Greetings Brian: from the upbeat mode since you've decided to go back home I gather that you are now in a peaceful place. i am writing to you to make you aware regarding your post on Buddhism and homosexuality.
First issue is your comment that you want to embrace Buddhism because Buddhism loves gays ... no matter what or who you are. It is true that Buddhism and generally speaking Lord Buddha himself does not make any moral claim on any form of sexual behaviour and does not even make any distinction on transsexual, homosexual and heterosexual sex. Although the vinaya for monks (rules) prohibits any form of sex as they are expected to be celibate, for a lay Buddhist the the defining rules are based on the Buddhist principle of doing no harm.
This means that a lay person has to answer within him/herself whether homosexuality does or does not do harm which in effect a question of personal morality. You cannot therefore make a wide generalization on the acceptance of homosexuality by Buddhism. One example is the current Dalai Lama. Tibetan Buddhism is not the wide smile all happiness thing. This is a tough religion not a values free establishment but a religion nonetheless with unbending ethical underpinnings. The Dalai Lama condemns all sex relating to homosexuality and specifically on anal and oral sex be it homo or hetero. As a straight woman I happen to indulge on both sometimes LOL.
My point is that any belief system be it an organised religion or not had been a human creation based on the belief system and moral standards of ancient and archaic societies. Isn't it better to be religious free? I have a term for you selective faith. What this means is that you must look into yourself and judge your own moral standards based on a question of making no harm to anything. Find anything that is good in any faith (religion) and apply it in your life.
For example, Islam promotes the virtue of a woman and the judeo - christian 10 commandments maybe have about 5 useful moral imperatives for living ones life. As a modern educated person you must dissect reject and accept what is good for you.
regards from Australia.
.....
Regards from Canada Mrs.M
