<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1106" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dear List:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>As far as Buddha and celibacy is concerned:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The reason Buddha said members of the sangha should practice celibacy</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>was pragmatic: The sangha was not a place to raise children.  Since at the</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>time there was no effective means of birth control, the Buddha advised</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>celibacy.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>As far as non-sangha members were concerned, sexuality must be engaged</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>in with compassion and mindfulness.  Buddha did not believe that anything </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>was wrong with sex -- it was not inherently evil and, therefore, to be avoided.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>As always, the focus is on reducing suffering and increasing compassion.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Brian Dauth</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Queer Buddhist Resister</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>