Yes, monks can have phones, but it heavily depends on their specific monastic order, location, and the Abbot's rules, with some prohibiting them entirely for a simpler life while others allow them for essential communication, study, or monastery administration to connect with the modern world. The key is avoiding distraction and worldly attachment; phones are generally for purposeful communication (family, administration, education) rather than personal entertainment like games or social scrolling.
“As a rule Buddhist monks are really inappropriate to be keeping a cell phone and keeping a computer. It's for high-class people,” Unan explained. “But times are changing nowadays if we couldn't follow the time we will still be behind the time and we don't want to stay behind.”
The thirteen major prohibitions are (1) ejaculating; (2) touching a woman's body; (3) indecent talk with a woman; (4) pretending to be a monk of virtue in order to seduce a woman; (5) matchmaking or acting as an intermediary of adultery; (6) constructing a large dwelling without receiving approval from the Order ...
To avoid being side-tracked, monks should keep clear from women. But not having direct contact with women does not imply impurity an inherent negative quality in women.
They renounce material things. They may also have their dharma practice items (mala/prayer beads, offering water bowls, incense, etc). But if they NEED something in order to do their assigned tasks, then they may have that too. For instance, if they must coordinate events with other people, they may have a cell phone.
They are the three physical evils of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct; the four verbal evils of lying, flattery or indiscriminate and irresponsible speech, defamation, and duplicity; and the three mental evils of greed, anger, and foolishness or the holding of mistaken views.
A Buddhist may accept all methods of family planning, but with different degrees of reluctance. The worst of all is abortion or'killing a human to be'. This is seen to be harming a living sentient being. Pills and condoms are much more acceptable, though many prefer condoms.
The precepts are commitments to abstain from killing living beings, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxication. Within the Buddhist doctrine, they are meant to develop mind and character to make progress on the path to enlightenment.
Monks and nuns lead lives of total celibacy in which any kind of sexual behaviour is forbidden.
Buddhism, particularly in the early monastic Vinaya texts, recognizes four primary categories related to sex and gender: male (purisa), female (itthi), ubhatobyañjanaka (intersex/hermaphroditic, having signs of both), and paṇḍaka (a less clearly defined category often referring to individuals with deficiencies in sexual capacity or desire, sometimes translated as eunuchs or queer). These categories, especially ubhatobyañjanaka and paṇḍaka, don't map perfectly to modern LGBTQ+ terms but acknowledge biological variations and non-normative sexual beings, with paṇḍaka often facing restrictions in monastic ordination.
As Buddhist monastic members, we focus on religious practice and meditation. During the daytime, we need to study Buddhist dharma. In the evening, we start meditation after we finish work. We are less sleepy and muddled if we do not eat dinner, which is good for our body and mind while meditating.”
Ānantarya karma (Sanskrit) or Ānantarika kamma (Pāli) are the most serious offences in Buddhism that, at death, through the overwhelming karmic strength of any single one of them, bring immediate disaster. Both Buddhists and non-Buddhists must avoid them at all costs.
According to Buddhist teachings: “Being a co-wife is painful,” (Therīgāthā 10:1). Buddhist teachings do not forbid polygamy but suggest, as it could cause suffering, it is not ideal and therefore is not encouraged. Let him not have a wife in common with another.”
Those who practice Buddhism as ordained monks and nuns are required to be celibate. Japanese schools of Buddhism are sometimes regarded as an exception, but non-celibate Japanese clergy can not be considered "monks" in the true sense, as they undergo no ordination under the Vinaya.
Before you have ended birth and death, you may not watch television. If you do, it's easy to break the precepts. The novice precepts include one that says you can't play music, sing, dance, or deliberately watch or listen to such shows on TV. Most of the entertainment on TV is defiling, not pure.
The Buddhist monks who are taking part in a 120+ day Walk for Peace across part of the United States have changed their route and will not come through the Upstate. The group started their 2,300-mile journey in Fort Worth, Texas, on Oct. 26, and are traveling through 10 states en route to Washington, D.C.
LGBTQ+ EQUALITY
The Vinyana, a Buddhist text for monks, forbids Buddhist monks and nuns from having sexual relationships with men, women and those of other genders, such as pandanka (interpreted as those with indeterminate sexual characteristics or people who do not conform to sexual norms, such as prostitutes).
If you look at Newar Buddhism in contemporary Nepal, monks continue to live in households, which are called viharas, and they are married and have children, and their sons inherit their temples.
Regarding sexual relationships, monks and nuns living separately in the monastery and not having sexual relationships is primarily because engagement with the sensory world can make the mind more distracted. Therefore, it can also make it difficult to meditate and to go deep into practice.
Yes, Buddhism generally supports LGBTQ+ individuals, focusing on non-harm, love, and interconnectedness, with many liberal Buddhist groups actively embracing and affirming LGBTQ+ rights, although traditional texts are less specific and some older views exist, particularly in specific lineages like certain interpretations of Tibetan Buddhism. Overall, Western Buddhism, in particular, is very welcoming, seeing sexual orientation as irrelevant to spiritual practice, emphasizing consent and compassion over judgment.
The question “Can vegetarians eat eggs?” arises because eggs are an animal product, leading to debates about whether they involve killing. In Buddhism, fertilized eggs are considered the beginning of life, so consuming them goes against the principle of compassion.
Swearing and verbal abuse are a type of harsh speech (pharusàvàcà) and are contrary to Right Speech, one of the steps on the Noble Eightfold Path (D.I,4).
The Roman Catholic church forbids contraceptive use because it is a sin against nature. Some Protestant denominations have allowed contraceptive use. Islamic law states that children are gifts from Allah.
However, before going to bed, the monastics would rein in their body and mind by attending evening service, sitting in meditation, and keeping noble silence.
Modern Times. The guidelines set in the Khandhaka are used to discourage vanity. Most Buddhist monks and nuns follow these rules today. There is variation between schools, but the monastic ordination of Buddhism always includes a head shave.