DIVORCE

Divorce is the legal ending of a marriage. In many religions, marriage is a religious act and thus there are various restrictions on divorce. In some religions, divorce is possible only if one partner commits adultery while in other religions, divorce is allowed but is the prerogative of the husband only. Because Buddhism sees marriage, not as a sacrament but as an agreement between two people, it accepts that if those two people agree to end their relationship they can do so. Buddhism and all Buddhist cultures have always seen marriage as a relationship worth maintaining but at the same time they have never had legal restrictions on divorce.