Same sex love

Published on 16th May, 2021, in Mid-day. Scholars never talk about the homoerotic, homosocial and homosexual tales found in the ancient Buddhist Jataka collection. When men live together, even as monks, in a solitary spiritual pursuit, it is natural that some men would bond and become very close friends. The relationships were not always sexual, obviously, but were clearly cause of much deliberation. While there was condemnation of sexual activity as indicated by the monastic laws (vinaya) against men with homosexual tendencies (pandaka), there was no condemnation of the very evident same sex attachment as indicated by the Jataka tales. Baka-Brahma Jataka, for example, tells ..