Dear Ven. Sugato, Ven. Yuttadhammo and friends,

thanks for the interesting discussion. :-) I have raised this topic
once [ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pali/message/3115 ] and I
thought it would be the one and only time I would discuss it on the
list. I assume no one else would want to bring this up for
discussion, and I would not be doing so again for two reasons.

1. Members may be despised for taking a pro-gay stance, especially so
for those living in places where anti-sodomy laws prevail.

2. Full-buddhists, "half-buddhists", non-buddhists, anyone who has
access to this public domain group may inappropriately think that
this group has some hidden agenda.

But, since it has been brought up, I would like to share some
thoughts.

I think for the gay community at large, it does not matter how
embracing Buddhism is towards people of alternate sexuality as long
as it does not condemn homosexuality.

Ven. Yuttadhammo brought up the point of gay people getting ordained
for wrong reasons. I think it is valid and relevant because I don't
think monasteries should endorse sexual acts of any kind by monks.

As for laypeople, I think most of the stuff are still done pretty
much out of attachment, and may even be considered a waste of time
and money. In the present context, the difference between acts is
probably whether an act is considered gross or not. I shall not
deliberate this further.

I would not disagree with the possibility that homosexuality was not
accepted during Buddha's time, although there is also a possibility
it was tolerated to some degree as in other ancient societies (until,
maybe, some self-appointed "whistle-blowers" come in). However, we
are living in a different age and under a very different social
strata. We will be regressing, rather than progressing, if we were to
accept or reject homosexuality based entirely on how it was treated
during Buddha's time.


With metta,
Yong Peng.