Interview with Shi Zhaohui: Some people say that gay people have heavy karma with women, but those who say this kind of thing are heavy karma

Text: Womany Jiaqi

Interview with Shi Zhaohui. In the first part, we talked about the #MeToo in Buddhism, and in the second part, we talked about the upcoming gay parade and the suppression of comrades by some religious figures in the next few years. (Extended reading: Interview with Shi Zhaohui There are also #MeToo in Buddhism: Don't think that if you put the fault on the individual, you will be fine)

Gay karma is heavy? Labeling and stigmatizing comrades is the heavy karma

Speaking of comrades, then we hurried to ask again. "All lust is instinctive, there is no difference between good and bad", "The meaning of home is not just a place where sperm and egg are combined" Last year, a video of a public hearing on marriage equality circulated on the Internet, and Venerable Shi Zhaohui, who amazed everyone, spoke in unison, making her a god of war in the Buddhist circle for a time. She laughed and said no, she looked very happy.

"Many people say that gay people have heavy karma and women have heavy karma, and there are many similarities between the two, and I have the same refutation. When we talk about karma, 'obstacles' are obstacles to the path. But who in the world has not encountered obstacles in the process of cultivating?" Heterosexual men, is there no obstacle to monasticism?

In 2012, she officiated at the world's first Buddhist wedding, which also made international news.

She shared, "We have to find ways to remove any obstacle to the path, not to curse him, to mock him, to treat him as a second person. So whether it's a man or a woman, a gay or a gay person, everyone has different karma. On the other hand, treating gay comrades or sexual minorities as obstacles, excluding them, discriminating against them, labeling them, and stigmatizing them, is what really constitutes our karma."

What's more, even if there are so-called "obstacles" of women or gays, how many of them are fundamentally from acquired discrimination and suppression?

Gender is to be transcended, otherwise you think fifty steps to laugh at a hundred steps?

In recent years, there has been a similar trend in countries around the world, from the anti-homosexual referendum at the end of last year to this year's abortion reduction bill, we have seen that religious figures of certain factions are trying to get religion to intervene in politics and lead conservative reactionary forces through political force.

We also wonder, as one of the Buddhist opinion leaders, what does she think of this phenomenon?

In Buddhism, all sexuality must be transcended, regardless of men and women, sexual minorities, otherwise you think that fifty steps and a hundred steps are laughing? Regardless of whether we are male or female, or sexual minorities, when we come to practice and listen to the Fa, the person next to us is a masculine woman, or a feminine man, and we don't care about it, because that's a matter that has nothing to do with the grand purpose in the first place.

"At least, there were very few such things before the Family Protector League intensified."

"Even if there is a sexist bhikkhu, there is no particular intention to hurt the other person. Buddhism talks about 'all beings are equal', and chickens, ducks and geese are all equal, so what should we do to discriminate against people with different sexual orientations? However, when someone wants to turn this into a national movement, of course, some monastic groups will follow and shout, and even affect their attitude towards the believers."

Man does not live in formulas, but in relationships

Finally, we also asked her about the fact that there are many factions in the feminist community, and it is inevitable that there will be conflicts. At this time, as a feminist, how does she view the conflicts and discussions brought about by such differences and diversity?

"If we don't have one and not the other, we can be like a diamond mirror that illuminates different aspects. So, you don't have to take all the sects of feminism as the truth, but you don't have to exclude the parts that make sense of what they say."

"Man does not live in formulas, man lives in relationships. That's why people care in relationships." She believes that there is a very important concept in contemporary times, which is that we must let go of binary opposition. Shi Zhaohui used a Buddhist metaphor to describe this situation.

"The Buddhists talked about the concept of 'Indra's net', and I think it's very good."

There is a net in the heavenly palace, called Indra's net. And on each knot of the net, there were jewels. Each jewel reflects the content of the network. So one orb can see the whole world. Looking at the feminist polemic from this concept, I would find it perfectly fine. They all take from different life experiences, turn them into theories, and then remind us that there are all kinds of flaws in the world.

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Different factions are like jewels, reflecting each other's flaws and true sides, layer by layer, endless. Perhaps, this metaphor is also the best portrayal of contemporary times. Different theories discuss each other and interweave various life experiences. What's more, although they may seem phantoms, the more they reflect each other, the closer we will get to the panorama of the world.

postscript

In fact, Shi Zhaohui also has an open secret, that is, she is still a cat slave. Halfway through the interview, she showed me her Facebook and Line photo albums, which contained countless photos of cats.

The doll is a stray cat she raised seven years ago, with a cow cat body and a slightly blessed appearance. Shi Zhaohui said, "The beloved cats are all very beautiful, and now the dolls are Internet celebrity cats." In the past few days, Facebook has jumped straight to the photos taken back then, and her words are full of longing. In the Wushe Mountain and the Buddhist Hall of the Academy, there are photos of dolls.

"The function of the family is never just the union of sperm and egg." The words she once said at the marriage equality hearing are also confirmed here. The value of the family is never just about giving birth to the next generation, but about how to sublimate the feelings for each other through getting along.

Cats that are loved are beautiful. The same is true for those who do not hesitate to give love.