Adultery

[Quadra]

I am not buddhist but would like to know what the religion says about adultery

[markuk]

I reckon its perfectly fine!!

[Gohonzon]

Not an iron law,as in the Ten Commandments,etc. But more one of the precepts in Buddhism to be aspired to.

One of the Six Perfections of Morality ,as given in Chapter 17 of the Lotus Sutra, is not to indulge in immoral (or unlawful) sexual activity.

All schools of Buddhism have this precept.

But as I've said this, and the others, are not commandments to be obeyed blindly. But best avoided for a number of reasons. Not least because because to engage in such will ultimately cause more suffering to someone along the line, creating negative karma for the people directly involved.

[chownah]

I think monks are forbidden to commit adultery.

[Oleg_Rus]

Not an iron law,as in the Ten Commandments,etc. But more one of the precepts in Buddhism to be aspired to.

One of the Six Perfections of Morality ,as given in Chapter 17 of the Lotus Sutra, is not to indulge in immoral (or unlawful) sexual activity.

But as I've said this, and the others, are not commandments to be obeyed blindly. But best avoided for a number of reasons. Not least because because to engage in such will ultimately cause more suffering to someone along the line, creating negative karma for the people directly involved.

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Biblical law doesn't say anything about relationship with BG, 1-night-stands and hookers. by the way, what "etc" means?

How can negative karma be created if I pay pretty good, so she can buy food, drugs and clothes for her family? I think such karma is very good, instead.

[Gohonzon]

I think monks are forbidden to commit adultery.

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Yes, of course you're right. Monks have to abide to the fairly strict rules of Vinaya.At least that's what I think that they're called. We lay people have only 5 or 6 precepts to try and aspire to, without running the risk of expulsion from the Order .Just divorce I guess.

Oleg_Rus

My 'et cectera' was in reference to the 'Holy' books of other religions. For instance,the Koran and the Talmud, and so on.

Otherwise, I find it difficult to see the point that you're trying to make. This thread was begun as a question regarding the Buddhist attitude to adultery. Which I have attempted to answer.

[johnh101]

I think monks are forbidden to commit adultery.

I think it would be very difficult as they are not allowed to touch a female.

[chownah]

I think monks are forbidden to commit adultery.

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I think it would be very difficult as they are not allowed to touch a female.

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If a married man has sex with another man is it adultery?...he hasn't touched a female.

[Thomas_Merton]

I think monks are forbidden to commit adultery.

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I think it would be very difficult as they are not allowed to touch a female.

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If a married man has sex with another man is it adultery?...he hasn't touched a female.

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There is an interesting definition of adultary in Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary:

conjugal infidelity. An adulterer was a man who had illicit intercourse with a

married or a betrothed woman, and such a woman was an adulteress. Intercourse

between a married man and an unmarried woman was fornication. Adultery was

regarded as a great social wrong, as well as a great sin. The Mosaic law (Num.

5:11-31) prescribed that the suspected wife should be tried by the ordeal of

the "water of jealousy." There is, however, no recorded instance of the

application of this law. In subsequent times the Rabbis made various

regulations with the view of discovering the guilty party, and of bringing

about a divorce. It has been inferred from John 8:1-11 that this sin became

very common during the age preceding the destruction of Jerusalem. Idolatry,

covetousness, and apostasy are spoken of as adultery spiritually (Jer. 3:6, 8,

9; Ezek. 16:32; Hos. 1:2:3; Rev. 2:22). An apostate church is an adulteress

(Isa. 1:21; Ezek. 23:4, 7, 37), and the Jews are styled "an adulterous

generation" (Matt. 12:39). (Comp. Rev. 12.)

A discusion of the highlighted text might have more relevance in a Buddist context?

[sabaijai]

This word 'adultery' is such old-fashioned language I don't think anyone really knows what it means anymore. Certainly Buddhism in general and Thai language in particular have differing sets of terms for this general semantic field. You might get a more interesting discussion going asking the participants in the Thai Language branch of this forum what the Thai equivalent is.

Most translations of the five precepts simply say there are five activities that violate the precepts, period: stealing, committing adultery, speaking lies and taking intoxicants. In more modern, Western definitions of the adultery precept you often see a different catchphrase: 'harmful sexual conduct' or 'sexual misconduct'. Many Western Buddhists interpret this to mean any sex is fine as long as it's consensual. If you read the Suttas, where there are dozens mentions of adultery, however, it's clear that sex outside of marriage/committed relationships is considered a violation of the precept.

It's a lot like trying to sort out another sensitive area of the five precepts, the precept against intoxication. Some interpret this to mean any drinking or ingesting of intoxicants is a violation, others think it means you can imbibe as long as you're not intoxicated (then you have to deal with the definition of 'intoxication' of course). Again the Suttas seem to come down on the side of teetotalling, though obviously most Thai lay Buddhists are quite liberal in their interpretation ...

For an in-depth discussion of Theravada Buddhist ethics, see this essay by Bhikku Bodhi, where you'll find several mentions of adultery:

Buddhist Ethics

As another member mentioned, the precepts aren't equivalent, in moral force, to the Judaeo-Christian commandments, ie, they're not rules imposed by a greater power. Rather they're vows meant to help Buddhists develop along the path to nibbana. In one case the violation creates 'sin', which must then be absolved, while in the other it results in cosmic echoes that cause suffering to one's self (and can't be resolved but must be experienced). In a sense, the Buddhist precepts are thus more determinate in nature.

[camerata]

This word 'adultery' is such old-fashioned language I don't think anyone really knows what it means anymore.

In the excellent book, Tibet, Tibet, the author mentions that when the Dalai Lama had completed writing Ethics for the New Millenium his editor asked him to cut the part that advised against homosexual relationships (he agreed). It would be interesting to know what the Dalai Lama's objections were - presumably a broad interpretation of "adultery" as "illicit relationships."

It's a lot like trying to sort out another sensitive area of the five precepts, the precept against intoxication. Some interpret this to mean any drinking or ingesting of intoxicants is a violation, others think it means you can imbibe as long as you're not intoxicated (then you have to deal with the definition of 'intoxication' of course). Again the Suttas seem to come down on the side of teetotalling, though obviously most Thai lay Buddhists are quite liberal in their interpretation ...

From what I've read, there are two aspects to this: (1) the intoxicating substance might harm someone and (2) intoxication prevents mindfulness.

Thich Nhat Hanh takes a pretty strict view. When a woman claimed that just one glass of wine couldn't do any harm (I assume she was French), he pointed out that it might harm her unborn child in some way or be the first step on the road to alcoholism.