Buddhism Research Paper

Greeting noble beings of the known world I am a Buddhist monk hear to teach you a little bit about our ethical teachings. Sounds like fun, so lets get straight into it. Buddhism is not only a world religion but it is also a philosophy with between 230 and 500 million followers. Buddhism is based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha, simply known as “the Buddha” he is said to have lived in the 5th century BCE in ancient India. Essentially, according to Buddhist teachings, the ethical and moral principles are governed by examining whether a certain action, whether connected to body or speech is likely to be harmful to one's self or to others and thereby avoiding any actions which are likely to be harmful. In Buddhism, there is much talk of a skilled mind. A mind that is skilful avoids actions that
are likely to cause suffering or remorse.
The five precepts is one of the texts that contain the basic Buddhist code of ethics.
The precepts are commitments to abstain from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxication. Another text that is associated with the Buddhist ethical teaching’s is the vinaya. Vinaya can be translated to mean leading out, education and discipline this text also instructs the Buddhist on how to behave.
Buddhism has no rules prohibiting homosexuality but in the vinaya the Buddha is opposed to those who openly express homosexual desires and actions. The Buddhist texts do contain a large amount of relationships between men witch some believe to be of homosexual nature even though no sexual contact is mentioned in these instances.
Lay Buddhists are Buddhists that aren’t monks, are expected to follow the Five Precepts, the third of which is to “not engage in sexual misconduct”. What is sexual misconduct? I hear you say well to answer this Buddhists decide their actions by considering the following.
• Univerasalizability principle - "How would I like it if someone did this to me?"
• Consequences - Does the act causes harm and regret (in oneself or others) or benefit and
joy?
• Utilitarian principle - Will the act help or harm the attainment of goals (ultimately spiritual liberation)?
• Intention - Is the act motivated by love, generosity and understanding?
Therefore activities such as sexual harassment, child molestation and adultery are considered sexual misconduct. As homosexuality does not come under any of these headings it is considered an appropriate activity and is said that it should be interpreted the same way as heterosexuality. In theory homosexuality is aloud with Buddhist but in practice it is not openly expressed but this is because of the cultural norms of countries. This is also due to the notion of karma which is practiced in many Buddhist countries. Homosexuality is seen as a karmic punishment for committing sexual misconduct in a past life.
The five precepts impact a Buddhist directly as it contains information on how one should behave. Furthermore, the five precepts are not commandments or rules but they are a way of training a Buddhist to be kind, honest, truthful to others and one self by: not killing, refraining from sexual misconduct, listening to others, ceasing gossip, respect to others and avoid mistreating drugs and alcohol on a day to day basis. This teaches Buddhists to be respectful, kind and honest people not only to others but to themselves.