Buddhism and Ladyboys (Transgenders)

“Why are you called phet thi saam (the third sex) by people in Thailand, May?”, I asked one day.

“Because we are better than lady, better than man. We are number 3, the best one!”, said May.

Mmmm. Well I don’t know about that, but there actually is some truth to her statement.

“Did you know that Buddha believed there was a Third Sex?”, I asked.

“No, really? Where did you read that”, she asked in return.

“It’s in the Tipitaka, also called the Pali canon. It's like the Christian Bible but for Theravada Buddhists -you!”, I said.

It’s ironic that most Thai people follow Buddhism diligently, yet few know about the Tipitaka, let alone its references to the third sex. I suppose it’s not surprising, given it has 45 volumes and was written in Pali!

Buddhism was adopted by Thailand (Siam at the time) in the 13th century. Its founder was The Lord Buddha, or Enlightened One, Siddhartha Gautama, in about 500 BC. At 29 years old, he was a prince, but renounced all his material wealth to search for of a way to reduce human suffering and reach enlightenment.

The Tipitaka, believed to have been written in the second half of the first century, was passed on verbally by Buddha’s disciples. It has 3 parts: the Vinaya, which provides a code of conduct for the sangha (monks and nuns), Sutta, a collection of Gautama's sayings, and the Abhidhamma, a reorganized version of the Sutta.

So where do Ladyboys fit in this picture? In several contexts.

First, the Suttas contain thousands of Buddha's sayings. In 20 volumes, there are countless descriptions of what is considered good and bad behavior for the layman. In none of those are homosexuals mentioned. This would imply the proper behavior of both heterosexual and homosexuals are to be judged on the same basis. For example, adultery or sex with children are considered inappropriate, for both. Monogamous, positive relationships are, by inference, ok for both.

Second, while Christian beliefs are based on two sexes, embodied by Adam and Eve, the Tipitaka recognizes four sexes! In addition to the expected male and female, there are also Ubhatobyanjanaka and Pandaka.

Both of these terms have different meanings within the Tipitaka, and many interpretations by various writers. To grossly simplify things though, Ubhatobyanjanaka is generally thought to mean hermaphrodite and Pandaka is thought to mean non-normative gender or sexual behavior. In the Thai language, both of these have been translated as kathoey or Ladyboy; the Third Sex! So even as far back as 2500 years ago there was recognition of a 3rd gender.

Third, Buddhists believe in a system of karma, where we are reborn into a type of being that is based on our past deeds. Unfortunately, Ladyboys are thought to be predetermined from birth as the direct result of performing actions in a previous lives that violated sexual mores. However, being born as something because of past deeds is not perceived to be due to one’s fault, and thus all beings must be treated with compassion. As such, Ladyboys must be treated with compassion, or even pity. Indeed, according to Bunmi (a Buddhist scholar), since every person has or will conduct heterosexual misdeeds at some point, everyone has been and will be a kathoey in many hundreds of lives! So, clearly, if you are going to be a kathoey yourself in the future, best not to treat those that exist today badly, else you may be the recipient of such treatment yourself!

So what’s the point of all this?

Many people wonder why Ladyboys are accepted in Thailand far more than in any other country in the world. It is the study of countless academics and non-academics. But perhaps one of the reasons is Buddhism.

Buddha's recognition of multiple genders in itself is positive. His lack of condemnation of homosexuals in all of his thousands of sayings is also positive. And finally, the view of compassion for all beings due to karma is fundamental to the accepting nature of many Thais.

This would contrast, for example, to stories in the Catholic Bible that have been interpreted to imply God would destroy all homosexuals; as per the popular understanding of the story of Sodom.

“Did you know a Buddha’s personal assistant, Ananda, was a kathoey in previous lives, May?”, I asked again.

“No, but you can be my personal assistant for a few hundred lives!”, she laughed.

That’s not really where I wanted the conversation to go, but I’d better be good to her. I was and will be a kathoey in another life. But at least I will be accepted, and that’s comforting.