Amber Dorrian-Larson and Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly
(March 17, 2013) Indian police arrested five men Sunday after the gang rape of a Swiss woman attacked in central India while on a cycling vacation with her husband. The five [possibly tortured, have allegedly] admitted to the attack, which occurred Friday night as the couple camped in a forest in Madhya Pradesh state, said D.K. Arya, a senior police officer.
Thai mural: Buddha with devas, monastics, and lay "hearers" or savakas (Chanel_Love/flickr)
Free English version
Did the Buddha, who lived in India, have anything to say about sexual misconduct, rape, and inappropriate sexual contact between teachers and students?
In Buddhist terms kamesu micchacara (sensual misconduct) is epitomized as sexual misconduct. It is one of the Ten Courses of Unwholesome Conduct -- behavior with the power, if it should karmically-ripen near the time of one's passing, to lead like a corridor or causeway to unfortunate rebirth destinations.
Later Mahayana schools changed rules
In the Book of Monastic Discipline, originally written on ola palm leaves, bound, and kept in a basket (pitaka), the Buddha makes it incontrovertibly clear that a monastic (monk or nun) asking for sexual favors as a form of service is guilty of a serious offense.
If the sexual act is consummated, it is a DEFEAT (parajika) offense for that monastic, entailing immediate and irreversible expulsion from the monastic Order (Sangha).
There are only five such defeat-offenses: killing, stealing, causing a
schism, and/or lying about spiritual attainments being the other four.
The
Buddha imagined how easy it would be for monastics to abuse their
exalted position in society. It is to be expected that we as
unenlightened beings will suffer from four poisons of the heart/mind.
Greed, hatred, fear, and delusion beset all unawakened beings. These
bonds, while present, need not be acted on. The Code of Discipline
ensures conduct that will keep the Sangha a viable institution
for as long as possible. It also has as its goal the prosperity of
well-conducted monastics, the subduing of ill-conducted monastics, and
the longevity of the Dharma or liberating-teaching of the Buddha in the
world.
We will be exploring these issues in much more detail.
US teen-rapists found guilty in Ohio
(DemocracyNow.org) Two high school football players in Steubenville, Ohio, have been found
guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl at a party last August. On Sunday,
the teenagers, Trent Mays and Ma'lik Richmond, were found delinquent in
the sexual assault of the girl who witnesses testified was too drunk to
move or speak.
Two small town football stars in court
The case sparked a national controversy following the
emergence of images and social media postings from the night of the
assault. Alexandria Goddard, a true crime blogger who first
exposed crucial evidence in the case by taking screen shots of
incriminating social media posts, photographs, and videos before they
could be deleted by the posters. The mythic hacker group "Anonymous" picked up on Goddard's
posts and released shocking video from the night of the assault. Democracy Now! also speaks to Marc Randazza, a First Amendment lawyer who represented
Goddard when she was unsuccessfully sued for defamation. "I'm convinced
that if she hadn't started blogging about this," explains Randazza, "and Anonymous hadn't
taken up the standard, that this case would have been swept under the
rug."
(CNN) Two high school football players were
convicted today in an Ohio rape case that gained worldwide attention
through, and then focused on, social media. In a trial that divided
the football-crazed Rust Belt town of Steubenville, Trent Mays, 17, and
Ma'lik Richmond, 16, were found guilty of raping a drunk [and incapacitated] 16-year-old
girl. The case attracted the attention of bloggers -- and even the loosely
organized [likely make believe] hacking group, Anonymous -- who questioned everything from the
behavior of the football team to the integrity of the investigation. More (plus video) - Porn star: I was raped in Steubenville - Bully attacks teen girl in classroom - VIDEO: Guy pushes girlfriend off cliff (humor)
Rape on U.S. military bases left unchecked
(Jul 16, 2012) "The Invisible War" reveals how the military disciplinary process has fostered a culture in which sexual assault against a victim on active duty is...
Leon Panetta: Military's handling of rape is "an outrage"
(Sep 27, 2012) U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said in an interview this week with NBC's Natalie Morales that the military's tendency to sweep rape under the rug...
Military sexual assault epidemic continues to claim victims
(Oct 6, 2012) U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta at a press conference [said] Women serving in the U.S. military are more likely to be raped by a...
Man's rape conviction overturned, but still in prison
Five men arrested in India for raping Swiss
(Jan 14, 2013) Indian police have arrested six
suspects for an alleged gang rape of a bus passenger in India, four
weeks after a similar and brutal attack in New Delhi on a student who later died caused outrage across the country. More
Five men arrested in gang rape of Swiss woman in India
Rapists bringing disgrace to India
(March 17, 2013) Police in India said they
arrested five men Sunday in connection with the gang rape of a Swiss
woman who was attacked in central India while on a cycling vacation with
her husband. All five men [have allegedly] admitted to the attack,
which occurred
Friday night as the woman and her husband camped out in a forest in
Datia district of Madhya Pradesh state, said D.K. Arya, a senior police
officer. Arya said the men, who are from nearby villages, were
arrested in Datia. Police were searching for two other men believed to
have been involved in the attack, he said. The couple told police
that the woman had been raped by seven or eight men, but that it was
dark and they could not be sure of the exact number, Arya said. They
said the husband also was attacked by the men. The woman, 39, was
treated Saturday at a hospital in the nearby city of Gwalior and was
released later that day, police said. The
couple were planning to travel later Sunday from Datia to the Indian
capital of New Delhi, about 250 miles (400 kms) to the north,
Arya said. More
(March 11, 2013) One of the five men accused in the
gang rape of a 23-year-old Indian woman -- a crime that received widespread
international attention -- was found dead in his jail cell. Preetika Rana
discusses the latest developments.
The Buddhist "Basket of Discipline" (Vinaya Pitaka)
The Recluses' Rules: A Guide for Laypeople
Rapper Li'l Wayne resting after seizure (drugs?)
Buddhist Monk's Discipline: Explained for Laypeople
Introduction to the Disciplinary Code (Patimokkha)