Mon, Sep 27, 1999 page8

• Buddhism and sexual misconduct

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  Buddhist nun Miaowen (妙文) has accused two elders of sexually assaulting her, going so far as to incite a crowd to gather at the Hui-jih Lecture Hall (惠日講堂) in support of her claims. But she has not gone unchallenged. Various Buddhist organizations have spoken out to defend their integrity against insinuations that sexual misconduct is widespread in Taiwan's temples. Other nuns at Miaowen's temple, the Hu-kuo Temple (護國寺), have in the meantime held a press conference to rebut Miaowen's allegations.

  The way in which Buddhism deals with sexual misconduct is worth considering more closely in the light of the recent controversy.

  The Buddha prescribed expulsion from the Sangha, the community of monks, for those found to have committed sexual misconduct. Various vows, such as the Sanghadisesa (僧殘), Pacittiya (波逸提), and Patidesaniya (波羅提提舍尼) vows, require violators to be subjected to penalties ranging from confessions and repentance to outright expulsion.

  Buddhist vows are different from criminal laws, however. Buddha said that the intention of the conscious mind is of paramount importance, which means that if a person's verbal and physical misconduct was unintentional, then they cannot be said to have broken their vows.

  The Vinaya (律藏), the book of monastic rules, contains many precedents on which enforcement of the vow concerning sexual misconduct can be based. For example, one monk left his monastery and went home, where he had sex with his former wife. The monk then went back to the monastery and repented. The Buddha asked the monk whether he had enjoyed having sex with his wife, and the monk replied that he had not. The Buddha therefore decided that the monk had not sinned. In another case, a woman imposed herself on a monk who was ill and asleep at the time. The Buddha said the monk had not sinned because he had been an unconscious partner in the sexual act.

  On the other hand, if a monk or nun masturbates, sexually gratifies themselves with an object, or performs sex on an animal, they are considered to have broken their vows.

  What has perhaps exacerbated the difficulties facing Taiwan's Buddhist temples is that it is commonplace for a temple to take both monks and nuns.

  The Buddhist Sangha did not have any women initially. Later, pursuant to the request of ?Nandaka (難陀), women were allowed to join the sangha, but they had to reside separately. The acceptance of women greatly displeased Mahakashyapa (大迦葉), one of the Buddha's most senior disciples. The Buddha rarely ever taught these women directly, but he asked his students to take turns preaching to them. However, many of his students, including Mahakashyapa, declined. Their reasoning was primarily to "distance oneself from the opposite sex for the sake of one's practice" (遠離女色好修行).

  Other religious groups repeatedly plotted to injure the Buddha's sangha through sex scandals. However, the Buddha responded with silence and disregard, because, as he preached, justice speaks for itself. In today's society, the same approach should be adopted. All the accusations and insinuations will be weighed in due course by judicial investigation, so there is no need to respond to defamatory claims in the meantime.

  Wu Chin-sheng is a teacher of Buddhist studies.
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