imageshomosexuality and refers to fines and modes of ritual expiation, and it
even more vehemently opposes lesbianism because of the importance
attached to virginity at marriage. In contrast to Manu, the Kamasūtra of
Vatsyayana (c. 300 ce), an ancient Indian sexual manual, tends to affirm
homosexual experimentation with its ninth chapter on oral sexual behav-
ior, its references to an independent woman, and a woman assuming the
guise of a male. During the colonial period of British rule, the Indian
Penal Code criminalizes homosexual relations by passing anti-sodomy
laws.
Within the Buddhist tradition, homosexual, lesbian, and heterosexual
relations are condemned for monks and nuns because they violate the
vow of celibacy made by everyone entering monastic life. Moreover, any
type of sexual relationship increases cravings, which is an obstacle to
achieving liberation because the person loses control over his/her mind
and body. By renouncing all sexual behavior, monks and nuns reject a
biological family and enter the spiritual family of the Buddha embodied
by the monastic community. Homosexuality develops in China and
Japan between older and younger monks. The young boys are expected
to assume a passive role in this age-structured practice in contrast to a
relation structured by gender. Despite this type of practice, homosexual-
ity is generally condemned in China and Japan for cultural reasons and
the centrality of the family in these cultures. Monks violating their
monastic code are said to be destined for rebirth in hell and suffer grue-
some punishment.Further reading: Boswell (1980); Dynes and Donaldson (1992); Foucault (1978);
Kripal (2001)IMAGES
The notion of images can be traced to the Greek term eikon (image) and
the Latin imago, which denotes imitation, copy, or likeness. Images can
assume the form of statues, paintings, or buildings that depict gods,
goddesses, holy persons, or ideas. The image is usually a representa-
tion of a divine figure that is, for instance, identified by a halo around
the figure’s head in Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christianity.
The study of images is called iconography, whereas iconoclasts destroy
icons or images of the divine, an activity enacted by Protestants during
the Reformation and Muslims during periods of their history. Along
with Judaism, Islam rejects the use of images of God because of the