C O N T E N T S
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C O N T E N T S |
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TANTRA
This essay is about perspectives
on sexual energy and consciousness. One of the most profound, and powerful,
traditions I have encountered thus far in this idiom is Tantra. It is also
easily misunderstood, particularly with America's misguided fascination
with the trappings of sex.
Tantra as a whole refers
to a sect of Buddhism which may be considered as important, if not as pervasive,
as Mahayana or Hinayana. Aside from the basic premise of union of the male
and female principles, there are many differences from one Tantric school
to the next as to what is the proper practice to attain this state. The
ideological premise is always consistent however- the archetypal male and
female are brought together through a union of a particular male, and a
particular female.
In essence this is the heart
of all religious traditions where invocation plays a major part, wherein
the priest or priestess embodies the energies they are attempting to call
up. The traditional variation ranges from sects that embody this principle
purely non-sexually through extended meditations involving simple asana
and pranayama to groups that perform large orgies, wherein all social distinctions
are shattered. In either case, or in all the shades in-between, the practice
is performed with an eye towards the realization that consciousness is
energy, that the key to our existence is in the libido-as its expression
in that energy.
In addition to the union
of opposites, the tradition of Tantra has its ontological foundation in
Buddhism. One of the Buddha's teachings was that through desire and fear,
our personal energy is tied or yoked to the world energy in such a way
that we cannot extricate ourselves. That is, without becoming aware of
its nature. It is as if we are all spiders, trapped within the webs we
ourselves have woven. Our very personalities and inclinations themselves
are a part of this binding web. In one of Joseph Campbell's lectures on
Buddhism, he relates one of their central teachings by saying "...the lust
of all the senses is a fire. Quench that fire."
However in Tantra we see
a new approach by which one may find this Nirvana, which is not a place
but a psychological state, without detaching in this way from the world.
Instead of quenching that fire, Tantra seeks to excite the flames and use
them as fuel.
Before continuing further
into our exploration of Tantra, I would like to briefly sidestep to touch
upon the related but very distinct and separate practice of Sex Magick.
I will be focusing on 'letting
go' as a core precept of Tantra. Through this process, we can enter the
moment and experience bliss without fear. I think already you can probably
see how the practice of Tantra and its Ideology as I am presenting it are
actually one in the same.
Sex magick on the other
hand refers to any use of invocation or evocation through a sexual method.
Oftentimes a visualized symbol is connected to a specific intent before
the practice, and then this sigil is visualized and 'empowered' during
the buildup to orgasm, and then 'fired' during orgasm into the depths of
the subconscious and the universe... and hopefully right out of your conscious
memory. To make this distinction more clear, one could say that all sex
is sex magick, however the things most people are focusing on as their
'symbol' while having sex are at best scattered and unfocused, and at worst...
well. We won't go into that. So all this really comes down to is focus
of intent and linking it physiologically to the 'anchor' of orgasm. This
doesn't make any stipulation about 'mystical progress,' nor does it really
have any moral ideology. You can use sex magick to try to win the lottery
just as easily as you could use it for spiritual ends.
How can something so simple
as 'letting go' have so much power? Sexuality is at the core of our being.
Aside from being the means by which we reproduce, it is the subversion
of this urge which drives us to civilization - and its discontents. If
you can control and cultivate your sexual energy, then you are capable
of nearly anything.
This excitation is one of
the basic principles of practice. You work on arousing it, all the time
if possible, without being particularly attached to it. Eventually, through
this approach, one strives to cultivate desire and replace fear with knowledge
of the immediate, eternal present.
One may develop a practice
whereby fear is subverted into motivation to develop, and desire is cultivated
into will. This practice is considered by some 'left handed,' as it takes
no heed of the mandates of society. This practice is merely a re-evaluation
of values, to use Nietzsche's phrase in a new context. You are taking the
emotions and motivations that most use to drive themselves in circles,
and you are through will and practice turning that circle into a spiral
outwards into unknown territory. Just as the universal female can be embodied
in a priestess, here and now, so too can your very desire for sex be transformed
into your motivation towards your own evolution.
This may seem particularly
esoteric to some of you. However the basic principle or "lever" is as simple
as the cover of Maxim. For most, the very concept of sex, a thing which
can be shaped and molded through societal reinforcement and taboo, causes
a physiological reflex which can be used to excite us about things that
we wouldn't otherwise be excited by. This "lever" may even operate on a
level that we are not at all conscious of. This "sexual power" can "magickally"
be transferred through association. For instance, if you see a beautiful
woman covered in sweat, moaning orgasmically and drinking a coke, then
for many the psychological transference is immediate. No advertiser in
their right mind thinks that you will believe you will get hot women if
you drink coke, but all of them bank on your immediate, visceral response.
This image that they are trying to build for you is a Myth every bit as
much as the Ramayana or Bhagavad-Gita. The sociological and anthropological
premises which apply to Myth, which we will continue to explore in this
column, all apply.
Throughout our lives many
of us have had an ego-serving program of desire and fear ingrained in us
through our sexuality. This occurs throughout childhood and adolescence.
For some it ends here, with the first imprint, remaining the same throughout
the rest of adulthood. Others choose to consciously expand their ingrained
inclinations, or imprint others. The rules of the 'in group' and 'out group'
are one of the many principles by which we all collectively brainwash each
other into whatever cultural taboos and trends we want to associate with
the mythic crisis points of sexual maturation, sexual relations, and pregnancy.
We are valued or shamed based on how we fit into the cultic sexual environment
we grow up in, and develop various complexes as a result. I'm quite sure
you can continue to discover many other ways that we are taught to think
about sex. The way that we answer these questions for ourselves ultimately
creates the myth for our own children.
One predominant myth that
still remains as an undertone within American culture is that sex is both
sacrosanct and dirty, profane and yet representative of the highest saccharine
ideals, sold as a commodity and beyond value. This oxymoronic sexual code
results in an incredibly polarized moral and social standard that in many
ways ultimately supports deceit and animal husbandry. A man's very dignity
rests on his ability to ensnare young damsels and yet simultaneously remain
virtuous to an ideal, and the women mercilessly peck at each other and
preen themselves vying to be the most valuable prize. In this dramatization,
monogamy is a contract not of trust but of control, and the power games
of deceit become the top priority in a relationship. (No animals were harmed
in the writing of this sentence.)
As you can imagine there
are many pitfalls in this type of practice. It may seem that this practice
is easier than the ascetic, monastic approach, however this is not so.
The monastic life is designed to aid you in this quest by stilling or quelling
most of the aspects of life that can be so disquieting. To do this successfully,
and live within the world, you must find stillness in motion. This energy
-- formerly directed towards fruitless ego-related clutching -- turns outwards
and bears witness rather than seeking to possess. This is what helps bring
your energy into harmony with your environment: not "holding in," that
is not allowing yourself to breathe out, or "holding out" and not allowing
yourself to breathe in. It is also what makes living in this fashion so
difficult for people, I would say Americans in particular. Being able to
relax is an acquired skill.
My suggestion is that we
must extricate ourselves from the societally learned concepts of what is
'sexy' by taking a look at what immediately pleases us, of where we could
have gotten this idea, and if we like or don't like the effects this desire
has had on our lives. If it is something that you don't entirely like,
what I would recommend is not to change it, but merely to explore what
ways you could explore this in a way that you enjoy more, which ultimately
is more healthy for you and your partner(s). This is a very personal process,
and one which is prone to make us take harsh looks at other people long
before we can suffer those same glances inward. Critical judgment has no
place here. What I am talking about here is honestly assessing what it
is that you desire, what that says about you as a whole, and, should you
desire, where you got these ideas. No matter the decisions you come to,
this exploration always bears fruit.
Because sex is naturally
such an intense experience, we oftentimes develop methods of 'shielding'
ourselves from the potential brilliance of that moment in ways such as
'rushing.' Suddenly sex has become a horrifying relay race. If you do find
yourself hitting one of these 'edges,' it can be easy to recognize it for
what it is. Like in any other yogic practice, stretching is a process of
relaxing. One should never experience pain. These shields are up for a
reason, so just turning them off and opening up to whatever comes your
way without conscious awareness and respect for your own 'edges' or boundaries
and those of your partner(s) is dangerous and unhealthy. All the same,
if 'practice' is making sex boring, you're probably going in the wrong
direction.
The way Tantra is depicted
in some books and articles, it seems like it would be one of the most boring
things in the world. "You mean I'm just supposed to sit here?" It is true
that a certain kind of patience is required that you might not normally
exercise in the bedroom, living room floor, or elevator, however I think
the portrayal of Tantric sex as slow and 'unsexual' is incredibly misleading.
Now I will briefly discuss
the general methods of Tantric practice:
The first method is creative,
partner coupling, generally male and female. The male serves as an emissary
from the eternal as that archetypical principle, the woman is the same.
In some practices this is changed somewhat, where the woman appears as
the goddess, and the male serves as he is. Singular and mortal. This practice
aims at bringing about the experience of 'eternal love' in the formula
111, the man being One as all men, the female One as all women, and through
the union of these eternal principles results One: the unfolding of that
universal will unto itself, self-fulfilling and fulfilled. (Almost all
of the unveiling of Nuit in Crowley's The Book of the Law can be seen as
a poetic expression of this.)
In a more practical sense,
singular orgasm is not the purpose nor the goal. The experience is somewhat
like riding waves, one picks you up and carries you along, but before it
comes crashing down you back off, and paddle on over to another. Many schools
of Taoist alchemy are insistent that male ejaculation seriously depletes
a man's chi and threatens to ruin the integrity of this process, however
many successful tantrika choose to have orgasms in the 'normal' way without
seeming to hinder their practice. Let personal trial and error be your
guide.
The second method is that
of the orgy, which brings about the experience of Nothingness, expressed
by Crowley as the Night of Pan: individuality is blotted out, the ego is
blotted out, there is only the self aware night or naught. One cannot tell
whose limbs are whose nor is there any desire to bring about this discrimination.
All the same, this has nothing at all in common with a frat-party fuck-a-thon.
The first sign of success in either practice is that rather quickly a surprisingly
small amount of physical stimulation is required. All this required is
that you consciously 'amplify' each experience that you are having, and
continue to patiently expand this threshold. We have more ability to heighten
or deaden our tactile sense than many of us realize. Pretty soon you will
realize that what you are in fact playing with is a sensation of energy,
and it is in fact these energy fields which we can expand, contract, or
change in almost any other manner we can conceive of.
When the walls come tumbling
down, distinctions are broken and the energy body of all participants becomes
one. Many who have so much as experimented with this relate the perception
of being one organism with many limbs. The love of the group, unrestricted
by fetters is agape, not Eros. Regardless of the practice(s) you choose,
cultivating agape within your group or tribe should be a primary concern
to all interested in evolving culturally.
Both of these practices
are distinct and bring about very specific results. The potential for group
sexual practice is astronomical: every person brings with them not just
a body but an entire world. A mind stretched by a new idea never returns
to its original dimensions. However there is also an exponential increase
in the chance that ego-serving desire or fear take over and the moment
is lost in coveting, and delusional fantasies- which can become quite tangible
and dangerous in conjunction with sex magick. Few people are capable of
love without the 'thief' known as fear. In this setting, supposing everyone
is there fully willingly, there is nothing but the moment. Anything else
is poison.
Complete honesty and persistence
are the only means of attaining the balance required to take on these practices.
Nothing revolutionary is every gained without serious risk. If you chose
a life of evolution, you will likely never find rest but you may find freedom.
By agent139
"The author (a.k.a. agent139,
Jamie Curcio, James Curcio, Frater Gazebo,
etc.) has shown unprecedented
commitment to undermining the fabric of
reality one meme bearer
at a time since 1996. He has done this primarily
through international creative
and subversive semantic projects in music,
writing, and visual art.
He was a founding member of Evolving Media
Network, and is presently
running KaosWorks, a production/promotion
company, and is a proud
meme bearer for the Z(enseider)Z.
His first full length novel,
Join My Cult, is available through New Falcon
Press. Go to www.joinmycult.org
for more information. He can be reached at
james@joinmycult.org."