Transgender / Nonbinary / Gender Nonconforming & Zen 

"ALL gender identity is a delusion" is a really important point, thanks for making it.

I transitioned twelve years ago, and for the first few years attached to the identity of "being a woman". After a few years, I found this attachment was causing me to suffer, and eventually I came back to my long-neglected practice of Zazen and got back on the cushion, this had the result of becoming unattached to an identity, leaving any attachment around the perception of my identity for other people.

Handled skillfully as always, Bradley. You danced through the minefield with grace.

My former approach to Buddhist practice made it hard to accept my queerness/ transness. I believed very strongly that identity doesn't matter and I should try to avoid engaging with such notions. Looking back, that was unbalanced. I was clinging too much to the absolute, and trying to bypass the "relative" realities of being a human, such as my social conditioning and my need for safety and belonging, because it was too uncomfortable. I had to first stand up and say "I am gay!!", accept it, and to feel somewhat reassured that those who I rely on for support would not abandon me. Then I could practice letting go of that identity and "holding it lightly" in the way that I do now. The same thing had to happen with my explorations of gender. I think we need to practice deeply with every part of our human life rather than compartmentalizing. Brad, I deeply appreciate you asserting that being trans etc does not make a difference to someone's ability to practice, and shouldn't lead to them getting excluded from community. I'm glad that you're putting yourself out there so conversations can be had. It frustrates me that the current political climate and the internet-outrage-machine makes it harder for us to stumble collectively through these conversations in good faith. But I guess that's also a by-product of collective insecurity, trauma and fear. Ah well. Having said that, there are a couple of parts of your talk I would like to gently interrogate! Forgive me if I've misconstrued your words. Re: the idea that the practice/ the tradition just "is what it is", and we shouldn't try to get it to change if we want to get the most out of it: I'm not sure exactly in what ways you think trans people might want a tradition to change or accommodate them, but I just want to complicate this idea a bit. I think there are a lot of good examples of ways in which adapting Buddhist traditions to local cultural norms or preferences might dilute the dharma in troubling ways (we already see it a lot with McMindfulness and "meditation for productivity" schtick). However, Buddhist traditions have always evolved to try to connect to and "speak the language" of the communities they are being integrated into. There are books like "Buddhism for busy parents" for exactly this reason. I think this inclination of Buddhism is often a very fruitful one. For example, in the US I know of several Black/ POC lay and ordained Buddhist teachers who speak to how Buddhist practices can have a role in anti-racism / anti-oppression work as well as healing the internalised effects of such injustices. I think speaking directly to these issues of 'identity' is more powerful and transformative than ignoring them or expecting people to leave their identity at the door, because in Buddhism it isn't relevant anyway. LGBTQ+ people are often expected to 'leave their identity at the door' in Buddhist spaces, or are accused of being too 'hung up' on identity issues. You mention that we all have delusions of self, but cisgender and straight people don't usually have their delusional identities interrogated, ignored or questioned because it's just taken for granted as natural/ normal. There's some good resources about this here: sujato.github.io/rainbow/ Of course, I'm not suggesting that Buddhist spaces become hyper-fixated on identity (that sounds awful). Like with all things, there's a 'middle way' here. I'm not sure what that 'middle way' is, but when you described almost feeling annoyed because of the extent that issues such as gender identity don't matter to you, it made me feel like that there might be more to explore there. Identity, at the end of the day, is a relational thing. We can only identify ourselves in relation to others. It's so deeply tied up to our sense of social belonging, which is a survival need for us mammals. And some of our deepest, most intractable social and cultural conditioning and sense of "self" is tied up in gender. I think trans and gender non-conforming people tend to trigger that conditioning in others, and have an unusually deep opportunity to practice with it themselves. Maybe rather than seeing this stuff as irrelevant to practice, what if we saw it at as a potential teacher, something that could make our collective practice richer and broader? Again, I don't have answers for what it looks like, but I like to advocate for Buddhist institutions to remain open to all of the specificities of the human beings they encounter, and to think about how to meet them where they are at. And even if no concrete change results from that openness (I know boundaries and forms are also crucial), I think we will be better off. 'Beginners mind' isn't just something for individuals to practice, but our groups too. In conclusion, I guess one day I should write a book called "Buddhism for busy trans people". Until then, I'll settle for an essay in the RU-vid comments section. Love your work and be well 🙏

Ziggy does not identify as a dog... Just, "woof!"

Been binging your videos man! ✌🏻 thanks for doing what you do!

As a trans person, I appreciate that you don't believe being trans really matters at all, for good or bad. I dream of a world where everyone sees it the same way.

You're the man, Brad! Well said. The Dharma always guides us well, so long as we listen to it's leadings.

Excellent I sit with everyone.

Well handled Brad and I don’t see how anyone could possibly be offended! 👏🏿

thx Brad for putting it into these words❤

I heard only masculine men with lots of chest hair can possibly be enlightened

That was quite exciting - had me worried for a second there.

Sounded completely fair and reasonable to me (not that I’m a person who gets to be an official Arbiter of Such Things, so who knows what my opinion is worth?)

Hi Brad! I'm trans. I also regularly watch your videos but I don't really comment much, though I'll make an exception in this case because it's one I'm personally invested in. I've been doing Buddhist practice for much longer than I've been transitioning and I'll say for myself that I never felt it mattered one way or the other so far as what the Buddha taught. I.e. Just what you said. But there is a sense in which the idea of Sunyata and Dependent Origination does undermine the idea that we have any inherent gender (or anything else) and, for me at least, that was freeing. Re: sexuality, I wish we could get out of the habit of equating trans people with deviant sexual behavior. That has birthed some pretty gross stereotypes and I don't think it is fair. Re: special treatment, I kind of wonder what people mean when they say that. I'm sure that there are entitled and obnoxious trans people out there who demand to be treated better than everyone else but that's hardly a trans thing. Those type of people exist everywhere. I suspect that when people complain about "special treatment" in this case they're talking about a trans person who has asked them to respect their pronouns and their name, and who has had the gall to discuss their life openly. That is, it's a completely unfair slander that just gets propagated by people who would rather live in a world where no trans people exist openly and so find anything but that to be "special treatment." Again that's not to say it doesn't happen but I admit to being mostly skeptical when I hear these stories. Ultimately, for myself, I'm not asking for anyone's permission. Not a Buddha's or anyone's. I do expect to be treated like a human being when I'm out and about and I'm not going to hang around with people who don't respect me. Is that entitled? Maybe, but I don't care. That said, I've never encountered anything in the Buddhist community in this regard that is objectionable at all. No even this video! Verdict: not canceled

The Special Treatment thing is something I've heard my Transgender Friends mention, in particular, one ov my best friends, really Dislikes Trans Activist for making trans people look bad in the Popular Consensus. She would explain it like, She wants to just live a Normal Boring Life, and somehow the Activist want to keep her and other Trans as Non-Normal or that they see Trans people having a Unmentioned Disability towards fitting in with larger American Society.

I also find it irrelevant for myself at this point; I thought about it more at first when I was figuring out. At this point I'm just living my life - if anything, it's just some medical care on rare occasions or whatever. (I wish it was *less* relevant; the political situation can be concerning at some point.) Tbh I don't even like the phrase "identify as" - I just *am* a guy, for whatever reason, (it just seems to be a phenomenon for a small percentage of the population), and it doesn't really concern me or come up in my mind that much. I'm happier and more comfortable with myself, and I think about killing myself way less often, which is nice. (Not that it's fixed every problem in my life, for sure, I'm a human with problems like anybody else.) I don't "identify as" a student or a systems administrator - they're things that I do. I don't "identify as" a Wisconsite - it's the place where I live. Just that. I remember going out to a company lunch type thing for a tech internship/contract thing this summer, and it was at a burger place, because "everybody likes burgers," this being Wisconsin. They ordered a bunch of chicken wings and everything for appetizers, but also some fried mushrooms and cheese curds, so I just picked those, and ordered a big salad or something. I just sort of didn't mention being a vegetarian. I also just mostly sort of don't mention being trans the vast majority of the time, unless it's relevant. Like, it's not a secret, if somebody were to ask me about it, and a fair amount of people I know personally do know, and I've helped some people work through their own feelings about things (one person I know had sort of figured it out over the past six months or so and we've had a couple of conversations about it - I have always said "hey, I can't tell you if you are or if you aren't, but 'etc. etc. blah blah blah.') Also I love that song (Lola by the Kinks.) It came up on a playlist I was playing on my little speaker downstairs in the great room at the co-op here and people were like "WTF' and somebody was like "I hope this is a joke," I guess it's not kosher with the youth these days, whatever, it's a good fucking song. (I've been working on picking up my practice again - I fell off a bit because of "too busy" and whatever whatever blah blah blah, but I'm glad I am.)

So, just finding your channel, haha but I'm going to jump in here as both a Vajrayana yogin, and a Tibetan Medical Student and longtime student of Buddhist medicine. So firstly, to correct a point you made about Buddhist history: the very first Buddhists were NOT all celibate. In fact, if you go to the Pali Canon, there's always been an acknowledgment of both the "Red Robed" Sangha (celibate monks), and "White-Robed" Sangha (Non-celibate practitioners). That's right there in the Pali Canon. That tradition continues today in Vajrayana with the Yogic tradition. Secondly, Regarding gender. Some useful Buddhist facts: A. Buddhist medicine very clearly recognizes not only gender on a biological level, but more than two genders. Including Intersexed people. This is mentioned throughout Sowa Rigpa textbooks. B. Buddhist history, also clearly recognizes that beings can be gender non-conforming. The most famous example would be Avalokiteshvara, but there are so many Vajrayana deities that are shown this way, and of course the Dragon King's Daughter in the Lotus Sutra literally changes her gender to male and before the eyes of all those present. C. Gender identity, is not about clinging to an identity, it's just a shorthand term for the lived experience of transgender people. This is an area where Zen really is lacking in terms of Vajrayana, because the energetic experience of gender has to do with the Subtle Body, and that is an area that Zen really doesn't go into for the most part. While Zen borrowed quite a bit from Chinese Vajrayana a thousand years ago, (and this is where the Zen ceremonies come from, as well as the Dharanis, etc.), and while Zen and Shinto co-existed for a thousand years as a nearly inseparable religion... the Zen that came to America barely included any teachings about the Sambhogakaya. And so, most Zen people are taught about the physical/biological world, (the Nirmanakaya), and they are taught about the Dharmakaya, (the ultimate nature of reality). But they aren't really taught about aspects of reality that are inbetween the two: the Sambhogakaya, which concerns the subtle body, unseen beings, magic, and all the other aspects of subtle energetic reality. And so Zen people really are kinda uneducated for the most part about Buddhist teachings in that area. And with that regard: D. So, Buddhism does have detailed teachings about gender in the Subtle Body. For example the energy flows that follow the lunar cycle flow differently depending on male or female, and someone who is born male can indeed have a female energy flow, and vice versa. E. Ultimately, if someone is born transgender, it is due to the karmic causes, just like every other birth. But that's not illusion, it's just relative truth. So this is an important point: the two truths, are not one truth and one lie. They are both true. Relative truths are still true. Saying that a bus is an "illusion" isn't going to stop you from being killed if you step in front of an oncoming bus in traffic. Calling a speeding ticket an "illusion" isn't going to stop the cop from giving you one if you speed. We still have health conditions that effect our body, and this includes from a Buddhist standpoint, our subtle body. And the experience of gender, from an energetic perspective, has to do with the experience of gender on a subtle body level. And that still is very much real, effects our health, and has to be addressed pragmatically, just like having pneumonia, or diabetes, or chronic fatigue, or any other medical condition. Calling an infection an "illusion" doesn't change the fact that you still need antibiotics. And this I think really is kinda one of the weaknesses of Zen: Zen in America really IS missing a lot of teachings on the Sambhogakaya, and Buddhist medicine, that it DID have for most of Zen history in Japan and China, etc. I mean Soto Zen temples used to literally help fund themselves by making and selling Buddhist medicines, as well as Sambhogakaya practices. And of course, Shinto and Buddhism were effectively fused for a thousand years until the forced separation during the Meiji Era. Western Zen people really do need to understand that the "Zen" they practice now, really is nothing like the Zen that was practiced for most of Buddhist history. The "Zen" that people practice in America isn't, "unchanged for thousands of years," on the contrary: it's dramatically changed. It's missing a huge chunk that was part of it. A lot of that damage occurred during the Meiji anti-Buddhist revolutions, but then it became kinda cemented when Buddhism came to America, and when specific lineages tended to be far less interested in Sambhogakaya and Buddhist medical teachings. But yeah, all this is to say that that is context that really is missing from this video. And it's one of the reasons why when I see people new to Buddhism, I definitely will say that Zen (especially Soto Zen) is a good "introductory" Buddhist practice? But it's not a really good advanced Buddhist practice imo. And I think this is why even a lot of Millenial and younger Zen priests I know, end up going and learning things from Vajrayana, like Dzogchen teachings and such, and aspects of tantra, because at a certain point they realize that there is more they need to learn, (especially regarding the Sambhogakaya, and health and medicine), and they realize that the Zen teachings they have been taught are coming up short.

Lola cover sounds good. Really liked that album as a kid

If both men and women wear robes then we are all wearing dresses🤔

I'm nonbinary and intersex, and I have to say that being nonbinary is an incredibly synergetic experience with Buddhism in that it often arises from transcending categories and identities, rather than from being rooted in one. I came to these realizations partially as a result of Zazen practice, which allowed me to feel things that have turned out to be actual biological variations. So, from my perspective, Zen's emphasis on dissolving categories is actually a pretty clear path to 'nonbinaryness.' I think sometimes being trans isn't always about sex or about identity, but actually about physical and mental health for people who don't neatly fit into established medical categories. I like your channel! I think this topic is pretty challenging to cover, and could probably use some more reading-up-on.

It’s like a Hardcore Zen Easter egg hunt - found the Star Trek intro and thanks!

I should ask this on patreon but im not on there at the moment lol. I'd be really curious to hear your thoughts about celibacy as it relates to zen. There was a few years period that I intentionally went celibate (from any sexual contact, self or others), and did so with an intention of understanding desire better and all the buddhisty things around it. I felt that it was a significantly important part of my practice and life in finding some understanding around desire both sexually and really otherwise. Just curious what your thoughts are - AND the thoughts of other watchers/readers or whatever we are... if they read this far :)

Hey brad, what does "one mind" mean in zen is it something akin to brahman of hinduism?

Very well presented!

Ha, I didn't take you for a Lesley Nielsen fan. This is a perfectly innocous video.

Zen Mountain Monastery now “strongly encourages” people to state their preferred pronouns in order to participate in their online sanghas…

wise words🙏

I truly hope and pray you don't get cancelled, you are a light in the world of Soto Zen and Buddhism in general. Excellent points you make and I agree with you. From what I've experienced and learned, a huge part of Buddhism is all about learning how to stop clinging to your identity and your false self/ego. It's really essential Buddhism 101 here in my opinion, and the fact that we have to go back and clarify such simple things as such, is telling of the day and age we are living in. Establishment in the Pure Dharma is becoming deluded and watered down, but the Pure Dharma is still there for those with little dust in their eyes.

Go Brad

Nice, Airplane, the movie, reference! Perfectly Shirley

"How do you do, fellow kids?"

Thank you for covering this topic. xx PS You were a baby in Photo. LOL

Amen brother.

Thanks for not being prejudice against trans people. Also really appreciate you making me aware of Dogen's teachings which have helped me deal with both bereavement and coming away from a sangha which I had been part of since 1982.

I thought Buddhist were trying to shed the ego, not reinforce and focus on it. What happened to No Self?

We all pee the same colour. Everybody welcome.

I read Judith Butlers, "Gender Troubles" at the same time as Nagarjunas Way in college and it totally changed how I view gender.

Years of diligent practice to detach from the physical and erase the ego does not seem like a good fit with stereotypical gender identity activists.

I live in Chicago. Like any big city in the US you're much more likely to run into LGBTQ+ people. I know quite a few trans people at this point. None of them have fit the image that the trans activists on twitter depict. Personally I don't think most of the insane people online are even trans like they claim to be. They're probably cishet teens and twenty somethings that get an emotional rush out of fighting people on behalf of a marginalized group. There's nothing more intoxicating than righteous anger. Great example is the outrage over the Hogwarts game last year. People saying if you play the game you hate trans people and need to be cancelled, because of what J.K. Rowling has said about trans people (even though she didn't work on the game at all). Funny thing is? All the trans people I know in real life bought and played the game, because they love and grew up with Harry Potter and they don't take shit that seriously. They're just living their lives.

This issue may not matter in the context of zen, but it definitely matters in the context of life. I have no doubt that our present culture is in the grip of a social contagion, spearheaded by activists and spread through social media additiction. The postmodernist view that the subjective reality inside my head matters more than the objective reality we all share is totally misguided. Every single person alive today has a mother and a father. That binary. There are no exceptions.

Brad! Is masturbation a misuse of sexuality?

what do u mean by get cancelled?😢

If that woman had not advocated for your special dietary needs, maybe you wouldn’t have had anything to eat. 🤷🏻‍♀️ No one, to my knowledge, has ever tried to pass laws against vegetarianism which would force you to conform to the traditional meat eater diet. The main reason for Trans allies and advocates, is to fight against the elected officials in many states who are constantly trying to pass stupid laws that are designed to force traditional gender roles on all of society. Whether a human being wants to transition socially or medically should be none of the government’s business.

Didn’t (early) Theravada Buddhism not allow disabled persons to become monks? I wonder if the reason had to do with a “no special treatment” rule….??

Brad, don't YOU identify as a Soto Zen Buddhist? Identity can act as a defense against, for example, charges of ritual breaches. I mean: a Pure Land Buddhist could accuse you by saying, you do not sufficiently emphasize the nianfo, chanting the name of Amitabha. As a defense would you not appeal to MY training, MY teacher, MY tradition. Isn't that also identification?

what gender is Avalokideshvara?

I like the point you've made about our "true self" being beyond any of this stuff :) For me, I consider myself to be male, but the way I think about my own gender has mostly to do with my physical body and not that much to do with my personal identity. I have a penis and other secondary sex characteristics of males therefore I am a male. I've also been socially conditioned to various norms for men in my society, but the description doesn't go a whole lot deeper than that for me. That said, I've been in situations when I've been asked my preferred pronouns, and my honest answer has been he/they, which is out of the norm even in those circumstances but is my most honest answer. Because I don't feel that being male is a core and unchanging part of my identity. I prefer gender neutral pronouns, and I honestly think society might be better if we all just let go of that part of our identity and went by gender neutral pronouns. At the same time, I present in a masculine way and am ok with being identified by my society as a man because of that presentation.

So what you saying is, sit down and shut up?

Spot on Brad -- most of the time the issues that arise come from the social justice warrior standing on their soapbox screaming, "Look at me, I am virtuous"! At the end of the day, we are all just human walking the path. Period!

When you started off with the "TLDR" I thought they'd minted another four genders.

I’m a big Transgender ally, had a roommate that was transgenderwoman for a while and this is not offensive at all, you just sound like a normal reasonable decent human being Brenda, I meant Brad sorry 🙊thanks for sharing

There are several trans nuns, lesbian nuns, gay monks that I know of here in Taiwan. It is not a problem. I know that you westerners are very hung up on willies, lilies, lollipops and lily-lollies, but we are not. Everyone who becomes a monk or nun are expected to be celibate. To not be celibate renders you incapable of fully comprehending the implications of the 5 aggregates and dependent origination. Those who do not take vows should be guarded with their sexuality - not because of western ides of purity but because it hinders your progress in samadhi. When you meet someone who is different from you sexually or gender-wise, it is simply a person who is different from you sexually or gender-wise. Comparing the choice of being a racist to being inherently sexually or gender different from others is really not the same thing at all. I do wish you had made this clear. Regarding staying in male or female dorms. I have not had this problem as yet because these people are extremely uncommon. When it arises it will be dealt with compassionately and in a loving manner. What I would NEVER do is say “You just listen to us, we know better.” This is not compassion. Thank you.

Zen or not - Buddhist or not... the general masses need to figure out how to accept this viewpoint if they don't already. I assume most people fall into this mindset but just never share it.

The thing with a lot of trans people though is the “bringing trouble and grief”wherever they go is kind if a big part of their thing. I know you’re not supposed to notice that but there you go.

Ok.

Is there anything more demanding special treatment than the lgbtxzycommie party? The vid itself is special treatment...