A lesbian couple will tie the knot next month in what is being described as the first gay Buddhist wedding in Taiwan.
Fish Huang and You Ya-ting, both 30, will exchange vows on August 11 at a Buddhist monastery in north Taiwan’s Taoyuan country.
“We decided to get married last year,” Huang told the AFP. “After being together for six years, we feel we need to make a life-long commitment to each other.”
Master Shih Chao-hui, who is also a professor at Buddhist Hsuan Chuang University, will perform the ceremony.
“I would like to stand up to give blessings to the couple because I hope my step can embody the spirit of Buddhism spreading compassion throughout the world,” said Shih.
She added that Buddhist teachings “do not discriminate against gays and lesbians and do not consider human desires as a sin although they do call for restraint.”
Master Huei Kai, a professor at Fo Guang University, told the United Daily News that while the Buddhist scriptures do not mention gays “that does not necessarily mean that Buddhism agrees to them.”
President Ma Ying-jeou has said he does not believe Taiwan is ready to legalize gay marriage.
by On Top Magazine Staff
Source – On Top Magazine
