Editing Celibacy (section)

==Buddhism==
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[[File:Monks in Wat Phra Singh - Chiang Mai.jpg|thumb|Buddhist monks in Chiang Mai Province, [[Thailand]]]]
The rule of celibacy in the Buddhist religion, whether [[Mahayana]] or [[Theravada]], has a long history. Celibacy was advocated as an ideal rule of life for all [[Bhikkhu|monk]]s and [[Bhikkhuni|nun]]s by [[Gautama Buddha]], except in Japan where it is not strictly followed due to historical and political developments following the [[Meiji Restoration]]. In Japan, celibacy was an ideal among Buddhist clerics for hundreds of years. But violations of clerical celibacy were so common for so long that finally, in 1872, state laws made marriage legal for Buddhist clerics. Subsequently, ninety percent of Buddhist monks/clerics married.<ref>Richard M. 2001. Neither Monk nor Layman: Clerical Marriage in Modern Japanese Buddhism. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, p. 4</ref> An example is [[Higashifushimi Kunihide]], a prominent Buddhist priest of Japanese royal ancestry who was married and a father whilst serving as a monk for most of his lifetime.

Gautama, later known as the Buddha, is known for his renunciation of his wife, Princess [[Yasodharā]], and son, [[Rahula]]. In order to pursue an ascetic life, he needed to renounce aspects of the impermanent world, including his wife and son. Later on both his wife and son joined the ascetic community and are mentioned in the Buddhist texts to have become enlightened. In another sense, a [[buddhavacana]] recorded the zen patriarch [[Vimalakirti]] as being an advocate of [[Sexual abstinence|marital continence]] instead of monastic renunciation. This [[sutra]] became somewhat popular due to its brash humour as well as its integration of the role of women in [[Laity|lay]] and spiritual life.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Thurman|first1=Robert A. F.|title=VIMALAKIRTI NIRDESA SUTRA|url=http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln260/Vimalakirti.htm|access-date=14 April 2015}}</ref>
{{Better source needed|reason=citation uses text from within a religion or faith system without referring to secondary sources that critically analyze them|date=December 2023}}