In Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices, Bodhisattvas seeking to expound the Lotus Sūtra in the evil world after the Buddha’s extinction are warned:

He should not approach or make friends with anyone of the five kinds of eunuchs.

At least that’s how Senchu Murano puts it.

Burton Watson’s translation for Soka Gakkai states:

Nor should he go near the five types of unmanly men or have any close dealings with them.

Watson offers a footnote for “unmanly,” saying, “Men who are impotent or suffer from other types of sexual disabilities.”

Leon Hurvitz, in his Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma, offers a lengthy footnote on this point:

The Skt. simply says paṇḍaka, “impotent” ; the Ch. specifies the number five, without identifying them. They are as follows: (a) jātipaṇḍaka, a male congenitally devoid of sexual impulses or feelings; (b) pakṣapaṇḍaka, a male potent only part of the time, lit. half of every month ; (c) āsaklaprādurbhāvī paṇḍaka, a male who becomes impotent through premature ejaculation; (d) īrṣyāpaṇḍaka, one who can become sexually aroused only by seeing others having intercourse; (e) āpatpaṇḍaka, a male who has lost his potency through illness or accident. The source for this is Mahāvyutpatti §§8769-73. The canonical source is the vinaya (monastic code). The reason for the concern is that the saṃgha did not want anyone joining the order as an escape. It barred from membership married men who did not have their wives’ permission, fathers who did not have the permission of their adult children, debtors reneging on their debts, deserters from military service, fugitives from justice, persons in arrears in taxes, novices who did not have the permission of both parents (when the parents were alive), homosexuals, hermaphrodites, and men who, for whatever reason, were sexually not quite normal.

This idea that homosexuals were excluded from joining the Buddhist order has always puzzled me. It is certainly not the case in Nichiren Shu. Ryusho Jeffus Shonin, one of the first American priests I became acquainted with after leaving Soka Gakkai in 2015, was a gay man. Several current American priests are members of the  LGBTQ community.

Nichiren Shu clearly has no problem with homosexuals. In fact, the guidelines for International Propagation Points ( i.e.  American temples) state:

The International Propagation Point must have an official Nichiren Shu enshrined Gohonzon altar and have an open propagation policy towards any person regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation or any class protected by law.

Kakusai Fukyoshi Guideline, International Section, Missionary Department, Head Office of Nichiren Shu, Revised April 1, 2023

This all comes up because of my reading of Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s 14-volume commentary on the Lotus Sutra. In responding to “Furthermore, they should not approach the five kinds of unmanly men or become close friends with them,” Hsuan Hua comments:

There are five kinds of unmanly men. If they are unmanly, does that mean they are women? No, they aren’t women either. There are five kinds of people who are neither male nor female. You can’t call them men because they can’t conduct themselves as men do. And you can’t call them women either, because they cannot do the things that women do. These are the five kinds of unmanly men. They have never been called “unwomanly women” before, but now I’m giving them the name “five kinds of unwomanly women” as well.

What kinds of beings are neither male nor female? They are of no procreative use in the world. They cannot help women bear children, nor can they bear children themselves. In that sense, they don’t help the world much.

The five kinds of unmanly men are:

1. Unmanly from birth. When such people are born, they have neither male nor female organs, so they are essentially neither male nor female. They can fulfill neither the man’s role of fathering children nor the woman’s role of bearing children. They are born into the world unable to fulfill these functions. You should know the cause and effect involved in becoming like that. It comes from having intimate relations with the same gender or with both genders.

2. Unmanly through castration. In some societies, people born with male organs have been castrated. Either men or women could lose the functionality of their sexual organs through disease.

3. Unmanly through jealousy. When these people see a man, they become jealous and “transform into” a man. The change takes place only in their minds, however, and they are incapable of functioning as a man. Or they might see a woman, become jealous of her, and “turn into” a woman. But they are incapable of functioning as a woman would. Such people assume their sexual identity mentally as a result of jealousy.

4. Unmanly through physical transformation. Such people can make the change by themselves without having to see a male or female like the previous category. For instance, at noon the person has the functions of a man, but at one o’clock he changes into a woman. He doesn’t need to see other men and women to bring about this change. Then, at two or three or five o’clock, he regains the functions of a man. This is called “being a man but not a man” or “being a woman but not a woman.” How does this happen to people? It comes about because of the past practice of homosexuality – men with men and women with women. Or if men or women masturbate, then in the future they will have this retribution of being neither male nor female. You can’t say they are men, because they do not have functioning male organs. You can’t say they are women either, because they don’t have functioning female organs. They “change” into women or men, yet they cannot function as men or as women.

5. Unmanly through switching back and forth. For example, for half a month they function as men, and then for the other half of the month they function as women. In the previous category, the person can function as a man for one or two days and then as a woman for one or two days. It doesn’t take half a month for the change to occur. But in this case, the person’s male organ functions for half a month and does not function for the other half. This is the retribution of being neither male nor female.

The Buddhadharma explains everything in the world. The five kinds of unmanly men are not permitted to leave home. The Buddha did not accept such people into the monastic order. Their behavior is extremely detrimental. Their minds are filled with impure thoughts and debased ideas. People who violate themselves that is, who masturbate, will become these five kinds of unmanly men or unwomanly women, who are neither male nor female. You might say the lack of properly functioning male or female organs is a case of “freedom from the conception of gender.” However, that would be a misinterpretation of the term. These individuals lack the proper male or female organs. This can be considered an unfortunate and undesirable condition. Therefore, people should behave themselves and follow the rules of proper conduct. Those who transgress the rules will undergo the future retribution of not having normal physiological functions. As the result of committing many offenses, people may be born with deficiencies in the six sense faculties.

Bodhisattvas do not become close friends with such people. Bodhisattvas practicing the Bodhisattva Path do not seek to draw near to people who are among the five kinds of unmanly men or unwomanly women. They do not become best friends with them.

On the concept of “freedom from the conception of gender” a footnote is offered:

The term “freedom from the conception of gender” refers to a state of nonduality attained through cultivation, in which one transcends attachment to concepts of “male” and “female.”

Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s “five schools” Buddhism has a strong monastic element. I do not know if homosexuals are welcomed into his monastic order, but I see that as an internal matter of his school. The more important question for me is whether his school prohibits or otherwise discourages homosexuals from participating in programs for the laity.

The Buddhist Text Translation Society, which was founded by Hsuan Hua and is the publisher of his commentary on the Lotus Sutra, invites questions. So I asked:

Do the organizations founded by Venerable Master Hsuan Hua discourage homosexuals from participating in programs and activities?

I included the above quote from volume nine of the Lotus Sutra commentary. The response I received:

Hello Mr Hughes

Thank you for your question!

We welcome anyone who sincerely wishes to learn the Buddha’s teachings to participate in our Dharma activities and to visit our monasteries.

We rejoice in your study and practice of the Lotus Sutra, and wish you well in your cultivation journey too.

Sincerely
Buddhist Text Translation Society

The Buddhist Text Translation Society publishes a bilingual (Chinese-English) book entitled, “Basic Code of Conduct for the Laity,” which is based on Hsuan Hua’s instructions.

The book does not mention homosexuality or “unmanly men.” Instead, it focuses on Right Knowledge and Right View, which comes from upholding the Five Precepts.

It is fundamentally important for those who practice the Buddhadharma to have proper knowledge and proper views. What does having proper knowledge and proper views mean? Having this means you are a true Buddhist disciple. The first requirement of a Buddhist disciple is to develop a good character, and that means upholding the five precepts of not killing, not stealing, not engaging in sexual misconduct, not lying, and not consuming intoxicants. This is the most fundamental requirement to be a Buddhist disciple. If we wish to resolutely practice the Buddhadharma, we must diligently cultivate precepts, samadhi, and wisdom and eradicate our greed, hatred, and delusion. Greed, hatred, and delusion are the three poisons! These three poisons have taken control over us from immeasurable kalpas ago, making us inverted, insatiated with greed and causing us to have a huge temper, constantly harboring hatred.

Is homosexuality “sexual misconduct”? I don’t believe so and I would hope that the organizations founded by Chinese Master Hsuan Hua would agree.

In the appendix of Basic Code of Conduct for the Laity includes a description of the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association, which was founded by Hsuan Hua in the United States in 1959. That description concludes with this declaration:

All monasteries and organizations under DRBA are open to everyone; there is no discrimination between self and others, nationalities, and religions. Everyone, regardless of nationality or religious background, keen in the pursuit of humaneness, righteousness, morality, ultimate truth, understanding the mind and seeing the inherent nature, is welcome to practice and study together.

Tomorrow: Hsuan Hua’s Maxims for Buddhist Disciples