1 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
View submission: Is Buddhism skeptical of romantic relationships?
NOPE. Not universally or in general. The experience of Padmasambhava and Yeshe Sogyal disproves your claim. Maybe monks need to avoid romantic relationships, but the monastic path is far from the only one. Even the basic iconography of the Vajrayana path disproves your claim.
Comment by JhannySamadhi at 03/02/2025 at 22:54 UTC
4 upvotes, 2 direct replies
A consort relationship and a standard relationship may as well be taking place on different planets. They are nowhere close to the same. And according to Tibetan Buddhism, Padmasambhava was born enlightened. He was an emanation of Amithaba, so irrelevant to the point.
Anyone who has a serious Buddhist practice and has been in serious relationships knows what I said to be true. Unless your partner is equally committed to Buddhism as you are, it’s going to interfere with your practice. Romantic partners easily feel ignored. Romantic relationships take a lot of your time.
As a serious practitioner myself, who between meditation and study averages around 6 hours a day on Buddhism, it is impossible to meet the requirements of a relationship. I don’t want to watch shows or go shopping or have sex. I want to practice because it is vastly superior and unimaginably more important than any of those things.
As for finding a partner who is deeply committed to Buddhism, I wish everyone luck. I’ve dated a lot of women since the 90’s, but never anything close to a committed Buddhist. Some people who call themselves Buddhist, but that’s not the same thing. I was also with my ex wife for 12 years, so this is coming from a lot of experience.
Can a romantic relationship between two Buddhists thrive and even accelerate the spiral towards enlightenment? Absolutely. The issue is finding that person. It seems it would require some stellar karma to find a person that works for you who is also committed to the path. If you’re talking about consort relationships, again, different planet.
So my previous comment, as I thought I made clear, was about standard romantic relationships. If you do find that person with whom you can thrive as a Buddhist, consider it a one in a million blessing. As for standard relationships, opportunity and knowledge to practice is a very rare and powerful gift. Don’t squander it on frivolous things because time is very limited.