attitudes towards homosexuality are often a reflection of local culture rather than Buddhist teachings.[14] The history of homosexuality in Buddhist societies includes cultures of acceptable and non-acceptance in different locations and times.[15] [16]

Opposition

The Dalai Lama once stated:[17]

However, the Dalai Lama later clarified his position stating gay marriage is "OK", provided it's not in contradiction with the values of one's chosen religion.[18] Some contemporary Buddhists oppose or opposed same-sex marriage including Chan master Hsuan Hua.[19]

Support

Some of the first gay marriages of the modern period were performed by Buddhists.[20] The first known modern Buddhist same-sex marriage took place in the early 1970s through the Buddhist Church of San Francisco part of the Shin Tradition. Prominent contemporary supporters of the rights of the rights of gay and lesbians include Nalandabodhi sangha who has stated that they are welcoming of all sexual orientations and well-known Bhutanese lama Khyentse Norbu has expressed support for LGBT rights in Bhutan.[21] Hsing Yun, founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order, has called for tolerance towards the LGBT community.[22] [23] The Plum Village Tradition founded by founded by Thích Nhất Hạnh and Chân Không formally accepts LGBT individuals starting an initiative called "The Rainbow Family".[24] [25] [26] [27]

Heavily Buddhist Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage in 2019 with the prominent support of Buddhist Nun Chao-hwei Shih.[28] [29] Nepal, a country with relatively significant Buddhist influences, legalized Same-sex marriage on 24th April, 2024.[30] Heavily Buddhist Thailand legalized same-sex marriage in 2024.[31] Same-sex marriages are also performed in places where it is not yet recognized, for example, same-sex marriages are performed at Shunkō-in, a Rinzai Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto and Shozenji Temple in Moriguchi City, Osaka.[32] [33] [34] [35] [36] The Buddhist Church of San Francisco first performed a gay marriage ceremony in the 1970s while American Soka Gakkai Buddhists have performed same-sex union ceremonies since the 1990s.[37] [38] [39] [40] There has also been support for sam-sex marriage from the European Buddhist Union[41] the Buddhist Churches of America,[42] [43] [44] many Shin Buddhist groups,[45] and The Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils (FABC) in Australia.[46]

Divorce

Since marriage is secular,[1] Buddhism has no restrictions on divorce.[47] Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda has said "if a husband and wife really cannot live together, instead of leading a miserable life and harboring more jealousy, anger and hatred, they should have the liberty to separate and live peacefully."[48]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Personal Ceremonies: Marriage / Funeral Rites . Buddhanet.net . 2012-06-06.
  2. Web site: A Basic Buddhism Guide: Buddhist Ethics . Buddhanet.net . 2012-06-06.
  3. Web site: A Happy Married Life: A Buddhist Perspective . Accesstoinsight.org . 2012-06-06.
  4. Web site: Parabhava Sutta . Buddhasutra.com . 2012-06-06 . 2022-11-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221105224259/http://www.buddhasutra.com/files/parabhava_sutta.htm . usurped .
  5. Web site: Buddhist view on marriage . 2012-06-06 . Purifymind.com.
  6. Web site: Buddhist practices . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20191027135143/http://www.londonbuddhistvihara.org/qa/qa_practices.htm#qa_practices7 . 2019-10-27 . 2012-06-06 . Londonbuddhistvihara.org.
  7. Web site: 2012-03-24 . Sigalovada Sutta . 2012-06-06 . Accesstoinsight.org.
  8. Web site: SuttaCentral . 2025-01-04 . SuttaCentral . en.
  9. Web site: HH Dalai Lama . 2012-06-06 . Khandro.net.
  10. Book: Stevens, John . Lust for enlightenment : Buddhism and sex . 1990 . Shambhala Publ . 087773416X . 716757478.
  11. Web site: 1997 . Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu . Cunda Kammaraputta Sutta . To Cunda the Silversmith . 2011-03-14 . Access to Insight . AN 10.176 . Abandoning sensual misconduct, he abstains from sensual misconduct. He does not get sexually involved with those who are protected by their mothers, their fathers, their brothers, their sisters, their relatives, or their Dhamma; those with husbands, those who entail punishments, or even those crowned with flowers by another man.
  12. Font . Bernat . 2016-01-01 . Buddhism and Homosexuality: an overview. .
  13. Web site: Vermeulen . Michael . September 2017 . The rise of Rainbow Dharma: Buddhism on sexual diversity and same-sex marriage . United Nations OHCHR - UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief - Special Rapporteur’s Compilation of Articles on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Sexuality.
  14. Web site: LGBTQ Buddhists: Teachings, Profiles, and Conversations . 2024-12-25 . Lion’s Roar . en-US.
  15. Web site: Michaelson . Dr Jay . 2018-07-02 . We're Queer And We've Been Here - Tricycle: The Buddhist Review . 2024-12-25 . Tricycle: The Buddhist Review - The independent voice of Buddhism in the West. . en.
  16. Web site: Ito . Alina Joan . 2024-04-15 . 5 Facts About Japan's Gay History . 2024-12-25 . Tokyo Weekender . ja.
  17. Web site: Dalai Lama Speaks on Gay Sex / He says it's wrong for Buddhists but not for society. Lattin. Don. Writer. Chronicle Religion. 1997-06-11. SFGate. 2019-12-27.
  18. Web site: 6 March 2014 . Dalai Lama says gay marriage is 'OK' and anti-LGBT bullying is 'wrong' . 27 March 2021 . PinkNews . en-GB.
  19. Prebish, Charles: The Faces of Buddhism in America, page 255. University of California Press, 1998.
  20. Web site: Wilson . Jeff . 2015-06-27 . A Big Gay History of Same-sex Marriage in the Sangha - Tricycle: The Buddhist Review . 2024-12-27 . Tricycle: The Buddhist Review - The independent voice of Buddhism in the West. . en.
  21. Web site: The Buddhist View on LGBTQ and Smoking . 13 April 2021 . The Bhutanese . en-US.
  22. Web site: 7 March 2018 . Tibetan Buddhist views on LGBTQ: is Buddhism accepting, neutral, supportive, or alienating to lesbians, gay men and trans-gendered persons? What about same-sex marriage? – Buddha Weekly: Buddhist Practices, Mindfulness, Meditation . 22 December 2021 . en-US.
  23. Web site: Sujato . Bhante . 12 March 2012 . Why Buddhists Should Support Marriage Equality .
  24. Web site: Michaelson . Dr Jay . 2018-07-02 . We're Queer And We've Been Here - Tricycle: The Buddhist Review . 2024-12-22 . Tricycle: The Buddhist Review - The independent voice of Buddhism in the West. . en.
  25. Web site: 2023-06-27 . Expanding the Spectrum of Love . 2024-12-22 . Plum Village . en-US.
  26. Web site: 2023-07-28 . Thich Nhat Hanh on… / Homosexuality and discrimination . 2024-12-22 . Plum Village . en-US.
  27. Web site: 2022-06-20 . Engaged Buddhism / The Rainbow Family: Engaging with Suffering in the Present Moment . 2024-12-22 . Plum Village . en-US.
  28. Web site: Lewis . Craig . 26 February 2021 . Taiwanese Buddhist Master Ven. Shih Chao-hwei Selected for 38th Niwano Peace Prize . Buddhistdoor Global.
  29. Web site: Buddhist Nun Leads Asia's Fight for Gay Marriage Harvard Divinity Bulletin . 2024-12-23 . bulletin.hds.harvard.edu . en-US.
  30. https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/nepal-apex-court-issues-interim-order-to-temporarily-register-same-sex-marriages20230629002842/
  31. Web site: Thai king signs same-sex marriage bill into law . 2024-12-23 . www.bbc.com . en-GB.
  32. Web site: Kure . Rena . 22 October 2015 . Buddhist Priest Invites Same-Sex Couples To Marry at His Temple . 5 April 2017 . HuffPost.
  33. Bailey . Cathryn . December 2008 . Embracing the Icon: The Feminist Potential of the Trans Bodhisattva, Kuan Yin . Hypatia . 24 . 3 . 178–196 . 10.1111/j.1527-2001.2009.01051.x . 144982548.
  34. Web site: MATCHA . 22 July 2020 . Shozenji, An LGBTQ Safe Temple Run by a Transgender Nun . 12 December 2021 . MATCHA – JAPAN TRAVEL WEB MAGAZINE . en.
  35. Web site: Yarber . Angela . 9 May 2015 . Guanyin Revisited: Queer, Pacifist, Vegan Icon by Angela Yarber . 12 December 2021 . en.
  36. Vo . Dan . 7 January 2021 . THE COMPASSIONATE WAY: Towards Trans and Non-Binary Inclusive Narratives in Museums . SQS – Suomen Queer-tutkimuksen Seuran Lehti . 14 . 1–2 . 95–101 . 10.23980/sqs.101457 . 234116545 . free.
  37. Web site: Dart . John . 1 July 1995 . U.S. Buddhist Group Approves Marriage-Like Rights for Gays . 5 April 2017 . Los Angeles Times.
  38. Web site: The Buddhist pioneers of same-sex marriage in the West: a little-known history of compassion in action by Dr Michael Vermeulen . 18 April 2023 . ebumagazine.org.
  39. Web site: Wilson . Jeff . 27 June 2015 . A Big Gay History of Buddhist Same-sex Marriage . 22 December 2021 . . en.
  40. Web site: Kuwahara . Kiyonobu Joshin . 2 June 2017 . Is My Sangha Inclusive? . 18 April 2023 . . en-US.
  41. Web site: European Rainbow Sangha – European Buddhist Union . 2024-12-23 . europeanbuddhistunion.org.
  42. Web site: Seattle Betsuin Brings New Light to LGBTQ Issues: Northwest Dharma Association . 27 March 2021 . northwestdharma.org.
  43. Wilson . Jeff . 2012 . "All Beings Are Equally Embraced By Amida Buddha": Jodo Shinshu Buddhism and Same-Sex Marriage in the United States . dead . Journal of Global Buddhism . 13 . 31–59 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180413123019/http://www.globalbuddhism.org/jgb/index.php/jgb/article/viewFile/125/140 . 13 April 2018 . 27 March 2021.
  44. Web site: Wilson . Jeff . 20 June 2018 . Buddha's Big Shrug: The Non-Conflictual History of Same-Sex Marriage in the Buddhist Churches of America . 18 April 2023 . berkleycenter.georgetown.edu . en.
  45. Web site: Hamamoto . Ben . 10 July 2014 . Seminar traces roots of Buddhists' support for LGBTQ rights » Nichi Bei . 18 April 2023 . nichibei.org.
  46. Web site: Potts . Andrew M . 19 April 2012 . Buddhists come out for equality . 27 March 2021 . Star Observer . en-US.
  47. Web site: Divorce. Guide to Buddhism A to Z.
  48. Web site: A Happy Married Life A Buddhist Perspective. Access to Insight.

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