José Ignacio Cabezón is a professor of religious studies and the XIV Dalai Lama Endowed Chair in Tibetan Buddhism and Cultural Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. This teaching is adapted from his Frederick P. Lenz Distinguished Lecture given at Naropa University last September.
José Ignacio Cabezón
Recent Articles
Revisiting the Traditional Buddhist Views on Sex and Sexuality
When it comes to sex, Western Buddhists tend to be fairly liberal. But as scholar José Cabezón explains, Buddhist tradition takes a much more conservative approach, prohibiting, among other things, oral or anal sex, male homosexuality, and even sex during daylight hours. He challenges us not to dismiss traditional Buddhist views on sexuality but rather to critically examine them, beginning with the study of sexual ethics in Buddhist texts.