BUDDHIST MONASTIC CODE I

Buddhist Monastic Code 1"Then the bhikkhus said to the bhikkhu, 'Hasn't a training rule been formulated bythe Blessed One? How can you engage in sexual intercourse with this monkey?'"'It's true, friends, that a training rule has been formulated by the Blessed One, butthat's with regard to a human female, not to a female animal.'"The full offense here is composed of four factors: effort, object, knowledge, andconsent.Effort. The term sexual intercourse refers to all kinds of sexual intercourse involvinggenitals (literally, the "urine path" (passāva-magga) — i.e., a woman's vagina or aman's penis); the anus (vacca-magga); or the mouth (mukha). The Vibhaṅgasummarizes the various possible combinations of these orifices, and concludes thatthis rule covers all of them except for mouth-to-mouth penetration, which is treatedunder Derived Offenses, below — fulfill the factor of effort here. Unfortunately, theVibhaṅga's summary is couched in technical terminology, using magga (path) tomean either the genitals or the anal orifice, and amagga (not-path) to mean themouth. The Commentary, in discussing the summary, mistakenly classifies themouth as a magga as well, and so has to invent a different meaning for amagga: awound bordering on one of the three maggas. Because the Commentary'sdiscussion of this point is based on a misunderstanding, there is no need to pursueit in further detail.Sexual intercourse has been performed when, in any of the possible combinationscovered by this rule, one organ enters the other even if just to "the extent of asesame seed." This means that a bhikkhu engaging in genital, oral, or analintercourse is subject to this rule regardless of which role he plays. The question ofwhether there is a covering, such as a condom, between the organs is irrelevant, asare the questions of whether the bhikkhu is actively or passively involved, andwhether any of the parties involved reaches orgasm.Object. The full penalty under this rule applies to any voluntary sexual intercoursewith a human being, a "non-human" being (a yakkha, nāga, or peta), or a commonanimal, whether female, male, neuter, or hermaphrodite.Performing sexual intercourse with a dead body — even a decapitated head — alsoentails the full penalty if the remains of the body are intact enough for the act to beaccomplished.In addition, the Vinita-vatthu lists two examples of "self-intercourse": A bhikkhu witha supple back takes his penis into his mouth, and a bhikkhu with an unusually longpenis inserts it into his anus. Both cases carry the full penalty.Knowledge & consent. For sexual intercourse to count as an offense, the bhikkhumust know that it is happening and give his consent. Thus if he is sexually assaultedwhile asleep or otherwise unconscious and remains oblivious to what is happening,he incurs no penalty. If, however, he becomes conscious during the assault or wasconscious right from the start, then whether he incurs a penalty depends on whetherhe gives his consent during any part of the act.22