What is Tantra and what isTantric sex?
The term Tantra has become popular lately, but few people really know what it means. Tantra was a religious sect in ancient India. Buddhists, Hindus and people from various other religions were associated with Tantric sects. What made Tantra different from other religious groups is that the tantrikas, the followers of Tantra, believed that personal fulfillment and union with God, came through living, accepting, and gaining a deep understanding of all of life's energies. They believed that there is nothing in life that one needs to turn away from to be spiritual. They believed that one can reach wholeness or enlightenment through full engagement of the senses and a deep open hearted embrace of all physical experience. Birth, death, light, darkness, creation, destruction, sex --no part of the human experience was excluded. However, these tantrikas were not hedonists, or self indulgent -- far from it. Many of their practices--all designed to gain a deeper understanding of the nature of life--involved a tremendous amount of discipline, patience and diligence. Tantric masters taught their students how to use sexual energy and sexual expression consciously as a great opener to love, life, God, and all existence. Tantric sex then, in my definition, is sex imbued with love that allows us melt into the divine.
To this day there are temples in India that have on their exterior walls sculpted images of couples in various sexual acts. Those are the remnants of Tantra. The religion as such has become nearly invisible in the public eye. I personally use the word Tantra because my teacher and spiritual guide, during my years of study and practice in India, used it a lot and because he taught us the Tantric principles of life. The religion of Taoism, whose exercises I use as well in my teaching, is a religion with beliefs and practices similar to Tantra. Taoism has its origin in China, and is especially known for its practices that promote health and longevity by guiding sexual energy in specific ways. [copied and pasted]
Jul 07, 2005 @ 17:13:00
