The Seven Bonds of Sexuality (sutra)

Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly translation (Methuna Sutra, AN 7.47)

What does Buddhist philosophy say about sexuality? (Suite101.com)

   

WARNING: These "bonds" are applicable only to monastics and intensive practitioners (such as those on retreat) adopting Eight Precepts, which goes beyond the ordinary Five Precepts.

 

SAVATTHI, ancient India - The Brahmin Jāṇussoṇī approached the Buddha and exchanged greetings with him. When this courteous exchange was concluded, Jāṇussoṇī sat down respectfully at one side and said:

   
“Does the Blessed One profess to be a celibate practitioner (brahmachari)?”

  
“Brahmin,” the Buddha replied, “if rightly speaking one were to say of anyone, ‘He lives the perfect and pure supreme (brahmachari) life, unbroken, untorn, undiluted, spotless,’ he would rightly be speaking of me. For, Brahmin, I live the perfect and pure supreme life, unbroken, untorn, undiluted, spotless.”

  
“But, Master Gautama, what is the break, the tear, the dilution, the blotch of the supreme life?”
 
7 Faults of the False Brahmachari 

Prince Siddhartha prior to his spiritual quest

1. “Herein [within this Dharma], Brahmin, a certain ascetic or Brahmin, declares that he is a real brahmachari. For he does not indulge in sexual intercourse (coupling) with women. But he consents to being rubbed, massaged, bathed, and kneaded by women. He relishes it, longs for it, and savors it. This, Brahmin, is a break, tear, dilution, and a blotch of the supreme life.

  
“This, Brahmin, is called one who leads the impure supreme life, who is devoted to indulging in coupling. He is not freed from birth, decay-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, physical pain, mental pain: He is not freed from disappointment, I say!

2. “Furthermore, Brahmin, a certain ascetic or Brahmin, declares himself to be a total brahmachari. Nor does he indulge in coupling with women. Nor does he consent to being rubbed, massaged, bathed, or kneaded by women. But he jokes with women, plays with them, jests with them. He relishes it, longs for it, and savors it.
   

“This, Brahmin, is a break, tear, dilution, and a blotch of the supreme life. This, Brahmin, is called one who leads the impure supreme life, who is devoted to indulging in coupling. He is not freed from birth, decay-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, physical pain, mental pain: He is not freed from disappointment, I say!

   

Kinnari, beautiful (bird) people (Crorlz/Flickr)

3. “Furthermore, Brahmin, a certain ascetic or Brahmin, declares himself to be a real brahmachari. For he does not indulge in coupling with women. Nor does he consent to being rubbed, massaged, bathed, or kneaded by women. Nor does he joke, play, or jest with women. But he gazes and looks eye to eye at women. He relishes it, longs for it, and savors it.... He is not freed from disappointment, I say!

 
4. “Furthermore, Brahmin, a certain ascetic or Brahmin, declares himself to be a real brahmachari.... But he listens to the sounds of women through a wall or through a fence as they laugh, talk, sing, or weep. He relishes it, longs for it, and savors it.... He is not freed from disappointment, I say!

 
5. “Furthermore, Brahmin, a certain ascetic or Brahmin, declares himself to be a real brahmachari.... But he recollects his former laughing and chatting and playing with women. He relishes it, longs for it, and savors it.... He is not freed from disappointment, I say! 

  

Mara tries to tempt an enlightened nun

6. “Furthermore, Brahmin, a certain ascetic or Brahmin, declares himself to be a real brahmachari.... But he sees a householder or a householder’s son being entertained, showered, and serviced with the cords of sense-pleasures.... He relishes it, longs for it, and savors it.... He is not freed from disappointment, I say!

 
7. “Furthermore, Brahmin, a certain ascetic or Brahmin, declares himself to be a real brahmachari. For he does not indulge in coupling with women. Nor does he consent to being rubbed, massaged, bathed, or kneaded by women. Nor does he joke, play, or jest with women. Nor does he gaze or look eye to eye at women. Nor does he listen to the sounds of women through a wall or through a fence as they laugh, talk, sing, or weep. Nor does he recollect the previous laughing and chatting and playing with women. Nor does he see a householder or a householder’s son being entertained, showered, and serviced with the cords of sense-pleasures. 

 

“But he lives the supreme life aspiring for rebirth among one of the groups of devas (shining ones) thinking, ‘By this observance or vow or austerity or supreme life, I shall become a deva or one [reborn] among them.’ He relishes it, longs for it, and savors it. This, Brahmin, is a break, tear, dilution, and a blotch of the supreme life.

 
“This, Brahmin, is called one who leads the impure supreme life, who is devoted to indulging in coupling. He is not freed from birth, decay-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, physical pain, mental pain: He is not freed from disappointment, I say!”

 
The Buddha has overcome all bonds

Ascetic Siddhartha accepts food from a woman

“And as long as I noticed that one or more of these seven bonds of sexuality were as yet unabandoned by me, to that extent, Brahmin, I did not claim to be supremely awakened in the peerless full enlightenment in this world with its devas, maras, brahmas, this generation with its recluses and Brahmins, its rulers, and people.

 
“But, Brahmin, when I did not notice any of these seven bonds of sexuality unabandoned in me, to that extent, Brahmin, I claimed to be supremely awakened in the peerless full enlightenment in this world with its devas, maras, brahmas, this generation with its recluses and brahmins, its rulers and people.

“And the knowledge and vision arose in me, ‘Unshakable is this liberation of mind/heart. This is my last birth. There is no more rebirth to come.’”

   
Jāṇussoṇī goes for guidance

When this was spoken, the Brahmin Jāṇussoṇī said this to the Buddha: “Excellent, Master Gautama! Excellent! Master Gautama! It is just as if one were to set upright what had been overturned, or were to reveal what was hidden, or were to show the way to one who was lost, or were to hold up a lamp in the dark so that those with eyes could discern forms. In just the same way, by numerous examples, has the Dharma been made clear by Master Gautama.

  
“I go to Master Gautama for guidance and to the Dharma and to the community of [accomplished] disciples. May Master Gautama remember us as lay followers who have gone for guidance from this day forward as long as life shall last.”

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UK Buddhist chief convicted of sex abuse

Chief Sanghanayaka Thera of Great Britain Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for Child Abuse

Colombo Telegraph (June 5, 2012) via The Buddhist Channel; Wisdom Quarterly

Sri Lankan chief monk convicted of sex abuse

LONDON, England - The Chief Monastic Order Elder of Great Britain and abbot of the Thames Buddhist Vihara has been convicted of four counts of indecent assault on a underage and sentenced to seven years in prison, a judge ruled [June 5, 2012].

   

He is also banned for working with children for life and his name is added to sex offenders register, a court spokesman told The Colombo Telegraph.

   

Venerable Pahalagama Somaratana, 65, of Dulverton Road, Croydon was convicted at Isleworth Crown Court on May 1 of four counts of indecent assault on a female under 16 between January 1, 1977 and December 31, 1978 at an address in Chiswick.

   

He was found not guilty of the rape of a female under 16 between January 1,1977 and December 31, 1978 at an address in Chiswick and not guilty of indecent assault on a female under 14 between January 1, 1985 and December 31, 1986 at an address in Croydon.

• [This is even more serious because it is absolutely a breach of monastic disciplinary rules, which means that if penetration happened -- whether or not he was convicted of it or even charged -- he has committed a grave "defeat" offense (parajika) and is instantly not a monk and not part of the Order. In addition, he has discredited the Buddha's message (Dharma), Theravada Buddhism, the Male Monastic Order (Bhikkhu Sangha), Sri Lanka (his country of origin), and celibate Buddhist monasticism.]
• Sri Lankan Buddhist monk beat 14-year-old Catholic student for refusing to learn Buddhism

In May 2010 Child Abuse Investigation Command officers began an investigation into historical allegations of indecent assault and rape. On Tuesday, 14 September 2010 a (then) 64-year-old monk was arrested on suspicion of an historical indecent assault and rape. He was questioned at Heathrow police station and later bailed pending further enquiries.

 

He was charged on September 12, 2011 and further charged on  November 11, 2011.

  

On Friday, September 23 Pahalagama Somaratana appeared on bail at Feltham Magistrates’ Court charged with rape of female under 16 between January 1, 1977 and December 31, 1978 at an address in Chiswick and indecent assault on a female under 16 between January 1, 1977 and December 31, 1978 at an address in Chiswick.

   

Pahalagama Somaratana has been charged with another eight counts of sexual abuse on Friday, November 11 the London Metropolitan police told the Colombo Telegraph. According to the metropolitan police these eight indecent assaults on a female under 14 took place between January 1, 1985 and December 31, 1986 at an address in Croydon.

   

The 65-year-old Pahalagama Somaratana Thero appeared on bail at Feltham Magistrates’ Court on Friday, December 2 and was bailed to appear at Isleworth Crown Court on December 20, 2011. Source

Sri Lankan war and sex crimes against Tamils

Raped ethnic minority Tamil Hindu rebel

GRAPHIC CONTENT! A new video shows the Tamil rebel [LTTE] media TV announcer Issapriya’s naked body (shown left). It lies with hundreds of dead bodies, first with hands tied then untied. They indicate that she had been raped by Sri Lankan soldiers then executed.

  

A [majority Sinhalese Theravada Buddhist] security forces officer speaking in Sinhalese to a female says, “Here,  here, Voice of Tiger announcer.” (See at Minute 2:56 in the video).

• When her dead body was photographed the first time, her hands were tied behind her back; she had allegedly been raped.

The video clearly demonstrates a woeful and consistent pattern by the Sri Lankan forces: Most of the female combatants, armed and unarmed, as well as civilians are stripped naked or have their underwear pulled down to their knees and their bras are either missing or near their neck, exposing the breasts of teenage girls and young women. Only a few men are stripped naked. [Do Sri Lankan soldiers rape them, too?]

• On Tamil sovereignty cognition and war crimes
• PHOTO: US soldiers rape of Afghan boy?
• (David Blacker) Here is a picture of US troops [illegally posing] with [murdered corpse of civilian boy,] an executed 15-year-old Afghan child near Kandahar in 2010. Would you agree that the corpse’s nudity and the blood on his legs are more indicative of violent rape [sodomy] than the above pictures [of Tamil victims]?

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Monks walk away from sex-abuse cases

Text: Megan Twohey (Chicago Tribune, July 24, 2011); Wisdom Quarterly

Across the U.S., temples frustrate investigators by insisting they have no control over monks' actions or whereabouts. The scourge is not limited to Catholic priests and nuns.

 

The meeting took place at Wat Dhammaram, a cavernous [Thai] Theravada Buddhist temple on the southwest edge of Chicago.
  
A tearful 12-year-old told three monks how another monk had turned off the lights during a tutoring session, lifted her shirt and kissed and fondled her breasts while pressing against her, according to a lawsuit.

• In fairness to the monks, but more so to the abused, they probably do not know that outside of pious Thailand and other Buddhist countries, where this sort of behavior may be tolerated and kept as a terrible secret behind layers of agonizing shame and dysfunctional fear, in this country, "Homey don't play that!" In other words, expect legal troubles. This is not Rome. In no way can this behavior be tolerated, condoned, excused, or covered up. It is the ruin of the monastic Sangha and Buddhism.
• U.S. has about 350 Theravada Buddhist temples 
• Buddhist temple embroiled in bitter dispute
• WHAT IS THE SOLUTION? What would allow monastics to stay on the path rather than endangering themselves, child victims, and Buddhism? Sexual contact is a serious offense; moreover, any kind of penetration means immediate and irreversible defeat and expulsion. Only practicing the meditative absorptions (jhanas) works in the long run, and only liberating insight finally frees one permanently. The Western Buddhist nun Ayya Khema explains this (at Minute 3:25) from first hand experience. This also applies for non-Buddhist clerics and monastics because the absorptions are not limited to the Buddha's teaching.
• VIDEO: "Losing My Religion" (R.E.M.)
  

Editor: Prof. Cabezon, UCSB

Shortly after that meeting, one of the monks sent a letter to the girl's family, saying the temple's monastic community had resolved the matter, the lawsuit says.
   

The "wrong doer had accepted what he had done," wrote P. Boonshoo Sriburin, and within days would "leave the temple permanently" by flying back to Thailand. "We have done our best to restore the order," the letter said.

   

But 11 years later, the monk, Camnong Boa-Ubol, serves at a temple in California, where he says he interacts with children even as he faces a second claim, supported by DNA, that he impregnated a girl in the Chicago area.

   

Monastics are often beset by defilements.

Sriburin acknowledges that restoring order did not involve stopping Boa-Ubol from making the move to California. And it did not involve issuing a warning to the temple there. Wat Dhammaram didn't even tell its own board of directors what happened with the monk, he said.

"We have no authority to do anything. … He has his own choice to live anywhere," Sriburin said.

   

A Tribune review of sexual abuse cases involving several Theravada Buddhist temples found minimal accountability and lax oversight of monks accused of preying on vulnerable targets.

   

Because they answer to no outside ecclesiastical authority, the temples respond to allegations as they see fit. And because the monks are viewed as free agents, temples claim to have no way of controlling what they do next. More

Documentary: A Thai Buddhist temple in Florida (Thomas Livezey)

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Sexual Abuse Isn't Just a Catholic Issue.

I may be wrong on this but it seems rare to hear of a sexual abuse scandal in the Buddhist world but there has been one brewing for some time now in the American Zen circle:

"This article, among other revelations, presents a face of Zen not ordinarily visible to the general public. That is, how well known Zen rōshis and leading Zen figures spoke and acted; or failed to speak and act, in the face of deeply troubling allegations and really severe problems. Thereby, the article also points to the underlying interests of these rōshis.

The letter makes it clear that the teachers have heard first hand reports of Eido Shimano's activities directly from a number of the women involved. The repetitive nature of the allegations over a three decade period during which these alleged transgressions occurred without any formal public investigation or adequate resolution was so great that it motivated eight prominent Zen leaders from across America to sign the document, in the name of the greater North American Zen Maha-Sangha."

James: These are some of the allegations that really seem to show the Roshi as having acted highly inappropriately. If true, (and they seem true) he has also defaced and mocked the American Zen tradition. As well as Buddhism in general:

Over the past three decades, we have interviewed many former students of Shimano Roshi. Their stories are consistent: trust placed in an apparently wise and compassionate teacher, only to have that trust manipulated in the form of his sexual misconduct and abuse. Some of these students elected to continue their practice with us; most of them wanted nothing further to do with Zen Buddhism.

James: This is extremely serious. This trusted monk was supposed to show people how to liberate themselves from suffering--not increase their suffering!! What an appalling perversion of Buddhism!! And he allegedly did it multiple times over DECADES!! He not only allegedly abused them but he has also lead people astray from the path, which is a very egregious action in Buddhism. And if other Zen teachers knew of these transgressions and did nothing about it are just as culpable in my view. A lot of Buddhists believe it is rare to find the path of the Buddha and to lead people astray from it is to hold the enlightenment of fledgling beings in the palm of your hand and then tossing that into a deep, dark and muddy hole. The karma that such a false leader incurs must be enormous.

There is a saying in a Jataka which can be summarized as follows: “When a herd of cattle is traveling, if the leading bull strays, the whole herd goes astray. So it is with the people. If the appointed leader practices adhamma or unrighteousness, the multitude will also practise it. The whole nation will suffer if that one fails to abide by the Dhamma. When a herd of cattle is traveling, if the leading bull keeps to the proper course, the whole herd will do the same. So it is with the people. If the appointed leader abides by the Dhamma, the multitude will do likewise. The whole nation will be content if the leader upholds the Dhamma. This Buddhist saying is quite clear. The behavior of the leader is of great consequence to the masses as they will inevitably follow his example."

James: The Vinaya, which is a body of rules of monastics states, "Like a person, whose head is cut off, is unable to live with that mutilated body, a bhikkhu having associated with sex becomes a non-samana and non-sakyan-son (i.e. loses his monkhood and the membership among the Buddha’s sangha)." It might be tempting by some to ignore this uncomfortable issue but if we truly believe the essence of Buddha's message was to help others over-come suffering then we owe it to these victims, and even the Roshi himself to address this completely. It is so sad that this drove some people away from Buddhism but regardless, I hope that they find the peace and relief from suffering that they deserve.

~Peace to all beings~

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