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Buddhism and Sex
Thu, 2009-02-26 04:10 ? Graham Mason
http://www.reuniting.info/node/2103
There are so many branches of Buddhism and I can't pretend to be an authority on any of them.
In my experience of Theravada Buddhism in Thailand contact between monks and women is very controlled. A woman is not permitted to hand something directly to a Monk. She places the object on another surface somewhere and he can pick it up. Similarly on public transport Monks avoid sitting next to women. As monks they take on a number of "preceps" which they must adhere to and one of them is definitely about sexual misconduct.
I was a bit surprised then when in Dharamsala I saw monks sometimes walking hand in hand with a woman. Speaking to a Tibetan guy from who I was learning massage, he told me that 99% of women teaching English were after the Tibetan monks. I managed to bargain him down to 90%. There are all sorts of stories and happenings there. I don't know if it is sanctioned or not. Many of the monks are refugees away from their monastries in Tibet.
Somewhere I have read that the Tibetan Tantric tradition goes way back and some story that monks had consorts to assist them with their sexual energies. I cant remember the exact details.
Back in Australia, a few months ago I went to a talk by a high Tibetan monk and he was definitely advising celibacy.
In my experience though Buddhism is not so much about hard dogma. Everything seems more open for debate.
Its all kind of interesting, and although I don't have much desire to become a Buddhist I reckon that the Dalai Lama is a cool dude. He writes and talks a lot of sense that I find refreshing in this world.