Gay Buddhists: on a distinctive spiritual path?

By Mark S. Ritzenhein

Many gay people feel alienated from their heritage faith because of the institutionalized homophobia which they find themselves faced with once they realize that they are gay. Thus, when they first approach Buddhism in a more committed manner, they initially and foremost want to know if they are walking through a revolving door to yet another situation where their wish to find fulfillment of their spiritual needs is poisoned by the same homophobic attitudes.

This fear may also rest in part upon unresolved matters of internal self-acceptance, brought about by a lifetime of negativity imposed by others. Barely-healed psychological wounds can be easily re-opened by finding the same cold water in one's hoped-for new harbor of refuge. Refuge is what prospective as well as practicing Buddhists are offered: "I go for Refuge in the Buddha; I go for refuge in the Dharma; I go for refuge in the Sangha."

Many religious faiths have similar offerings of refuge, but not stated quite so plainly. So, can a gay person find refuge in the Buddha? The answer is yes, but as always life is not simple.

One can find homophobia within Buddhist cultural traditions as much as anywhere else. This is unfortunate, but the core of Buddhist philosophy and practice does not require this attitude and it can be discarded like the unnecessary baggage that it is without any impact upon the real spiritual intention.

The next conflict gay people find themselves faced with is whether they must totally abandon their heritage faith if they are going to accept a Buddhist practice, and the answer is no. Buddhism has traditionally been a tolerant faith which spread across much of Asia without requiring an obliteration of existing local beliefs. These local beliefs were usually syncretized into Buddhist practice and vice versa, subtly changing the definition of Buddhism from country to country. This has made Buddhism a very resilient and flexible faith.

Now that Buddhism has reached the West, it is in the midst of being transformed to accommodate itself to our particular cultural idiom. It should be no surprise that one might wish to retain one's Jewish faith, or aspects of one's Christian beliefs, for example, and still become a "Buddhist." This blending of personal experience and Buddhist practice applies to Gay culture as well. In fact, I feel that it is very important that Gay Buddhists create their own specific Buddhist practice, relevant to their own needs. Many others find themselves in opposition to this idea, stating the Buddhist claim to universality. All religions make this claim, however, and personal life experience tells me that in order for a spiritual practice of any sort to be of value to a gay person then it must be tailored to become relevant to our lives as gay men or lesbians.

The historical progression of the Buddhist faith from one nation to another underlies the validity and importance of this stance. Since as gay people we are always judged (negatively) on our native sexual desire, this is one of the most important issues facing a gay person in his or her initial exploration of the Buddhist path. Some established Buddhist organizations have a negative interpretation of gay sexuality, but these views are based upon ancient monastic rules on the one hand, and the acculturated homophobia of heterosexual men who established such rules in the first place, and which are then passed on from one generation to another.

Until very recently, gay people did not have the freedom or opportunity to speak with their own voice, so it should come as no surprise that it is not heard in ancient texts. This makes our lives as openly gay people utterly important--for ourselves in the present moment as well as our brothers and sisters who come after us, and to speak for those like us who never had the chance to speak for themselves. Since Buddhism is relatively new to the West, a prime opportunity awaits those who embrace it to forge their own gay spiritual practice without the shackles of established religious authority. I hold my arms open in welcome to any and all.

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Mark Ritzenhein is a practicing Buddhist and member of the Gay Buddhist Open Forum.

Comments

[Mike Jenk]

I used to be very hateful of gays as a Christian. I always saw them as always going against nature and doing the work of the devil. My time spent learning more and more about Buddhism has definitely made me question some of those views I used to have. I feel like I have undergone a paradigm shift in my thought process. I was the kind of person who would run miles away from anything remotely resembling gay and now feel proud to even have gays as my friends.(yeah its been a long journey to self actualization) I hope the people that I may have hurt in the past with my stupid comments and negative behavior may forgive me.

[joe perez]

thanks for dropping by, mike

[The Hostess]

As a lesbian practicing Buddhism, I very much enjoyed this post. Like you, I feel that whatever spiritual path one chooses, if you make it your own, it will be much more rich because it is individual to you. I also believe that part of the spiritual search is a desire for unconditional love...so that when practicing Buddhism realizing that you have God/Buddha Nature within starts that practice with unconditional love for yourself. That goes a long way to heal past wounds inflicted by religious intolerance.