Gay Tibet: His Hols the Dalai Lama Speaks on Gay matters

Contents:

• DID THE DALAI LAMA ENDORSE GAY MARRIAGE?
• DALAI LAMA VOIC SUPPORT FOR GAY MARRIAGE
• DALAI LAMA SAYS HE SUPPORTS GAY MARRIAGE
• DALAI LAMA SAYS GAY MARRIAGE IS 'OK'
• HE'S COOL WH GAY MARRIAGE (KDA)
• DALAI LAMA SAYS NO PROBLEM WH GAY MARRIAGE
• DALAI LAMA SAYS HE SUPPORTS GAY MARRIAGE

DID THE DALAI LAMA ENDORSE GAY MARRIAGE?

In a March 2014 segment on Larry Kg Now, a televisn seri available through on-mand digal televisn work Ora TV, His Hols the Dalai Lama said gay marriage is "OK. " In light of prev statements by His Hols that homosexual sex amounts to "sexual misnduct, " this seemed to be a reversal of his prr view.

His basic posn all along has been that there's nothg wrong wh homosexual sex unls vlat the precepts of one's relign. Larry Kg: What do you thk of the whole emergg gay qutn? Prev Statement About Homosexualy.

The late AIDS activist Steve Pkd wrote an article for the March 1998 issue of the Buddhist journal Shambhala Sun, tled “Acrdg to Buddhist Tradn: Gays, Lbians and the Defn of Sexual Misnduct. However, Pkd wrote, a meetg wh members of the San Francis gay muny 1998, the Dalai Lama said, "A sexual act is emed proper when the upl e the ans tend for sexual terurse and nothg else, " and then went on to scribe heterosexual as the only proper e of ans. Teachers separated by distance and language barriers often me to their own nclns about thgs, and that's what happened wh homosexualy.

DALAI LAMA VOIC SUPPORT FOR GAY MARRIAGE

Some Buddhist teachers some parts of Asia cid homosexualy was sexual misnduct, but others other parts of Asia accepted as no big al.

It's possible the Dalai Lama has no personal anim toward homosexualy, but he tak his role as guardian of the tradn very serly. But then for a non-believer, that is up to them, " he's basilly sayg that there's nothg wrong wh homosexual sex unls vlat some relig vow you have taken.

Other schools of Buddhism -- Zen, for example -- are very acceptg of homosexualy, so beg a gay Buddhist isn't necsarily a problem. I did not have the Dalai Lama beg outed as a gay pedophile on my bgo rd.

DALAI LAMA SAYS HE SUPPORTS GAY MARRIAGE

Although there is no general nsens wh regard to sexual orientatn and genr inty wh Buddhism, overall the third precept is most often referenced when discsg gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenr and queer issu. Yet a 1997 prs nference he mented that “om a Buddhist pot of view [lbian and gay sex] is generally nsired sexual misnduct.

The Dalai Lama has e out support of gay marriage, sayg was “OK” and a personal affair for people of the same sex to m to each other.

Ultimately, the Dalai Lama, who like all Tibetan Monks is celibate himself, said gay marriage was up to each ernment and was ultimately "dividual bs. ”He also nmned bullyg of lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) muny.

DALAI LAMA SAYS GAY MARRIAGE IS 'OK'

Jam’s subject was the Dalai Lama’s views on gay marriage, which, as he rightly discsed, are que a plited matter. The cultural and relig assumptns of Wtern gay rights advot (or, for that matter, Wtern opponents of gay marriage). One uld argue that the Dalai Lama has as much right to mand that gay rights advot get over their “polyphobia” and start explicly agatg for Amerin ernment legal regnn of polygamy as they have to mand he get rid of his “homophobia.

HE'S COOL WH GAY MARRIAGE (KDA)

But for now let’s jt stick to the issue of homosexual relatns and relign. But what n we say about monks and homosexualy? Gay monks were mon tradnal Tibet (and every other Buddhist culture) and were an accepted part of society, whout there beg any legal form of “gay marriage” or ed any morn ncept of “homosexual orientatn.

Drombo is a Tibetan term for a passive homosexual partner, often someone a close relatnship wh a monk. While the monks the active rol were equently gay the sense that Wterners now unrstand the term, the drombo himself often had no sexual attractn to men.

A “heterosexual” male drombo servg as a passive homosexual partner received not stigma but overt social benef).

DALAI LAMA SAYS NO PROBLEM WH GAY MARRIAGE

If so, you may want to whhold om makg knee-jerk judgements (pro or n) about the Dalai Lama’s views on gay marriage, as this is the type of suatn he is g om when he talks about the matter.

DALAI LAMA SAYS HE SUPPORTS GAY MARRIAGE

In other words, his ntext for talkg about relign, sex, homosexualy, moraly, s of nduct, inty, and genr relatns is not the same as that of his Wtern terviewers, nor is there any reason to expect that would be–and is different ways that few Wterners, cludg Buddhist practners, have even the slightt klg of, and has absolutely no origal nnectn to ncepts of “rights. And jt to prove that homosexualy, marriage, and relign Tibet are endlsly plited: the Sixth Dalai Lama, who is believed to have been reborn as the current Dalai Lama, was wily known to be flamboyantly bisexual.

All of this pots to a basic tth: tryg to unrstand where someone else om another culture is g om (both for gay rights advot and the Dalai Lama himself) n be a tly dntg task, requirg much huy and willgns to ntually reflect on how ltle one actually knows about the tails of the other’s background circumstanc. The Dalai Lama took his first public stance on gay marriage Thursday, llg “O.

K., ” he said, addg that he unrervedly opposed attacks on homosexuals.