Korean Journal of Buddhist Studies ISSN:1598-0642(Print) 불교학연구

This study examines the issue of ordination for sexual minorities in contemporary Korean Buddhism in light of the normative structure of the Vinaya tradition. It focuses in particular on the functional character of antarāyika-dhamma. Often translated as “impediments to ordination,” antarāyika-dhamma functions in practice as a set of disqualifying conditions that determine eligibility for ordination and preserve the integrity of the Saṅgha. The study further analyzes how this normative logic has been received and implemented in the regulations of the Jogye Order (曹溪宗 宗法).
In the Vinaya, antarāyika-dhamma operates through a dual mechanism: it restricts eligibility for ordination in advance and rectifies improper ordinations afterward through nāsanā (expulsion). This structure is also evident in the regulations concerning paṇḍaka and ubhatobyañjanaka. These provisions did not arise as fixed grounds for exclusion based on inherent bodily traits; rather, they emerged from practical concerns regarding the effects of such conditions on monastic practice, communal order, and the prevention of public reproach (譏嫌).
From this perspective, the Jogye Order’s provisions concerning “neutral gender” (中性) and persons whose “physical condition is deemed unbecoming of the dignity of the Saṅgha” subsume distinct evaluative criteria within a single category and therefore fail to provide sufficiently clear standards or procedures for determining eligibility. In particular, the conflation of wiyi (威儀), meaning cultivated monastic comportment, with wisin (威信), referring to outward dignity or prestige, obscures the criteria for application.
In response, this study proposes a more differentiated specification of eligibility criteria, refinement of deliberative procedures so that the consensual spirit of kamma (羯磨) is more clearly reflected, and phased institutional implementation accompanied by ongoing evaluation. By reconstructing the normative spirit of the Vinaya within modern monastic institutions, this study offers an interpretive framework for sustaining both the identity of the Saṅgha and its social credibility under changing social conditions.