Buddhist view of marriage
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While Buddhist practice varies considerably among its various schools, Marriage is one of the few concepts specifically mentioned in the context of Sila (Buddhist behavior discipline).
One of the five precepts that even lay practitioners are expected to follow to the best of their abilities - specifically the third - is a promise to abstain from sexual misconduct. While it is generally understood that what constitutes "misconduct" from a Buddhist perspective is widely dependent from the local cultural reality (e.g. is polygamy "misconduct"?), there are nonetheless some clear and universal guidelines, some of which theoretically apply for all Buddhist schools. One of those is that adultery (as opposed to polygamic marriages or same-sex marriages) is considered wrong. (See also Buddhist views of homosexuality)
The Digha Nikaya 31 (Sigalovada Sutta) describes the respect that one is expected to give to one's spouse.
De facto Buddhism doesn't encourage or discourage marriage, but it does teach how one can live a happy married life if one does choose to get married.
External links
- Marriage articles at the Access to Insight site (http://www.accesstoinsight.org/index-subject.html#marriage)
- Weddings and Theravada Buddhism (http://www.accesstoinsight.org/bfaq.html#wedding)