Why Masturbation Is Not Wrong in Buddhism with 3 Explanations
C.J Ahmed-17.03.2023
According to Buddhism, the lay Buddhists are not forbidden to masturbate. There is no evidence from the the Tripitaka or any other Buddhist text to prove that masturbation is prohibited for lay Buddhists. This is not the case for ordained monks. The Buddha was intolerant when it came to sexuality among monks. All forms of sexuality were prohibited. If a monk masturbates or ejaculates even if he thinks without using the hands, this is taken as a serious offence known as Sanghadisesa. The Buddha laid 227 monastic rules known as Patimokka for Buddhists monks and 337 rules for female monks (Bhikkunis).
1.Masturbation in the Vinaya Pitakaya
“Intentional emission of semen, except while dreaming, entails initial and subsequent meetings of the Community”.
(Vinaya pitakaya, Patimokka, Suttavibhanga, Sanghadisesa-1 .Bhikku Thanissaro English translation)
As for the Bhikkunis, The offence is less severe but she does not have the right to masturbate. Her physical sexual indulgences should be confessed.
“(Genital) slapping (even to the extent of consenting to a blow with a lotus-leaf) is to be confessed”.
(Vinaya Pitaka Bhikkuni Patimokka, Suttavibhanga-3-Bhikku Thanissaro English translation) and further it states;
“(The insertion of) a dildo is to be confessed”.
(Vinaya Pitaka Bhikkuni Patimokka, Suttavibhanga-4-Bhikku Thanissaro English translation)
1.Shravasti Dhammika’s view on masturbation
Shravasthri Dhammika, a Theravada Buddhist Mo nk said the following with regards to masturbation,
“Masturbation (sukkavissaṭṭhi) is the act of stimulating one's own sexual organs (sambādha) to the stage of orgasm (adhikavega). In the Kāma Sūtra male masturbation is called "seizing the lion" (siṃhākāranta). Some people during the Buddha's time believed that masturbation could have a therapeutic effect on the mind and the body (Vin. III, 109), although the Buddha disagreed with this. According to the Vinaya, it is an offence of some seriousness for monks or nuns to masturbate (Vin. III, 111) although the Buddha gave no guidance on this matter to lay people. However, Buddhism could agree with contemporary medical opinion that masturbation is a normal expression of the sexual drive and is physically and psychologically harmless, as long as it does not become a preoccupation or a substitute for ordinary sexual relations. Guilt and self-disgust about masturbating is certainly more harmful than masturbation itself”(Guide to Buddhism A to Z Link- https://www.buddhisma2z.com/content.php?id=249)
The above opinion of the Monk reflects almost the same views in the Vinaya Pitakaya.
“Sunshine pours in through the monastery classroom window as monks in crimson robes lock their gaze in rapt attention at the chalkboard. Their instructor smiles warmly and asks them what they know about the use of a condom.
Defying expectations, these monks in the eastern Trashiyangtse district of Bhutan are among hundreds learning how to teach sex education in the Buddhist Himalayan kingdom. The practice is a rarity among other South Asian Buddhist countries like Sri Lanka and Myanmar, where sex education programs in school curriculums have been met with backlash from monastic groups.”
“In most monastries, there are uneducated monks so then they don’t know about sex education or about topics such as masturbation, even though some are indulging in it,” Choki Gyeltshen, a monk from the Thimphu Gonpa monastery in Bhutan, told VICE World News.
As the program progressed, Gyeltshen noticed a change in attitude among his fellow monks. “Before the training, some would initially say that masturbation is sinful, but now they have learnt that it is not.”
Once considered an embarassing subject, sex education has been institutionalized in Buddhist monasteries and nunneries across the country since 2014” (Vice World News-26 October 2021 Link- https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7d4a9/monks-sex-ed-safe-masturbation-bhutan)
Conclusion
Buddhism prohibits and discourages ordained monks from engaging in masturbation, lay Buddhists are not forbidden to do so although hard-line monks are against it.
According to Buddhism, the lay Buddhists are not forbidden to masturbate. There is no evidence from the the Tripitaka or any other Buddhist text to prove that masturbation is prohibited for lay Buddhists. This is not the case for ordained monks. The Buddha was intolerant when it came to sexuality among monks. All forms of sexuality were prohibited. If a monk masturbates or ejaculates even if he thinks without using the hands, this is taken as a serious offence known as Sanghadisesa. The Buddha laid 227 monastic rules known as Patimokka for Buddhists monks and 337 rules for female monks (Bhikkunis).
1.Masturbation in the Vinaya Pitakaya
“Intentional emission of semen, except while dreaming, entails initial and subsequent meetings of the Community”.
(Vinaya pitakaya, Patimokka, Suttavibhanga, Sanghadisesa-1 .Bhikku Thanissaro English translation)
As for the Bhikkunis, The offence is less severe but she does not have the right to masturbate. Her physical sexual indulgences should be confessed.
“(Genital) slapping (even to the extent of consenting to a blow with a lotus-leaf) is to be confessed”.
(Vinaya Pitaka Bhikkuni Patimokka, Suttavibhanga-3-Bhikku Thanissaro English translation) and further it states;
“(The insertion of) a dildo is to be confessed”.
(Vinaya Pitaka Bhikkuni Patimokka, Suttavibhanga-4-Bhikku Thanissaro English translation)
1.Shravasti Dhammika’s view on masturbation
Shravasthri Dhammika, a Theravada Buddhist Mo nk said the following with regards to masturbation,
“Masturbation (sukkavissaṭṭhi) is the act of stimulating one's own sexual organs (sambādha) to the stage of orgasm (adhikavega). In the Kāma Sūtra male masturbation is called "seizing the lion" (siṃhākāranta). Some people during the Buddha's time believed that masturbation could have a therapeutic effect on the mind and the body (Vin. III, 109), although the Buddha disagreed with this. According to the Vinaya, it is an offence of some seriousness for monks or nuns to masturbate (Vin. III, 111) although the Buddha gave no guidance on this matter to lay people. However, Buddhism could agree with contemporary medical opinion that masturbation is a normal expression of the sexual drive and is physically and psychologically harmless, as long as it does not become a preoccupation or a substitute for ordinary sexual relations. Guilt and self-disgust about masturbating is certainly more harmful than masturbation itself”(Guide to Buddhism A to Z Link- https://www.buddhisma2z.com/content.php?id=249)
The above opinion of the Monk reflects almost the same views in the Vinaya Pitakaya.
- Views of Modern day Buddhists
“Sunshine pours in through the monastery classroom window as monks in crimson robes lock their gaze in rapt attention at the chalkboard. Their instructor smiles warmly and asks them what they know about the use of a condom.
Defying expectations, these monks in the eastern Trashiyangtse district of Bhutan are among hundreds learning how to teach sex education in the Buddhist Himalayan kingdom. The practice is a rarity among other South Asian Buddhist countries like Sri Lanka and Myanmar, where sex education programs in school curriculums have been met with backlash from monastic groups.”
“In most monastries, there are uneducated monks so then they don’t know about sex education or about topics such as masturbation, even though some are indulging in it,” Choki Gyeltshen, a monk from the Thimphu Gonpa monastery in Bhutan, told VICE World News.
As the program progressed, Gyeltshen noticed a change in attitude among his fellow monks. “Before the training, some would initially say that masturbation is sinful, but now they have learnt that it is not.”
Once considered an embarassing subject, sex education has been institutionalized in Buddhist monasteries and nunneries across the country since 2014” (Vice World News-26 October 2021 Link- https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7d4a9/monks-sex-ed-safe-masturbation-bhutan)
Conclusion
Buddhism prohibits and discourages ordained monks from engaging in masturbation, lay Buddhists are not forbidden to do so although hard-line monks are against it.