Is Celibacy needed for Zen Practice?

[andyZ]

Sam,
Here's an interesting article from a Japanese Zen monk. Basically he says that celibacy should come natural to anyone who's practicing it and that it shouldn't be forced. He says that celibacy is natural to him, for example.
I would think that anyone who's going the monastic route should seriously consider it but for us lay people keeping the "not missusing sexuality" precept is hard enough in its wider meaning.

[Myozan Kodo]

Hold on! What's this?

image002.jpg

We certainly don't see this in Zen.

I used to go to an isolated and beautiful Tibetan centre for retreat in the south of Ireland (see http://www.dzogchenbeara.org/) and was always struck by this depiction, which hung on the wall of the meditation hall. They're building a full Tibetan temple there now.

Gassho
Myozan

[Jundo]

For those who do not know, in Tibetan esoteric Buddhism:

Yab-yum (Tibetan literally, "father-mother") is a common symbol in the Buddhist art of India, Bhutan, Nepal, and Tibet representing the male deity in sexual union with his female consort. Often the male deity is sitting in lotus position while his consort is sitting in his lap.
... the male figure is usually linked to compassion (karuṇā) and skillful means (upāya-kauśalya), while the female partner to "insight" (prajñā).[1]

Yab-yum is generally understood to represent the primordial (or mystical) union of wisdom and compassion.[3] In Buddhism the masculine form is active, representing the compassion and skillful means (upaya [4]) that have to be developed in order to reach enlightenment. The feminine form is passive and represents wisdom (prajna), which is also necessary to enlightenment. United, the figures symbolize the union necessary to overcome the veils of Maya, the false duality of object and subject.

One would generally not see such depictions in Zen or other Buddhism. The Tibetans tend to be a bit more colorful!

Gassho, J