Tag: tibet

The Shadow of The Dalai Lama

Sexuality, Magic and Politics in Tibetan Buddhism CONTENTS Introduction: Light and Shadow Plato’s  Cave Realpolitik and politics of symbols   Part I – Ritual as Politics   1 – Buddhism and Misogyny (historical overview) The “sacrifice” of Maya: the Buddha legend The meditative dismemberment of women: Hinayana Buddhism The transformation of women into men: Mahayana Buddhism   2 – Tantric Buddhism… Read more »

Introduction to Buddhist Sexual Ethics: Having Sex with Someone Else’s Partner

Dorfgemeinschaft Bordo, Italy, 1995 -lightly edited transcript- I’ve been asked to speak today about Buddhist sexual ethics. Sexuality is obviously a topic that is of great interest to a lot of people. Especially when living in a close community in the countryside, as you are here, there can be a lot of confusion about sexuality… Read more »

Tibetan Buddhism and comments by the Dalai Lama:

The Dalai Lama is the spiritual and temporal head of the exiled government of Tibet, and is a member of the leadership of the Gelug – the largest of the four sects of Tibetan Buddhism. He is revered by millions of Buddhists and non-Buddhists worldwide. His comments on homosexuality have been very widely reported –… Read more »

Gay Marriage Popular In China (Sort Of)

“I am a 26-year-old woman from Shanghai, and I am looking for a boyfriend to marry in a year.” Yes, yes, we’ve heard all this before. Chinese women over the age of 27 can kiss their marriage plans and their future away because a 27-year-old woman is too old for any sensible Chinese man to… Read more »

For Gay Chinese, Getting Married Means Getting Creative

An increasing number of gay men in the country are conforming to traditional social norms — by marrying lesbians. Every time Benjamin Zhang talks about marriage, he uses the following words in abundance: “job,” “duty,” “my parents,” “problem,” and “urgent”. “The most urgent matter for me now is to find a spouse. I’m not young… Read more »

Queer Politics and Tibet

Headlines of the current decade reflect significant interest toward various kinds of emancipatory politics and their effects, with a particular gravitation toward LGBTQ rights and democratization in non-Western nations. An interesting feature emerges when contrasting the notions of LGBTQ rights and democratic values– the latter represents a majority-rule paradigm, while the former calls for minority… Read more »

Homosexuality, Marriage, and Religion in Tibet: An Endlessly Complicated Situation

Originally posted on tricycle July 20, 2009 A post which Tricycle editor James Shaheen recently wrote at the Huffington Post blog has picked up a good bit of attention around the internet. James’s subject was the Dalai Lama’s views on gay marriage, which, as he rightly discussed, are quite a complicated matter. In part this… Read more »

Homosexuality, Marriage, and Religion in Tibet: An Endlessly Complicated Situation

A post which Tricycle editor James Shaheen recently wrote at the Huffington Post blog has picked up a good bit of attention around the internet. James’s subject was the Dalai Lama’s views on gay marriage, which, as he rightly discussed, are quite a complicated matter. In part this stems from the utterly different cultural and… Read more »

Do Monks Have Sex?

This essay is a shorter version of a talk given to GBF When I agreed to speak to the Gay Buddhist Fellowship in February, I hoped for a topic which offered listeners support for their Buddhist practice. I told my teacher, Geshe Yeshe Phegey, that I’d decided to pose the question, “Do monks have sex… Read more »

“According to Buddhist Tradition”: Gays, Lesbians and the Definition of Sexual Misconduct

Leaving the Fairmount Hotel in San Francisco, having just met with the Dalai Lama, the words, “according to Buddhist tradition” reverberated in my head. Stepping out into the June sunlight, I felt tired, calm, enormously grateful-and disappointed. I was grateful for the Dalai Lama’s willingness to meet with gays and lesbians to discuss their concerns… Read more »