A lesbian couple will tie the knot next
month in what is being described as the first gay Buddhist wedding in
Taiwan.
Fish Huang and You Ya-ting, both 30,
will exchange vows on August 11 at a Buddhist monastery in north
Taiwan's Taoyuan country.
“We decided to get married last
year,” Huang told the AFP.
“After being together for six years, we feel we need to make a
life-long commitment to each other.”
Master Shih Chao-hui, who is also a
professor at Buddhist Hsuan Chuang University, will perform the
ceremony.
“I would like to stand up to give
blessings to the couple because I hope my step can embody the spirit
of Buddhism spreading compassion throughout the world,” said Shih.
She added that Buddhist teachings “do
not discriminate against gays and lesbians and do not consider human
desires as a sin although they do call for restraint.”
Master Huei Kai, a professor at Fo
Guang University, told the United Daily News that while the
Buddhist scriptures do not mention gays “that does not necessarily
mean that Buddhism agrees to them.”
President Ma Ying-jeou has said he does
not believe Taiwan is ready to legalize gay marriage.