Difference between revisions of ""WHAT IS TANTRA?!""
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From the beginning of time there have been those rare women and men | From the beginning of time there have been those rare women and men | ||
who, following their hearts great yearning, have answered the | who, following their hearts great yearning, have answered the | ||
− | existential question of birth and death with realization of who they | + | [[existential]] question of [[birth]] and [[death]] with [[realization]] of who they |
truly are - who we all are. Pranama is such a one. He invites, | truly are - who we all are. Pranama is such a one. He invites, | ||
− | cajoles, dares us to join the dance. Read his words, let them enter | + | cajoles, dares us to join the [[dance]]. Read his words, let them enter |
− | your heart and smash the taboo against unreasonable happiness. The | + | your [[heart]] and smash the {{Wiki|taboo}} against unreasonable [[happiness]]. The |
− | flame of being is passed from master to disciple in the great silence | + | flame of being is passed from [[master]] to [[disciple]] in the great [[silence]] |
− | of the heart - these words are an engraved invitation. | + | of the [[heart]] - these words are an engraved invitation. |
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"[[What is Tantra]]?" | "[[What is Tantra]]?" | ||
− | an interview with Tantric Master Prem Pranama | + | an interview with [[Tantric Master]] Prem Pranama |
This interview occured in the summer of 1994. The interviewer, Ralph | This interview occured in the summer of 1994. The interviewer, Ralph | ||
− | Abrams, has been a spiritual seeker for the last 25 years. He has | + | Abrams, has been a [[spiritual]] seeker for the last 25 years. He has |
− | worked with Swami Muktananda, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Chagdud Tulku, | + | worked with [[Swami]] [[Muktananda]], [[Nisargadatta Maharaj]], [[Chagdud Tulku]], |
− | Nagkpa Chogyum, Native American teachers and currently lives in the | + | [[Nagkpa Chogyum]], Native [[American]] [[teachers]] and currently [[lives]] in the |
− | Crazy Cloud Hermitage where he studies the Tantric path with Pranama. | + | Crazy Cloud [[Hermitage]] where he studies the [[Tantric path]] with Pranama. |
− | R: The word Tantra is thrown around quite a bit in spiritual circles | + | R: The [[word]] [[Tantra]] is thrown around quite a bit in [[spiritual]] circles |
these days, and it often means very different things. I'd like to | these days, and it often means very different things. I'd like to | ||
− | start off with the simple question: What is Tantra? | + | start off with the simple question: [[What is Tantra?]] |
− | P: Tantra is the hot blood of spiritual practice. It smashes the taboo | + | P: [[Tantra]] is the [[hot]] {{Wiki|blood}} of [[spiritual practice]]. It smashes the {{Wiki|taboo}} |
− | against unreasonable happiness; a thunderbolt path, swift, joyful, and | + | against unreasonable [[happiness]]; a [[thunderbolt]] [[path]], swift, [[joyful]], and |
− | fierce. There are many different types of paths. Some touch you like | + | fierce. There are many different types of [[paths]]. Some {{Wiki|touch}} you like |
− | a gentle spring rain, but Tantra is the wild summer thunder storm | + | a gentle spring [[rain]], but [[Tantra]] is the wild summer [[thunder]] storm |
− | churning with creation, destruction, bliss and emptiness. Tantra is a | + | churning with creation, destruction, [[bliss]] and [[emptiness]]. [[Tantra]] is a |
− | wild mother tiger - if you approach her with right motivation, right | + | wild mother [[tiger]] - if you approach her with right [[motivation]], [[right intention]], and [[integrity]], she'll suckle you at her {{Wiki|breast}}; but if you |
− | intention, and integrity, she'll suckle you at her breast; but if you | + | come to her in a sloppy way, she'll rip apart your [[body-mind]], eat you |
− | come to her in a sloppy way, she'll rip apart your body-mind, eat you | ||
for dinner, and shit out what's left. | for dinner, and shit out what's left. | ||
− | R: Wow! I think that this sense of joyful abandon and the force and | + | R: Wow! I think that this [[sense]] of [[joyful]] abandon and the force and |
− | bliss you've described would make the Tantric path attractive to many | + | [[bliss]] you've described would make the [[Tantric path]] attractive to many |
− | people. Plus the fact that it is known to be a very swift path to | + | [[people]]. Plus the fact that it is known to be a very swift [[path to enlightenment]]. |
− | enlightenment. | ||
− | P. Swift, yes. But the Tantric Vajrayana path is complex and can be | + | P. Swift, yes. But the [[Tantric]] [[Vajrayana path]] is complex and can be |
− | dangerous. It requires a strong, well integrated sense of self | + | [[dangerous]]. It requires a strong, well integrated [[sense]] of [[self]] |
− | prepared through careful preliminary practice. Otherwise it is | + | prepared through careful [[preliminary practice]]. Otherwise it is |
− | possible for the practitioner to make gross errors in judgment. On | + | possible for the [[practitioner]] to make gross errors in [[judgment]]. On |
− | the Tantric path, it is perhaps easier to become the ultimate form of | + | the [[Tantric path]], it is perhaps easier to become the [[Wikipedia:Absolute (philosophy)|ultimate]] [[form]] of |
− | egohood and delusion than it is to become free. You can start off | + | egohood and [[delusion]] than it is to become free. You can start off |
− | intending to liberate the tyranny of ordinary appearance into | + | intending to {{Wiki|liberate}} the tyranny of ordinary [[appearance]] into |
− | primordial awareness and end up crystallizing the ego into | + | [[primordial awareness]] and end up crystallizing the [[ego]] into |
− | diamond-hard delusion. There is no authentic Tantra without profound | + | diamond-hard [[delusion]]. There is no [[Wikipedia:Authenticity|authentic]] [[Tantra]] without profound |
− | commitment, discipline, intelligence, courage, and a sense of wild, | + | commitment, [[discipline]], [[intelligence]], [[courage]], and a [[sense]] of wild, |
− | foolhardy, fearless abandon. | + | foolhardy, [[fearless]] abandon. |
R: Why is that? And why foolhardy abandon? | R: Why is that? And why foolhardy abandon? | ||
− | P: Foolhardy because the path is for gamblers. There is a beautiful | + | P: Foolhardy because the [[path]] is for gamblers. There is a beautiful |
− | Rumi poem which speaks to this from the Sufi tradition. | + | [[Rumi]] poem which speaks to this from the [[Wikipedia:Sufism|Sufi]] [[tradition]]. |
− | "Love is reckless; not reason. Reason seeks a profit. Love comes on | + | "[[Love]] is reckless; not [[reason]]. [[Reason]] seeks a profit. [[Love]] comes on |
strong, consuming herself unabashed. | strong, consuming herself unabashed. | ||
− | Yet in the midst of suffering love proceeds like a millstone, hard | + | Yet in the midst of [[suffering]] [[love]] proceeds like a millstone, hard |
surfaced and straight forward. | surfaced and straight forward. | ||
− | Having died to self interest, she risks everything and asks for | + | Having [[died]] to [[self]] [[interest]], she [[risks]] everything and asks for |
− | nothing. Love gambles away every gift God bestows. | + | nothing. [[Love]] gambles away every [[gift]] [[God]] bestows. |
− | Without cause God gave us Being; without cause give it back again. | + | Without [[cause]] [[God]] gave us Being; without [[cause]] give it back again. |
− | Gambling yourself away is beyond any religion. | + | [[Gambling]] yourself away is beyond any [[religion]]. |
− | Religion seeks grace and favor, but those who gamble these away are | + | [[Religion]] seeks grace and favor, but those who gamble these away are |
− | Gods favorites, for they neither put God to the test nor knock at the | + | [[Gods]] favorites, for they neither put [[God]] to the test nor knock at the |
door of gain and loss" | door of gain and loss" | ||
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− | Tantra takes the jump into crazy wisdom by eliminating even God from | + | [[Tantra]] takes the jump into [[crazy wisdom]] by eliminating even [[God]] from |
− | the equation, leaving only the mystery with no ultimate attempt to | + | the equation, leaving only the {{Wiki|mystery}} with no [[Wikipedia:Absolute (philosophy)|ultimate]] attempt to |
− | define it. This is a path for those whose hearts are so wild that they | + | define it. This is a [[path]] for those whose hearts are so wild that they |
− | are ready to throw it all away on a hunch, for an intuition. | + | are ready to throw it all away on a hunch, for an [[intuition]]. |
− | Discipline, courage, hard work and intelligence are required | + | [[Discipline]], [[courage]], hard work and [[intelligence]] are required |
− | because that is what any quest of the heart demands. Tantra, which | + | because that is what any quest of the [[heart]] demands. [[Tantra]], which |
− | molds the power of creation and ego into skillful means cutting | + | molds the power of creation and [[ego]] into [[skillful means]] cutting |
− | through delusion, requires careful preparation. We don't expect | + | through [[delusion]], requires careful preparation. We don't expect |
someone who just wants to play around now and then on a keyboard to | someone who just wants to play around now and then on a keyboard to | ||
become a concert pianist. We don't expect someone to be able to get up | become a concert pianist. We don't expect someone to be able to get up | ||
off the couch one day and run a four minute mile. Great tasks require | off the couch one day and run a four minute mile. Great tasks require | ||
− | great effort. | + | great [[effort]]. |
− | With Tantra we are taking the mind and body as cauldron, feeling, | + | With [[Tantra]] we are taking the [[mind and body]] as cauldron, [[feeling]], |
− | ego, elements and world as alchemical ingredients, and imagination | + | [[ego]], [[elements]] and [[world]] as [[alchemical]] ingredients, and [[imagination]] |
− | informed by divine power as catalyst; and we are accomplishing the | + | informed by [[divine power]] as catalyst; and we are accomplishing the |
− | great magical task of alchemical transformation. The base metal of | + | great [[magical]] task of [[alchemical]] [[transformation]]. The base metal of |
− | dualistic view becomes the infinitely valuable gold of pure and | + | [[dualistic]] view becomes the infinitely valuable {{Wiki|gold}} of [[pure]] and |
− | luminous awareness. Tantra is a path of tremendous power. This power | + | [[luminous awareness]]. [[Tantra]] is a [[path]] of tremendous power. This power |
is not easy to use without getting burned by it. Yet, at the same | is not easy to use without getting burned by it. Yet, at the same | ||
− | time, it is a path of great joy. | + | time, it is a [[path]] of great [[joy]]. |
− | If you're going to use poison, pleasure, and personality as the | + | If you're going to use [[poison]], [[pleasure]], and [[personality]] as the |
− | path, you have to be careful not to auto-destruct. In working with an | + | [[path]], you have to be careful not to auto-destruct. In working with an |
− | advanced sadhana (practice) such as Vajrakilaya, which is central to | + | advanced [[sadhana]] (practice) such as [[Vajrakilaya]], which is central to |
− | our lineage, powerful energies of psyche, nature, and the subtle | + | our [[lineage]], powerful energies of [[Wikipedia:Psyche (psychology)|psyche]], [[nature]], and the {{Wiki|subtle}} |
− | realms are harnessed. When such a powerful sadhana is introduced into | + | [[realms]] are harnessed. When such a powerful [[sadhana]] is introduced into |
− | one's system through authentic empowerment, it is not something to be | + | one's system through [[Wikipedia:Authenticity|authentic]] [[empowerment]], it is not something to be |
− | taken lightly. Let's say you re going to bring anger into the | + | taken lightly. Let's say you re going to bring [[anger]] into the |
− | path. It's a razor's edge between liberating anger into the wrathful | + | [[path]]. It's a razor's edge between liberating [[anger]] into the [[wrathful]] |
− | compassion of mirror like wisdom and just becoming an arrogant, | + | [[compassion]] of [[mirror like wisdom]] and just becoming an [[arrogant]], |
− | self-righteous prig. With Vajrakilaya, either you are actually | + | self-righteous prig. With [[Vajrakilaya]], either you are actually |
− | transforming your mind stream into this wisdom-being of great wrath | + | [[transforming]] your [[mind stream]] into this wisdom-being of great [[wrath]] |
− | and power, or you are just dressing up your egoistic anger in the | + | and power, or you are just dressing up your [[egoistic]] [[anger]] in the |
− | deitie's clothes. If Tantra is misused, the divine becomes a demon. | + | [[deitie's]] [[clothes]]. If [[Tantra]] is misused, the [[divine]] becomes a {{Wiki|demon}}. |
− | When you work with the Tantric path, you are playing with a live | + | When you work with the [[Tantric path]], you are playing with a live |
wire. It s charged not with electricity, but with the power behind | wire. It s charged not with electricity, but with the power behind | ||
− | creative force. Tantric sadhana deconstructs and constructs reality, | + | creative force. [[Tantric]] [[sadhana]] deconstructs and constructs [[reality]], |
− | as play, until the essence of reality becomes obvious. Through the | + | as play, until the [[essence of reality]] becomes obvious. Through the |
− | sadhanas, private non-realities interface with the public non-reality | + | [[sadhanas]], private non-realities interface with the public [[non-reality]] |
− | until you realize the true nature of both. You use illusion to cut | + | until you realize the [[true nature]] of both. You use [[illusion]] to cut |
− | through illusion. | + | through [[illusion]]. |
R. I am not sure I understand what you mean by public and private | R. I am not sure I understand what you mean by public and private | ||
− | non-realities. Are the images, energies, and beings worked with in the | + | non-realities. Are the images, energies, and [[beings]] worked with in the |
practices real or not? Could you elaborate on that bit? | practices real or not? Could you elaborate on that bit? | ||
− | P. The basis of all this lies in an understanding of Dharmakaya and | + | P. The [[basis of all]] this lies in an [[understanding]] of [[Dharmakaya]] and |
− | sunyata, "the realm of essence" and "emptiness". The Dharmakaya is not | + | [[sunyata]], "the [[realm]] of [[essence]]" and "[[emptiness]]". The [[Dharmakaya]] is not |
− | a place or even a state of being or consciousness. Dharmakaya is the | + | a place or even a [[state of being]] or [[consciousness]]. [[Dharmakaya]] is the |
− | field of pure potential, which is exploding into actualized energy and | + | field of [[pure]] potential, which is exploding into actualized [[energy]] and |
− | matter at every moment. Each object or thing, even in its "thingness", | + | {{Wiki|matter}} at every [[moment]]. Each [[object]] or thing, even in its "thingness", |
− | is still in essence characterized by this field of potentiality. In | + | is still in [[essence]] characterized by this field of potentiality. In |
− | other words, each "thing" is empty of permanent characteristics; its | + | other words, each "thing" is [[empty]] of [[permanent]] [[characteristics]]; its |
− | characteristics share the quality of pure dynamic potentiality and are | + | [[characteristics]] share the [[quality]] of [[pure]] dynamic potentiality and are |
− | always tending towards the expression of that potential via constant | + | always tending towards the expression of that potential via [[constant]] |
− | change and transformation. | + | change and [[transformation]]. |
− | All worlds and fields of perception explode from this pure | + | All [[worlds]] and fields of [[perception]] explode from this [[pure]] |
− | potentiality, which is also pure awareness or emptiness. This essence, | + | potentiality, which is also [[pure awareness]] or [[emptiness]]. This [[essence]], |
− | this emptiness, is unspeakable and is not any thing at all. And yet it | + | this [[emptiness]], is unspeakable and is not any thing at all. And yet it |
− | is the dynamic matrix from which all of this (waving his arm about the | + | is the dynamic [[matrix]] from which all of this (waving his arm about the |
room) arises, and of which all of this is a presentation, and into | room) arises, and of which all of this is a presentation, and into | ||
which all this returns. | which all this returns. | ||
− | This explosion of essence creates fields of energetic | + | This explosion of [[essence]] creates fields of energetic |
− | perception. This energy is conditioned into forms by the play of cause | + | [[perception]]. This [[energy]] is [[conditioned]] into [[forms]] by the play of [[cause and effect]]. These [[forms]] are our [[world]] and our [[self]]. The [[world]], and all |
− | and effect. These forms are our world and our self. The world, and all | + | [[worlds]], are coincident with the [[essence of awareness]], which is |
− | worlds, are coincident with the essence of awareness, which is | + | birthless and {{Wiki|deathless}} and utterly free of the implications of [[form]] |
− | birthless and deathless and utterly free of the implications of form | + | and limit. The [[manifest]] [[world]] is not other than [[essence]], but [[essence]] |
− | and limit. The manifest world is not other than essence, but essence | + | is not limited to the shape or [[conditions]] of the [[manifest]] [[worlds]]. One |
− | is not limited to the shape or conditions of the manifest worlds. One | + | might say that the [[world]] and all [[worlds]] are held together as [[form]] by |
− | might say that the world and all worlds are held together as form by | + | the [[conditioned]] and habitual intent of [[consciousness]]. Our particular |
− | the conditioned and habitual intent of consciousness. Our particular | + | [[world]] is held together by the intent of [[human beings]]. The [[worlds]] of |
− | world is held together by the intent of human beings. The worlds of | + | other [[beings]] are held by the force of their [[conditioned]] intent. |
− | other beings are held by the force of their conditioned intent. | ||
− | The structures of existence are not "real" in any ultimate | + | The structures of [[existence]] are not "real" in any [[Wikipedia:Absolute (philosophy)|ultimate]] |
− | sense. They are public non-realities, playful dreams shaped out of | + | [[sense]]. They are public non-realities, playful [[dreams]] shaped out of |
− | essence and molded in form. They are the radiance of pure | + | [[essence]] and molded in [[form]]. They are the radiance of [[pure]] |
potentiality, momentarily given shape by intent and held in a | potentiality, momentarily given shape by intent and held in a | ||
− | seemingly cohesive pattern by karma or patterned habitualized | + | seemingly cohesive pattern by [[karma]] or patterned habitualized |
− | consciousness. A Tantric yogi shatters the tyranny of ordinary | + | [[consciousness]]. A [[Tantric yogi]] shatters the tyranny of ordinary |
− | appearance - the forgetting of how things took on their seemingly real | + | [[appearance]] - the {{Wiki|forgetting}} of how things took on their seemingly real |
− | forms - by molding new structures of existence - private | + | [[forms]] - by molding new structures of [[existence]] - private |
non-realities. | non-realities. | ||
− | We are not talking here about "creative visualization" in the sense | + | We are not talking here about "creative [[visualization]]" in the [[sense]] |
− | generally used. Imagination is, generally, simply mind forms within | + | generally used. [[Imagination]] is, generally, simply [[mind]] [[forms]] within |
− | the public non-reality. We are talking about the actual deconstruction | + | the public [[non-reality]]. We are talking about the actual deconstruction |
− | of the building blocks of reality and reconstruction of | + | of the building blocks of [[reality]] and reconstruction of |
− | alternatives. Both public and private non-realities are conditioned | + | alternatives. Both public and private non-realities are [[conditioned]] |
− | forms of consciousness. By enacting the process of creation and | + | [[forms]] of [[consciousness]]. By enacting the process of creation and |
− | destruction in the private non-reality the unquestioned authortiy and | + | destruction in the private [[non-reality]] the unquestioned authortiy and |
− | permanence of the public non-reality is undermined. Through the | + | [[permanence]] of the public [[non-reality]] is undermined. Through the |
− | process of advanced Tantric sadhana one is able to recognize the | + | process of advanced [[Tantric]] [[sadhana]] one is able to [[recognize]] the |
− | ground of intrinsic awareness within all conditioned forms. This | + | ground of [[intrinsic awareness]] within all [[conditioned]] [[forms]]. This |
− | realization allows one to live as intrinsic awareness and recognize | + | [[realization]] allows one to live as [[intrinsic awareness]] and [[recognize]] |
− | all arising as ornaments of that awareness. | + | all [[arising]] as ornaments of that [[awareness]]. |
− | The idea of Tantra is not identification with endless new | + | The [[idea]] of [[Tantra]] is not identification with [[endless]] new |
− | conditioned forms of awareness and color. The point is to slip | + | [[conditioned]] [[forms]] of [[awareness]] and {{Wiki|color}}. The point is to slip |
− | between the cracks into the matrix of pure potentiality itself. The | + | between the cracks into the [[matrix]] of [[pure]] potentiality itself. The |
− | goal is not achievement of unusual states it is to recognize your | + | goal is not [[achievement]] of unusual states it is to [[recognize]] your |
− | primordial intrinsic nature in all appearence. Then all appearance has | + | [[primordial]] [[intrinsic nature]] in all appearence. Then all [[appearance]] has |
− | the single taste of bliss and wisdom. That's not the end either it's | + | the single {{Wiki|taste}} of [[bliss]] and [[wisdom]]. That's not the end either it's |
− | the beginning of endless play. | + | the beginning of [[endless]] play. |
− | R. That goes quite a bit beyond the general view of Tantra as merely | + | R. That goes quite a bit beyond the general view of [[Tantra]] as merely |
− | a way of advanced self-help rather than a profoundly magical or | + | a way of advanced self-help rather than a profoundly [[magical]] or |
− | transcendental practice. But isn't it also true that Tantra (in this | + | [[transcendental]] practice. But isn't it also true that [[Tantra]] (in this |
− | radical form) works with the ordinary emotions and everyday problems? | + | radical [[form]]) works with the ordinary [[emotions]] and everyday problems? |
− | P. There are no ordinary emotions and everyday problems. That's the | + | P. There are no ordinary [[emotions]] and everyday problems. That's the |
− | point. Being is the natural luminous quality of this matrix of pure | + | point. Being is the natural {{Wiki|luminous}} [[quality]] of this [[matrix]] of [[pure]] |
− | potential and Being presents itself in the play of existence. The | + | potential and Being presents itself in the play of [[existence]]. The |
− | bliss-mad radiance of pure awareness plays in the colors of Being. The | + | bliss-mad radiance of [[pure awareness]] plays in the colors of Being. The |
− | world and your own body, your mind and your energies are nothing other | + | [[world]] and your [[own]] [[body]], your [[mind]] and your energies are nothing other |
than the natural communicative thrust of limitlessness. There is | than the natural communicative thrust of limitlessness. There is | ||
absolutely nothing ordinary about anything. | absolutely nothing ordinary about anything. | ||
− | When the colors of Being are read through the distortions of | + | When the colors of Being are read through the [[distortions]] of |
− | dualistic view, they appear as emotions and confusion, and one is | + | [[dualistic]] view, they appear as [[emotions]] and [[confusion]], and one is |
− | bound in the tyranny of ordinary appearance. Being freed from | + | [[bound]] in the tyranny of ordinary [[appearance]]. Being freed from |
− | distorted view plays as feeling and clarity in the wild and raucous | + | distorted view plays as [[feeling]] and clarity in the wild and raucous |
− | romp of manifestation. When the true nature of every event is | + | romp of [[manifestation]]. When the [[true nature]] of every event is |
− | recognized, even the most seemingly mundane moment will hold such | + | [[recognized]], even the most seemingly [[mundane]] [[moment]] will hold such |
− | great beauty that it will shatter the mind. | + | great [[beauty]] that it will shatter the [[mind]]. |
− | Tantra's power lies in its ability to recognize the poisons of ego | + | [[Tantra's]] power lies in its ability to [[recognize]] the [[poisons]] of [[ego]] |
− | as distortions of the qualities of enlightenment. The practices | + | as [[distortions]] of the qualities of [[enlightenment]]. The practices |
− | transform these distortions or, depending on one's capacity, | + | [[transform]] these [[distortions]] or, depending on one's capacity, |
− | spontaneously liberate dualistic distorted view into its own true | + | spontaneously {{Wiki|liberate}} [[dualistic]] distorted view into its [[own]] [[true nature]]. For [[Tantra]] the stuff of [[body]], [[emotion]] and [[mind]], ordinary |
− | nature. For Tantra the stuff of body, emotion and mind, ordinary | + | [[emotions]] and events are the [[essential]] ingredients needed for the |
− | emotions and events are the essential ingredients needed for the | + | [[alchemical]] [[transformation]] of distorted view into [[Buddhahood]]. |
− | alchemical transformation of distorted view into Buddhahood. | ||
− | R. You mention Being's appearance as a play of colors, and that | + | R. You mention Being's [[appearance]] as a play of colors, and that |
− | intrigues me. So often Being is described as clear light or white | + | intrigues me. So often Being is described as [[clear light]] or [[white light]]. [[Non-dual]] [[realization]] seems to be a one dimensional and one |
− | light. Non-dual realization seems to be a one dimensional and one | + | {{Wiki|flavor}} thing, whereas this seems to have depth. |
− | flavor thing, whereas this seems to have depth. | ||
P. Light broken open by a prism displays the colors that are always | P. Light broken open by a prism displays the colors that are always | ||
− | its nature. Its essence is clear light and its nature is to manifest | + | its [[nature]]. Its [[essence]] is [[clear light]] and its [[nature]] is to [[manifest]] |
− | as the colors of the rainbow. Pure awareness is completely transparent | + | as the colors of the [[rainbow]]. [[Pure awareness]] is completely transparent |
− | like a sheet of glass. But when broken open, it displays the rainbow | + | like a sheet of glass. But when broken open, it displays the [[rainbow]] |
− | of colors or flavors that are the substance of manifestation. Pure | + | of colors or [[flavors]] that are the [[substance]] of [[manifestation]]. [[Pure awareness]] and the colors of Being are not in [[opposition]] or even in any |
− | awareness and the colors of Being are not in opposition or even in any | + | way two. They are aspects of [[singleness]]. So many [[spiritual]] [[paths]] |
− | way two. They are aspects of singleness. So many spiritual paths | + | inherently, though often subtly, negate [[world]], [[body]], and |
− | inherently, though often subtly, negate world, body, and | + | [[existence]]. They are always seeking to get elsewhere into the "{{Wiki|light}}" |
− | existence. They are always seeking to get elsewhere into the "light" | + | failing to [[recognize]] that all is {{Wiki|light}}. |
− | failing to recognize that all is light. | ||
− | Spiritual systems often misinterpret bondage as resulting from | + | [[Spiritual]] systems often misinterpret bondage as resulting from |
− | being in form rather than from wrong view. Because of this, they | + | being in [[form]] rather than from [[wrong view]]. Because of this, they |
− | wrongly assume that enlightenment means to be abstracted out of form | + | wrongly assume that [[enlightenment]] means to be abstracted out of [[form]] |
− | into subtle realms or "pure" awareness. These spiritual systems try to | + | into {{Wiki|subtle}} [[realms]] or "[[pure]]" [[awareness]]. These [[spiritual]] systems try to |
− | negate form and dissolve, or return, into the pre-form matrix of pure | + | negate [[form]] and dissolve, or return, into the pre-form [[matrix]] of [[pure]] |
potentiality. This is possible and that radical act of transcending | potentiality. This is possible and that radical act of transcending | ||
− | form is most blissful - but it is not enlightenment. Form and formless | + | [[form]] is most [[blissful]] - but it is not [[enlightenment]]. [[Form]] and [[formless]] |
− | are not two; they are a single mystery. These systems are | + | are not two; they are a single {{Wiki|mystery}}. These systems are |
− | spiritualized forms of the dualistic delusion. Tantra, which in its | + | spiritualized [[forms]] of the [[dualistic]] [[delusion]]. [[Tantra]], which in its |
− | true form is Advaitic (or non-dual), transcends this | + | true [[form]] is [[Advaitic]] (or [[non-dual]]), {{Wiki|transcends}} this |
− | limitation. Tantra is wisdom gone wild embracing the totality of what | + | limitation. [[Tantra]] is [[wisdom gone wild]] embracing the {{Wiki|totality}} of what |
is. | is. | ||
− | With Tantra you are not getting somewhere; you are just waking up | + | With [[Tantra]] you are not getting somewhere; you are just waking up |
− | to the true nature of things as they are. The colors inherent in clear | + | to the [[true nature of things]] as they are. The colors [[inherent]] in [[clear light]] are not other than the {{Wiki|light}}. The display whereby Being presents |
− | light are not other than the light. The display whereby Being presents | + | its [[limitless]] {{Wiki|mystery}} is not other than the birthless and {{Wiki|deathless}} |
− | its limitless mystery is not other than the birthless and deathless | + | [[pure]] {{Wiki|mystery}} from which Being comes.. |
− | pure mystery from which Being comes.. | ||
− | R. It's interesting that you mention Advaita. I recently read | + | R. It's [[interesting]] that you mention [[Wikipedia:Advaita Vedanta|Advaita]]. I recently read |
− | Poonjaji, an Advaitic master. He advocates no practice. Form is | + | [[Poonjaji]], an [[Advaitic]] [[master]]. He advocates no practice. [[Form]] is |
− | illusion and every action by the illusory self adds to | + | [[illusion]] and every [[action]] by the [[illusory]] [[self]] adds to |
− | unenlightenment. What do you think of that. | + | [[unenlightenment]]. What do you think of that. |
− | P: Well, I have great respect for the traditional forms of Advaita. I | + | P: Well, I have great [[respect]] for the [[traditional]] [[forms]] of [[Wikipedia:Advaita Vedanta|Advaita]]. I |
− | have always been intimately connected with Ramana Maharshi, and the | + | have always been intimately connected with [[Ramana Maharshi]], and the |
− | path that I teach is "Advaitic Tantrayana". On the other hand, there are | + | [[path]] that I teach is "[[Advaitic]] [[Tantrayana]]". On the other hand, there are |
some serious problems and limitations with the talking school of | some serious problems and limitations with the talking school of | ||
− | Advaita versus the various practice schools such as Tantra. | + | [[Wikipedia:Advaita Vedanta|Advaita]] versus the various practice schools such as [[Tantra]]. |
R: What do you mean by "talking school"? | R: What do you mean by "talking school"? | ||
− | P: Talking schools are those that understand that delusion is only an | + | P: Talking schools are those that understand that [[delusion]] is only an |
− | illusion and all that you need to do is understand the illusion to be | + | [[illusion]] and all that you need to do is understand the [[illusion]] to be |
free of it. Because all you need to do is understand, then all I need | free of it. Because all you need to do is understand, then all I need | ||
− | to do as master is explain the truth to you, and all you need to do is | + | to do as [[master]] is explain the [[truth]] to you, and all you need to do is |
− | listen and you will "get it". The problem is that this is a superficial | + | listen and you will "get it". The problem is that this is a [[superficial]] |
− | grasp of understanding. Understanding in the talking school is | + | [[grasp]] of [[understanding]]. [[Understanding]] in the talking school is |
− | considered a primarily mental act. I talk; you listen. In truth | + | considered a primarily [[mental]] act. I talk; you listen. In [[truth]] |
− | understanding is a whole body act. You must understand with the cells | + | [[understanding]] is a whole [[body]] act. You must understand with the {{Wiki|cells}} |
− | of your body, your mind and your feelings. Listening involves a | + | of your [[body]], your [[mind]] and your [[feelings]]. Listening involves a |
− | profound action of the entire self. This action is what practice | + | profound [[action]] of the entire [[self]]. This [[action]] is what practice |
− | is. Spiritual practice is the act of listening to the teaching with | + | is. [[Spiritual practice]] is the act of listening to the [[teaching]] with |
− | the whole body. | + | the whole [[body]]. |
− | There are fundamental differences between a teacher, even an | + | There are fundamental differences between a [[teacher]], even an |
− | awakened one, and a master. Poonjaji is a teacher. He speaks about | + | [[awakened one]], and a [[master]]. [[Poonjaji]] is a [[teacher]]. He speaks about |
− | Truth very nicely, though he suffers a bit from the delusion of | + | [[Truth]] very nicely, though he [[suffers]] a bit from the [[delusion]] of |
− | viewing form as illusion rather than presentation of the formless. Due | + | viewing [[form]] as [[illusion]] rather than presentation of the [[formless]]. Due |
− | to this he lacks the skillful means needed to deal with the actual | + | to this he lacks the [[skillful means]] needed to deal with the actual |
− | roots of delusion. He lacks the skillful means to communicate with the | + | [[roots]] of [[delusion]]. He lacks the [[skillful means]] to {{Wiki|communicate}} with the |
− | whole bodily being rather just the mind. In a recent interview he said | + | whole [[bodily]] being rather just the [[mind]]. In a recent interview he said |
− | that he teaches the pure Truth - some get it, some don't, and he doesn t | + | that he teaches the [[pure]] [[Truth]] - some get it, some don't, and he doesn t |
− | know why. That's the difference between a teacher and a master: A | + | know why. That's the difference between a [[teacher]] and a [[master]]: A |
− | master knows why and can deal skillfully with the causes. A master is | + | [[master]] [[knows]] why and can deal skillfully with the [[causes]]. A [[master]] is |
− | willing to deal with delusion on its own ground if necessary. He or | + | willing to deal with [[delusion]] on its [[own]] ground if necessary. He or |
− | she is willing to take on the dragon in its cave, even if the dragon | + | she is willing to take on the [[dragon]] in its [[cave]], even if the [[dragon]] |
− | is only an illusion. | + | is only an [[illusion]]. |
− | The teachers of the endless talk no practice school go on to say | + | The [[teachers]] of the [[endless]] talk no practice school go on to say |
− | "open your eyes and see the beautiful sunset. You do not need to do | + | "open your [[eyes]] and see the beautiful sunset. You do not need to do |
− | anything, add anything to yourself. Just open your eyes". While it is | + | anything, add anything to yourself. Just open your [[eyes]]". While it is |
true that you don't need to add anything, the problem is that your | true that you don't need to add anything, the problem is that your | ||
− | eyes are shut and you are wearing a blindfold. You open your eyes and | + | [[eyes]] are shut and you are wearing a blindfold. You open your [[eyes]] and |
− | see nothing. These teachers do not see you because they are too busy | + | see nothing. These [[teachers]] do not see you because they are too busy |
− | admiring their own "non-dualism". | + | admiring their [[own]] "[[non-dualism]]". |
− | The teachers of the Advaita talking school do in fact give | + | The [[teachers]] of the [[Wikipedia:Advaita Vedanta|Advaita]] talking school do in fact give |
practices. They give the very difficult practice of pre-verbal inquiry | practices. They give the very difficult practice of pre-verbal inquiry | ||
which works once you have taken off your blindfold. But until then it | which works once you have taken off your blindfold. But until then it | ||
− | leaves you stranded. All too often people make sense of the words and | + | leaves you stranded. All too often [[people]] make [[sense]] of the words and |
− | develop conceptual enlightenment. You understand the description of | + | develop {{Wiki|conceptual}} [[enlightenment]]. You understand the description of |
− | the sunset so well that you think you are seeing it, even though you | + | the sunset so well that you think you are [[seeing]] it, even though you |
− | are still wearing a blindfold and have your eyes closed. People in | + | are still wearing a blindfold and have your [[eyes]] closed. [[People]] in |
− | this condition even go on to become teachers of the talking school, | + | this [[condition]] even go on to become [[teachers]] of the talking school, |
− | endlessly describing the imagined sunset to others. I am sure that it | + | endlessly describing the [[imagined]] sunset to others. I am sure that it |
− | is based on my Tantric predilection for wisdom gone wild, my delight | + | is based on my [[Tantric]] predilection for [[wisdom gone wild]], my [[delight]] |
− | in manifestation, but I often find these Advaitic teachers a little | + | in [[manifestation]], but I often find these [[Advaitic]] [[teachers]] a little |
prissy. They are unable to enjoy the game, unable to enjoy the madness | prissy. They are unable to enjoy the game, unable to enjoy the madness | ||
− | and wildness of existence. There is no space for non-dual dualism in | + | and wildness of [[existence]]. There is no [[space]] for [[non-dual]] [[dualism]] in |
− | their non-dualism. | + | their [[non-dualism]]. |
− | R: That clears up some confusion about Advaita which I hadn't quite | + | R: That clears up some [[confusion]] about [[Wikipedia:Advaita Vedanta|Advaita]] which I hadn't quite |
− | been able to put into words. You mentioned Ramana Maharshi. As I | + | been able to put into words. You mentioned [[Ramana Maharshi]]. As I |
− | understand it your path was not originally Tantric. I would be | + | understand it your [[path]] was not originally [[Tantric]]. I would be |
− | interested in hearing about how you evolved into this style of | + | [[interested]] in hearing about how you evolved into this style of |
− | practice and teaching. What led you to awakening and to teaching the | + | practice and [[teaching]]. What led you to [[awakening]] and to [[teaching]] the |
way that you do? | way that you do? | ||
− | P: My introduction and initiation into the world of Tantra began with | + | P: My introduction and [[initiation]] into the [[world]] of [[Tantra]] began with |
− | a naked menstruating woman in the University of Michigan's graduate | + | a naked menstruating woman in the {{Wiki|University}} of Michigan's graduate |
− | school library. She danced and sang and placed her bleeding cunt over | + | school library. She danced and [[sang]] and placed her bleeding cunt over |
− | my mouth and I drank from that source the nectar of immortality, the | + | my {{Wiki|mouth}} and I drank from that source the [[nectar of immortality]], the |
− | liquid union of bliss and emptiness. She was the Vajra Dakini Yeshe | + | liquid union of [[bliss]] and [[emptiness]]. She was the [[Vajra Dakini]] [[Yeshe Tso-gyal]], Mother of my true [[life]]. But that is the end of the story and |
− | Tso-gyal, Mother of my true life. But that is the end of the story and | + | was not planned, asked for, or expected. For most of my [[spiritual]] |
− | was not planned, asked for, or expected. For most of my spiritual | + | journey I had nothing to do with [[Tantra]] nor wanted to. |
− | journey I had nothing to do with Tantra nor wanted to. | ||
− | My own spiritual work began in the Gurdjieff system. Gurdjieff was | + | My [[own]] [[spiritual]] work began in the [[Gurdjieff]] system. [[Gurdjieff]] was |
− | influenced by Tantric teachings though more strongly influenced by the | + | influenced by [[Tantric teachings]] though more strongly influenced by the |
− | Sufi schools. In his system I found a concrete practical method for | + | [[Wikipedia:Sufism|Sufi]] schools. In his system I found a concrete {{Wiki|practical}} method for |
− | working with the habitual conditioning of my body, mind, and | + | working with the habitual {{Wiki|conditioning}} of my [[body]], [[mind]], and |
− | emotions. I got to see myself without any veneer. It was in this | + | [[emotions]]. I got to see myself without any veneer. It was in this |
school that I began to truly crystallize the wish to grow and forge it | school that I began to truly crystallize the wish to grow and forge it | ||
− | into a center of gravity that could begin to pull the unintegrated | + | into a center of {{Wiki|gravity}} that could begin to pull the unintegrated |
− | parts of the self into a unified whole. | + | parts of the [[self]] into a unified whole. |
After some time I began to find that certain axioms on which the | After some time I began to find that certain axioms on which the | ||
work depended were, for me, limited in their view. Given the lack of | work depended were, for me, limited in their view. Given the lack of | ||
− | anyone I considered a true Master, I resumed my search for a system | + | anyone I considered a true [[Master]], I resumed my search for a system |
− | that could take me farther. I visited many different teachers and | + | that could take me farther. I visited many different [[teachers]] and |
communities, read enormous amounts, and engaged in a variety of rather | communities, read enormous amounts, and engaged in a variety of rather | ||
extreme experiments on myself. Eventually I encountered the work of | extreme experiments on myself. Eventually I encountered the work of | ||
− | the enigmatic and rascally Master Osho. My meeting with Osho, who was | + | the enigmatic and rascally [[Master]] [[Osho]]. My meeting with [[Osho]], who was |
− | called Bhagwan at that time, awakened my heart into intense ecstasy | + | called [[Bhagwan]] at that time, [[awakened]] my [[heart]] into intense [[ecstasy]] |
− | and devotion. It also began a long period of powerful visionary | + | and [[devotion]]. It also began a long period of powerful [[visionary experiences]] that centered on the [[Virgin Mary]] and the [[Goddess]] [[Kali]]. |
− | experiences that centered on the Virgin Mary and the Goddess Kali. | ||
− | For me devotion was an instant and natural though hard path often | + | For me [[devotion]] was an instant and natural though hard [[path]] often |
− | filled with confusion. My heart exploded in love. The Guru is the | + | filled with [[confusion]]. My [[heart]] exploded in [[love]]. The [[Guru]] is the |
− | trigger. The Guru is the object that the devotee uses as an excuse to | + | trigger. The [[Guru]] is the [[object]] that the [[devotee]] uses as an excuse to |
− | slip through the boundaries of ordinary feeling. I learned, in a trial | + | slip through the [[boundaries]] of ordinary [[feeling]]. I learned, in a trial |
− | by fire, that irresponsible devotion to the master always ends in | + | by [[fire]], that irresponsible [[devotion]] to the [[master]] always ends in |
− | serious suffering. In other words the Guru ain t your daddy, the Guru | + | serious [[suffering]]. In other words the [[Guru]] ain t your daddy, the [[Guru]] |
− | is an introduction to your own nature. What is most important is that | + | is an introduction to your [[own]] [[nature]]. What is most important is that |
− | I did learn, and over time the love that Bhagwan awoke in me matured | + | I did learn, and over time the [[love]] that [[Bhagwan]] awoke in me matured |
− | into non-dual inquiry. | + | into [[non-dual]] inquiry. |
− | One day all the energy that had been pouring outward in love for | + | One day all the [[energy]] that had been pouring outward in [[love]] for |
five years simply stopped and began to move inward. This process was | five years simply stopped and began to move inward. This process was | ||
− | fundamentally Ramana Maharshi's question "Who am I"?. Who is the one | + | fundamentally [[Ramana Maharshi's]] question "Who am I"?. Who is the one |
− | who experiences all experience? This process cuts through all | + | who [[experiences]] all [[experience]]? This process cuts through all |
− | hierarchy of "higher" or "lower" experience by cutting to the root of | + | {{Wiki|hierarchy}} of "higher" or "lower" [[experience]] by cutting to the [[root]] of |
− | all experience. Each time I sat down it was like a vortex of energy | + | all [[experience]]. Each time I sat down it was like a vortex of [[energy]] |
− | moving into expanding fields of silence. I would feel this vortex and | + | moving into expanding fields of [[silence]]. I would [[feel]] this vortex and |
− | rest in it. It would draw me into deeper and deeper states of silence | + | rest in it. It would draw me into deeper and deeper states of [[silence]] |
− | from where I would engage pre-verbal inquiry. What had been ecstasy | + | from where I would engage pre-verbal inquiry. What had been [[ecstasy]] |
− | and love before was now recognized as a womb-like place of silence. | + | and [[love]] before was now [[recognized]] as a womb-like place of [[silence]]. |
− | When I started the meditative phase of my practice, all the visions | + | When I started the [[meditative]] phase of my practice, all the [[visions]] |
− | stopped short. Previously they were explosions of love, and they kind | + | stopped short. Previously they were explosions of [[love]], and they kind |
− | of rode on the outflowing energy of devotion, my interest in them | + | of rode on the outflowing [[energy]] of [[devotion]], my [[interest]] in them |
− | fueling their appearance. Very late in the silent phase of practice, | + | fueling their [[appearance]]. Very late in the [[silent]] phase of practice, |
− | several months before my own awakening, a new series of visionary | + | several months before my [[own]] [[awakening]], a new series of [[visionary experiences]] began. [[Visions]] of [[Yeshe Tso-gyal]], [[Queen]] of the Lake of |
− | experiences began. Visions of Yeshe Tso-gyal, Queen of the Lake of | + | [[Awareness]], Mother of [[Pure]] [[Pleasure]]. These [[visions]] exploded from the |
− | Awareness, Mother of Pure Pleasure. These visions exploded from the | + | depths of [[emptiness]] and [[silence]]. |
− | depths of emptiness and silence. | ||
One morning, after I had finished my practice, I went to the | One morning, after I had finished my practice, I went to the | ||
− | library to study Sufi texts. I was reading two volumes of Rumi's | + | library to study [[Wikipedia:Sufism|Sufi]] texts. I was reading two volumes of Rumi's |
− | works. As I was walking towards the library, I had a feeling that was | + | works. As I was walking towards the library, I had a [[feeling]] that was |
− | familiar from previous visionary experiences. It was an intense | + | familiar from previous [[visionary experiences]]. It was an intense |
− | pleasurable sensation that pushed out from the center of my body, from | + | [[pleasurable]] [[sensation]] that pushed out from the center of my [[body]], from |
− | my heart, towards my skin, though this time it seemed to open forth | + | my [[heart]], towards my {{Wiki|skin}}, though this time it seemed to open forth |
− | from silent space. I felt giddy and drunk. I looked up and for a | + | from [[silent]] [[space]]. I felt giddy and drunk. I looked up and for a |
− | moment I could swear I saw the outline of a dancing woman standing in | + | [[moment]] I could [[swear]] I saw the outline of a [[dancing]] woman [[standing]] in |
− | the air above the library. She was huge! Maybe three hundred feet | + | the [[air]] above the library. She was huge! Maybe three hundred feet |
tall. | tall. | ||
− | The vision lasted for a second, and I went in and began reading on | + | The [[vision]] lasted for a second, and I went in and began reading on |
the nearly deserted fourth floor. The longer I sat, the more intense | the nearly deserted fourth floor. The longer I sat, the more intense | ||
this vibration became. I knew this process very well, and I knew it | this vibration became. I knew this process very well, and I knew it | ||
− | would lead to a feeling of such intensity, that the ordinary world | + | would lead to a [[feeling]] of such intensity, that the ordinary [[world]] |
− | around me would black out. This feeling of ecstatic drunkenness gets | + | around me would black out. This [[feeling]] of {{Wiki|ecstatic}} drunkenness gets |
stronger and stronger as if it's resonating more and more swiftly | stronger and stronger as if it's resonating more and more swiftly | ||
− | through the entire body. At a certain point visionary experience | + | through the entire [[body]]. At a certain point [[visionary experience]] |
− | outshines the "ordinary" world. | + | outshines the "ordinary" [[world]]. |
− | I found myself in a cemetery. A woman approached. She was naked, | + | I found myself in a [[cemetery]]. A woman approached. She was naked, |
− | except for some bone ornaments. She was singing and dancing a tune of | + | except for some [[bone ornaments]]. She was singing and [[dancing]] a tune of |
− | haunting melody, which I later discovered was the mantra of her | + | haunting melody, which I later discovered was the [[mantra]] of her |
− | consort Padmasambhava: Om Ah Hung Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hung! | + | [[consort]] [[Padmasambhava]]: [[Om Ah Hung Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hung]]! |
− | I was entranced, simultaneously with ecstatic love and an absolute | + | I was entranced, simultaneously with {{Wiki|ecstatic}} [[love]] and an [[absolute]] |
− | feeling of overwhelming sexual desire so strong that I was sure I | + | [[feeling]] of overwhelming [[sexual desire]] so strong that I was sure I |
− | would die from it. She danced around me and then swiftly stood | + | would [[die]] from it. She danced around me and then swiftly stood |
directly in front of me placing her genitals over my face. Her vagina | directly in front of me placing her genitals over my face. Her vagina | ||
− | was over my mouth, there was blood flowing from it, and I drank this | + | was over my {{Wiki|mouth}}, there was {{Wiki|blood}} flowing from it, and I drank this |
− | blood deeply in an unending flow. I could feel it coursing through my | + | {{Wiki|blood}} deeply in an unending flow. I could [[feel]] it coursing through my |
− | body like liquid heat. Suddenly the vision disappeared. I got up and | + | [[body]] like liquid heat. Suddenly the [[vision]] disappeared. I got up and |
went home - well, actually, I think I first went and had a chocolate | went home - well, actually, I think I first went and had a chocolate | ||
chip cookie. This began a period of what my wife and I refer to as the | chip cookie. This began a period of what my wife and I refer to as the | ||
"drooling in the living room" period. I spent close to a month, mostly | "drooling in the living room" period. I spent close to a month, mostly | ||
sitting in a rocking chair in our living room unable to function | sitting in a rocking chair in our living room unable to function | ||
− | because the force of Bliss that was flowing through my body was so | + | because the force of [[Bliss]] that was flowing through my [[body]] was so |
overwhelming. I was also unable to speak about what was happening. | overwhelming. I was also unable to speak about what was happening. | ||
− | R: You have a very understanding wife. | + | R: You have a very [[understanding]] wife. |
− | P: Yes. Without her I cannot imagine what would have happened to me | + | P: Yes. Without her I cannot [[imagine]] what would have happened to me |
− | during this time. These experiences awoke in my mind and body such | + | during this time. These [[experiences]] awoke in my [[mind and body]] such |
− | intense unending bliss and latent neurotic traces of such force that | + | intense unending [[bliss]] and latent neurotic traces of such force that |
− | it was unbelievable. Feelings of every kind of distortion, rage, | + | it was unbelievable. [[Feelings]] of every kind of [[distortion]], [[rage]], |
− | anger, lust, grasping, aversion. I am sad to say that I did a fair | + | [[anger]], [[lust]], [[grasping]], [[aversion]]. I am [[sad]] to say that I did a fair |
− | amount of acting out on these before any balance was restored, causing | + | amount of acting out on these before any [[balance]] was restored, causing |
− | suffering to myself and others. Needless to say, this was a very | + | [[suffering]] to myself and others. Needless to say, this was a very |
− | trying time for our marriage. | + | trying time for our [[marriage]]. |
− | One of the things that happens in spiritual practice is that the | + | One of the things that happens in [[spiritual practice]] is that the |
− | subtle aspects of our ego, the seed essences of ego, hide within our | + | {{Wiki|subtle}} aspects of our [[ego]], the seed [[essences]] of [[ego]], hide within our |
− | own practice. If you are lucky enough, at some point the bliss force | + | [[own]] practice. If you are [[lucky]] enough, at some point the [[bliss]] force |
− | of the divine will force these out into the open. | + | of the [[divine]] will force these out into the open. |
− | So it wasn't all just bliss. It was an encounter with the ugliest | + | So it wasn't all just [[bliss]]. It was an encounter with the ugliest |
sides of myself and the most beautiful. The whole picture. The | sides of myself and the most beautiful. The whole picture. The | ||
− | visions, on a daily basis, kept arising. By and large they involved | + | [[visions]], on a daily basis, kept [[arising]]. By and large they involved |
− | an experiment in mixing states of bliss with my previous practice of | + | an experiment in mixing states of [[bliss]] with my previous practice of |
− | self inquiry and the feeling of silent emptiness. Bliss wed to | + | [[self]] inquiry and the [[feeling]] of [[silent]] [[emptiness]]. [[Bliss]] wed to |
− | emptiness produces tremendous power and that's what was being | + | [[emptiness]] produces tremendous power and that's what was being |
introduced at this point. | introduced at this point. | ||
− | R: I can see the evolution of you path from Gurdjieff's very concrete | + | R: I can see the [[evolution]] of you [[path]] from Gurdjieff's very concrete |
− | self work into the devotional relationship with a master and mystical | + | [[self]] work into the devotional relationship with a [[master]] and [[mystical]] |
− | states and that leading into silence and inquiry. It seems kind of | + | states and that leading into [[silence]] and inquiry. It seems kind of |
− | like this Tantric part was finishing you off. So did this practice | + | like this [[Tantric]] part was finishing you off. So did this practice |
− | lead to your realization? | + | lead to your [[realization]]? |
− | P: This was all going on without any conscious volition at all. I was | + | P: This was all going on without any [[conscious]] [[Wikipedia:Volition (psychology)|volition]] at all. I was |
− | continuing Advaitic non-dual self inquiry with all the force I could: | + | continuing [[Advaitic]] [[non-dual]] [[self]] inquiry with all the force I could: |
Who is the one experiencing this? And if I had actually been able to | Who is the one experiencing this? And if I had actually been able to | ||
− | stop these experiences I probably would have, because they were | + | stop these [[experiences]] I probably would have, because they were |
distracting me from inquiry as well as provoking some pretty stupid | distracting me from inquiry as well as provoking some pretty stupid | ||
− | behavior in my ordinary life. Luckily, the power of the Dakini, the | + | {{Wiki|behavior}} in my ordinary [[life]]. Luckily, the power of the [[Dakini]], the |
− | wisdom woman, was so much greater than my piddling efforts to prevent | + | [[wisdom]] woman, was so much greater than my piddling efforts to prevent |
− | it. But as these experiences continued in the body, mind and emotions | + | it. But as these [[experiences]] continued in the [[body]], [[mind]] and [[emotions]] |
I continued my inquiry. | I continued my inquiry. | ||
− | The awakening came as a result of this practice mix. The mind of | + | The [[awakening]] came as a result of this practice mix. The [[mind]] of |
− | bliss is capable of penetrating much more deeply into | + | [[bliss]] is capable of penetrating much more deeply into |
− | truth. Happiness, bliss and pleasure inspire a radical kind of | + | [[truth]]. [[Happiness]], [[bliss]] and [[pleasure]] inspire a radical kind of |
− | courage. Without it no one would leap into that sky of deathlessness | + | [[courage]]. Without it no one would leap into that sky of [[deathlessness]] |
− | and selflessness. Without the bliss force no one would be such an | + | and [[selflessness]]. Without the [[bliss]] force no one would be such an |
− | idiot as to throw their life away on a hunch. Realization itself is | + | idiot as to throw their [[life]] away on a hunch. [[Realization]] itself is |
− | beyond any and all experience. It is, however, not exclusive of | + | beyond any and all [[experience]]. It is, however, not exclusive of |
− | experience or even rejecting of it; it is all-inclusive. After | + | [[experience]] or even rejecting of it; it is all-inclusive. After |
− | awakening one is restored to absolute and endless humor. | + | [[awakening]] one is restored to [[absolute]] and [[endless]] [[humor]]. |
− | R. So how did your teaching work begin and where did the Tantric | + | R. So how did your [[teaching]] work begin and where did the [[Tantric]] |
− | transmission figure in that? | + | [[transmission]] figure in that? |
− | P. Several months after Awakening, a friend of my wife's, feeling the | + | P. Several months after [[Awakening]], a [[friend]] of my wife's, [[feeling]] the |
− | difference in me, asked if I would help her with her spiritual | + | difference in me, asked if I would help her with her [[spiritual practice]]. I agreed, and several months later more friends of our |
− | practice. I agreed, and several months later more friends of our | + | [[family]] asked if I would work with them. My [[teaching]] began very slowly |
− | family asked if I would work with them. My teaching began very slowly | + | and gradually. In the beginning, what I [[taught]] was [[non-dual]] inquiry, |
− | and gradually. In the beginning, what I taught was non-dual inquiry, | + | because it seemed the most direct. What I [[realized]] over time was that |
− | because it seemed the most direct. What I realized over time was that | + | the practice of inquiry and also the natural practice of [[devotion]] |
− | the practice of inquiry and also the natural practice of devotion | + | toward the [[formless]] [[divine]] is ineffective in most people's [[lives]]. It |
− | toward the formless divine is ineffective in most people's lives. It | + | doesn't carry with it the [[skillful means]] to work with the [[obscurations]] |
− | doesn't carry with it the skillful means to work with the obscurations | + | and [[defilements]] - the gross and {{Wiki|subtle}} neuroses - that prevent [[people]] |
− | and defilements - the gross and subtle neuroses - that prevent people | + | from [[realizing]] their [[own]] [[nature]] of [[bliss]] and [[awareness]] in {{Wiki|perfect}} |
− | from realizing their own nature of bliss and awareness in perfect | ||
union. | union. | ||
− | The Advaitic practice that I was doing was extremely similar to the | + | The [[Advaitic]] practice that I was doing was extremely similar to the |
− | Dzogchen or Ati Yoga teachings of the Nyingma lineage. It was through | + | [[Dzogchen]] or [[Ati Yoga]] teachings of the [[Nyingma lineage]]. It was through |
− | the Advaitic practices that I was able to reconnect. | + | the [[Advaitic]] practices that I was able to reconnect. |
− | One of the most amazing things about Padmasambhava, Yeshe | + | One of the most amazing things about [[Padmasambhava]], Yeshe |
− | Tso-gyal's Guru, was his recognition that there were many teachings | + | Tso-gyal's [[Guru]], was his {{Wiki|recognition}} that there were many teachings |
− | that would need to be re-discovered at a later time. He and Yeshe | + | that would need to be re-discovered at a later time. He and [[Yeshe Tso-gyal]] wrote the practices down and hid them in the [[elements]] and in |
− | Tso-gyal wrote the practices down and hid them in the elements and in | + | the [[pure nature of awareness]] - in the [[mind stream]] of his |
− | the pure nature of awareness - in the mind stream of his | + | [[disciples]]. This is the true origin of my [[connection]] to [[Tantra]]. |
− | disciples. This is the true origin of my connection to Tantra. | + | [[Padmasambhava]] created what is called a [[Mind]] Mandate Seal and hid |
− | Padmasambhava created what is called a Mind Mandate Seal and hid | + | teachings on [[Tantra's]] [[skillful means]] like a timed-release |
− | teachings on Tantra's skillful means like a timed-release | + | capsule. When my [[own]] practice matured to the point where it was |
− | capsule. When my own practice matured to the point where it was | + | appropriate this force of [[wisdom]] opened. The force, power and [[bliss]] |
− | appropriate this force of wisdom opened. The force, power and bliss | ||
of it was released also, even though I had completely forgotten this | of it was released also, even though I had completely forgotten this | ||
− | connection. | + | [[connection]]. |
− | R: So you really didn't have any contact with Tibetan lamas, or the | + | R: So you really didn't have any [[contact]] with [[Tibetan lamas]], or the |
− | Nyingma (Padmasambhava's) lineage, yet your teaching is very much | + | [[Nyingma]] ([[Padmasambhava's]]) [[lineage]], yet your [[teaching]] is very much |
− | influenced by Tantra and you recognize Padmasambhava as your root | + | influenced by [[Tantra]] and you [[recognize]] [[Padmasambhava]] as your [[root Guru]]. Without any [[contact]] with the [[lineage]], you're kind of a wild card |
− | Guru. Without any contact with the lineage, you're kind of a wild card | + | as a [[teacher]]. |
− | as a teacher. | ||
− | P: (Laughing uproariously) Yeah, I am a wild card as a Tantric | + | P: ({{Wiki|Laughing}} uproariously) Yeah, I am a wild card as a [[Tantric Master]]. But even wilder than this crazy [[connection]] with [[Tantra]] is that |
− | Master. But even wilder than this crazy connection with Tantra is that | + | I am free. Free of [[birth]] and [[death]], {{Wiki|fear}}, [[anxiety]], {{Wiki|worry}}. Free beyond |
− | I am free. Free of birth and death, fear, anxiety, worry. Free beyond | + | [[being and non-being]]. Free to do anything. And I just might - and it's |
− | being and non-being. Free to do anything. And I just might - and it's | ||
a wonderful thing! | a wonderful thing! | ||
− | A wild card like me who has awakened into and embodied the heart | + | A wild card like me who has [[awakened]] into and [[embodied]] the [[heart]] |
− | of Tantric practice is unique in terms of the trans-cultural migration | + | of [[Tantric practice]] is unique in terms of the trans-cultural migration |
− | of Tantra to the West. Padmasambhava was a wild guy because he was | + | of [[Tantra]] to the [[West]]. [[Padmasambhava]] was a wild guy because he was |
− | the freedom and bliss of this mysterious reality. Those who awaken to | + | the freedom and [[bliss]] of this mysterious [[reality]]. Those who [[awaken]] to |
− | their true nature are the same one - though in their own unique | + | their [[true nature]] are the same one - though in their [[own]] unique |
− | appearance. As Tantra develops in this culture, many aspects of its | + | [[appearance]]. As [[Tantra]] develops in this {{Wiki|culture}}, many aspects of its |
− | form are going to have to change. At the same time this must be done | + | [[form]] are going to have to change. At the same time this must be done |
in such a way as to not damage the teachings. This is a job of great | in such a way as to not damage the teachings. This is a job of great | ||
delicacy. These changes need to be done by someone who stands outside | delicacy. These changes need to be done by someone who stands outside | ||
− | the traditional lineages yet respects the heart drop of the teachings | + | the [[traditional]] [[lineages]] yet respects the [[heart drop]] of the teachings |
with extreme reverence.. | with extreme reverence.. | ||
− | All Tantric practice originates from Pure Vision revelation. | + | All [[Tantric practice]] originates from [[Pure Vision]] [[revelation]]. |
− | Tantric practices in the Buddhist form originate from the | + | [[Tantric practices]] in the [[Buddhist]] [[form]] originate from the |
− | Sambhogakaya, or the Visionary Bliss Realm of reality. An advanced | + | [[Sambhogakaya]], or the [[Visionary]] [[Bliss]] [[Realm of reality]]. An advanced |
− | practitioner can receive teachings from this source though it is very | + | [[practitioner]] can receive teachings from this source though it is very |
− | rare. An awakened master is this realm - it is an aspect of their | + | rare. An [[awakened]] [[master]] is this [[realm]] - it is an aspect of their |
− | body. | + | [[body]]. |
It is certainly reasonable to be skeptical, and I ask my | It is certainly reasonable to be skeptical, and I ask my | ||
− | students not to accept anyone's teachings on blind faith, but to test | + | students not to accept anyone's teachings on [[blind faith]], but to test |
− | them in the laboratory of their own body/mind. The faith needed to | + | them in the laboratory of their [[own]] body/mind. The [[faith]] needed to |
− | have a Tantric relationship to a Spiritual Master has to develop over | + | have a [[Tantric]] relationship to a [[Spiritual Master]] has to develop over |
a long period of time. You can't simply jump right into it. There | a long period of time. You can't simply jump right into it. There | ||
− | must be testing on both sides - time and deeds. I certainly am mad by | + | must be testing on both sides - time and [[deeds]]. I certainly am mad by |
− | any standard. You and I don't live in even remotely similar worlds. I | + | any standard. You and I don't live in even remotely similar [[worlds]]. I |
− | know the universe to be my body, time itself to be my subtle form, and | + | know the [[universe]] to be my [[body]], time itself to be my {{Wiki|subtle}} [[form]], and |
− | the sky of deathless awareness to be my mind. My interest now is to | + | the sky of {{Wiki|deathless}} [[awareness]] to be my [[mind]]. My [[interest]] now is to |
− | spark this awakening in others, not to have them fixate on me. That | + | spark this [[awakening]] in others, not to have them fixate on me. That |
− | would only destroy their growth and in the long or short run cause | + | would only destroy their growth and in the long or short run [[cause]] |
− | them to hate me. We all hate what we are dependent on - no one likes | + | them to [[hate]] me. We all [[hate]] what we are dependent on - no one likes |
to be a slave. | to be a slave. | ||
− | You should take a little time before hopping into the Dharma bed | + | You should take a little time before hopping into the [[Dharma]] bed |
− | because once in it there really is no such thing as safe sex. Think | + | because once in it there really is no such thing as safe {{Wiki|sex}}. Think |
− | about it as carefully as you would a marriage partner. It can take | + | about it as carefully as you would a [[marriage]] partner. It can take |
years. | years. | ||
There is a safety catch: You don't receive advanced | There is a safety catch: You don't receive advanced | ||
− | Tantric practices in the beginning anyway. You begin with the | + | [[Tantric practices]] in the beginning anyway. You begin with the |
− | pre-preliminary practices, which in our community are a series having | + | pre-preliminary practices, which in our {{Wiki|community}} are a series having |
− | to do with developing stability in body, mind and emotion at the | + | to do with developing stability in [[body]], [[mind]] and [[emotion]] at the |
− | ordinary psychological level. You can use the traditional meditations | + | ordinary [[psychological]] level. You can use the [[traditional]] [[meditations]] |
− | on loving kindness, and exchanging oneself for others. These styles of | + | on [[loving kindness]], and exchanging oneself for others. These styles of |
− | meditation work very deeply. At the same time, I might suggest that | + | [[meditation]] work very deeply. At the same time, I might suggest that |
somebody seek out therapy, or work in a Twelve Step program. | somebody seek out therapy, or work in a Twelve Step program. | ||
− | If you are obsessed with anxiety, fear, worry, comparison, | + | If you are [[obsessed]] with [[anxiety]], {{Wiki|fear}}, {{Wiki|worry}}, comparison, |
− | shame, self doubt, body doubt, sex doubt, then those things become | + | [[shame]], [[self]] [[doubt]], [[body]] [[doubt]], {{Wiki|sex}} [[doubt]], then those things become |
− | your center of gravity. The constant effort to compensate for the | + | your center of {{Wiki|gravity}}. The [[constant]] [[effort]] to compensate for the |
− | pain of neurosis saps you of the joy of ordinary life and the energy | + | [[pain]] of neurosis saps you of the [[joy]] of ordinary [[life]] and the [[energy]] |
− | for spiritual evolution. In this state of being, people try to replace | + | for [[spiritual]] [[evolution]]. In this [[state of being]], [[people]] try to replace |
− | the work neededto develop an authentic center of gravity with the | + | the work neededto develop an [[Wikipedia:Authenticity|authentic]] center of {{Wiki|gravity}} with the |
− | Master or God - as if some external could be it for you. This must be | + | [[Master]] or [[God]] - as if some external could be it for you. This must be |
outgrown. | outgrown. | ||
− | Next there are the extraordinary Tantric preliminaries involving | + | Next there are the [[extraordinary]] [[Tantric]] preliminaries involving |
− | Prostrations, Vajrasattva practice, Mandala practice and Guru | + | [[Prostrations]], [[Vajrasattva]] practice, [[Mandala]] practice and [[Guru Yoga]]. These are fairly [[traditional]]. This is not an assembly line to |
− | Yoga. These are fairly traditional. This is not an assembly line to | + | [[enlightenment]]. Each [[person]] s [[path]] is unique and possibly very |
− | enlightenment. Each person s path is unique and possibly very | + | different from this description. There are [[people]] in our {{Wiki|community}} who |
− | different from this description. There are people in our community who | + | never work with the [[Tantric path]] at all, who work along other |
− | never work with the Tantric path at all, who work along other | + | lines. The [[extraordinary preliminaries]] however are profound |
− | lines. The extraordinary preliminaries however are profound | + | psycho-transformational [[methods]] {{Wiki|weaving}} together [[body]], [[emotion]], [[energy]] |
− | psycho-transformational methods weaving together body, emotion, energy | + | and [[mind]] to [[awaken]] latent potential. |
− | and mind to awaken latent potential. | ||
During this phase and after the preliminaries are finished students | During this phase and after the preliminaries are finished students | ||
− | begin to work with the energies of diety yoga and the radical | + | begin to work with the energies of diety [[yoga]] and the radical |
− | practices of Advaita and Mahasanti. Another way I work with my | + | practices of [[Wikipedia:Advaita Vedanta|Advaita]] and Mahasanti. Another way I work with my |
− | students is to send them to the best of the living masters from the | + | students is to send them to the best of the living [[masters]] from the |
− | traditional lineages. This broadens their view and them to test my | + | [[traditional]] [[lineages]]. This broadens their view and them to test my |
− | teaching, my style of teaching, and the authenticity of my | + | [[teaching]], my style of [[teaching]], and the authenticity of my |
− | transmission in the context of those who are commonly acknowledged to | + | [[transmission]] in the context of those who are commonly [[acknowledged]] to |
− | be Tantric Masters. Three wonderful Masters I send my disciples to are | + | be [[Tantric Masters]]. Three wonderful [[Masters]] I send my [[disciples]] to are |
− | Chagdud Tulku, Lama Tharchin, and Nkgapa Chogyam. | + | [[Chagdud Tulku]], [[Lama Tharchin]], and [[Nkgapa Chogyam]]. |
− | R: It doesn't sound like you're shy about letting your students go out | + | R: It doesn't [[sound]] like you're shy about letting your students go out |
− | and experience other Masters. | + | and [[experience]] other [[Masters]]. |
P: Absolutely not! | P: Absolutely not! | ||
− | R. That seems a bit unusual. Most people have a great fear of Gurus | + | R. That seems a bit unusual. Most [[people]] have a great {{Wiki|fear}} of [[Gurus]] |
− | entrapping them in dependency relationships. Sending disciples to | + | entrapping them in [[dependency]] relationships. Sending [[disciples]] to |
− | other masters seems like it would help cut through that. | + | other [[masters]] seems like it would help cut through that. |
− | P. It is necessary for two reasons. One is that it cross-pollinates | + | P. It is necessary for two [[reasons]]. One is that it cross-pollinates |
− | the lineage. This is one of the beautiful things about Tantra. You | + | the [[lineage]]. This is one of the beautiful things about [[Tantra]]. You |
− | need the foundation of more than one master. You need to receive the | + | need the foundation of more than one [[master]]. You need to receive the |
− | special energies of transmission and empowerment from a variety of | + | special energies of [[transmission]] and [[empowerment]] from a variety of |
− | skillful masters. This cross-pollinates, just like in gardening; it | + | [[skillful]] [[masters]]. This cross-pollinates, just like in gardening; it |
− | creates a stronger plant. There is one Guru in your heart and many in | + | creates a stronger plant. There is one [[Guru]] in your [[heart]] and many in |
− | the world. It is up to each person to figure out who their heart | + | the [[world]]. It is up to each [[person]] to figure out who their [[heart]] |
− | connection is with. | + | [[connection]] is with. |
− | The other reason is, I am a wild card as far as Tantric teachings | + | The other [[reason]] is, I am a wild card as far as [[Tantric teachings]] |
− | go. I claim the authority to teach Tantra based on my own radical | + | go. I claim the authority to teach [[Tantra]] based on my [[own]] radical |
− | awakening into non-dual awareness and my own Mind Mandate Transmission | + | [[awakening]] into [[non-dual awareness]] and my [[own]] [[Mind]] Mandate [[Transmission]] |
− | from Padmasambhava. Such claims could easily be made by any idiot - | + | from [[Padmasambhava]]. Such claims could easily be made by any idiot - |
− | and often are. I want my students and disciples to have a strong | + | and often are. I want my students and [[disciples]] to have a strong |
− | ground on which they can evaluate me and decide where our connection | + | ground on which they can evaluate me and decide where our [[connection]] |
− | will go. I would like my students who do Tantric practice to be able | + | will go. I would like my students who do [[Tantric practice]] to be able |
− | to work with other masters so that they can come to a greater degree | + | to work with other [[masters]] so that they can come to a greater [[degree]] |
− | of understanding of my work when evaluated in the context of the | + | of [[understanding]] of my work when evaluated in the context of the |
− | traditional tantric practice. | + | [[traditional]] [[tantric practice]]. |
− | R: It seems to me that there is a lot of information and books written | + | R: It seems to me that there is a lot of [[information]] and [[books]] written |
− | about sexual Tantra, and certainly more people are interested in that | + | about {{Wiki|sexual}} [[Tantra]], and certainly more [[people]] are [[interested]] in that |
− | than in other forms of Tantra. Perhaps they are seeking this bliss | + | than in other [[forms]] of [[Tantra]]. Perhaps they are seeking this [[bliss]] |
− | courage that you mentioned earlier. Do you think that people | + | [[courage]] that you mentioned earlier. Do you think that [[people]] |
− | practicing sex yoga are by and large serious Tantric practitioners? | + | practicing {{Wiki|sex}} [[yoga]] are by and large serious [[Tantric practitioners]]? |
− | P: Well, there's no point in judging other peoples' spiritual paths. | + | P: Well, there's no point in judging other peoples' [[spiritual]] [[paths]]. |
− | If your path is not authentic over time that becomes clear. | + | If your [[path]] is not [[Wikipedia:Authenticity|authentic]] over time that becomes clear. |
− | Traditionally, the use of sexuality in Tantra comes at a very | + | [[Traditionally]], the use of {{Wiki|sexuality}} in [[Tantra]] comes at a very |
− | developed stage of the path. There is no sexual Tantra if one has not | + | developed stage of the [[path]]. There is no {{Wiki|sexual}} [[Tantra]] if one has not |
− | transcended desire. Certainly a lot of people are trying to explore | + | transcended [[desire]]. Certainly a lot of [[people]] are trying to explore |
− | and play with sexual energy, and that is great, and they are relating | + | and play with {{Wiki|sexual}} [[energy]], and that is great, and they are relating |
− | it to the word Tantra because Tantra uses sexuality as part of the | + | it to the [[word]] [[Tantra]] because [[Tantra]] uses {{Wiki|sexuality}} as part of the |
− | path. We live in a seemingly open and permissive culture that | + | [[path]]. We live in a seemingly open and permissive {{Wiki|culture}} that |
actually is very uptight, prudish and provincial. We hype neurotic | actually is very uptight, prudish and provincial. We hype neurotic | ||
− | sense stimulation in order to sell everything from shampoo to | + | [[sense]] [[stimulation]] in order to sell everything from shampoo to |
− | cars. Underneath, there is fear of everything genital. | + | cars. Underneath, there is {{Wiki|fear}} of everything {{Wiki|genital}}. |
− | Tantra, however, is not about sexuality. It is about enlightenment. | + | [[Tantra]], however, is not about {{Wiki|sexuality}}. It is about [[enlightenment]]. |
− | Compared to the bliss force of your true nature, the pleasure of | + | Compared to the [[bliss]] force of your [[true nature]], the [[pleasure]] of |
− | orgasm is pretty puny. The teachings can be used to bring a certain | + | {{Wiki|orgasm}} is pretty puny. The teachings can be used to bring a certain |
− | degree of ordinary balance to the psyche, including openness about | + | [[degree]] of ordinary [[balance]] to the [[Wikipedia:Psyche (psychology)|psyche]], [[including]] [[openness]] about |
− | sexuality. That's a very good thing but let's not stop at the doorway! | + | {{Wiki|sexuality}}. That's a very good thing but let's not stop at the doorway! |
− | R: Enjoying Tantra for the psychological help is good but no | + | R: Enjoying [[Tantra]] for the [[psychological]] help is good but no |
− | substitute for radical absolute spiritual liberation. | + | substitute for radical [[absolute]] [[spiritual liberation]]. |
P: Right. | P: Right. | ||
− | R: You emphasize community and that is very interesting to me. I find | + | R: You {{Wiki|emphasize}} {{Wiki|community}} and that is very [[interesting]] to me. I find |
− | that many people these days want their practice to be a personal and | + | that many [[people]] these days want their practice to be a personal and |
− | private part of their life. Relationships are hard and spiritual | + | private part of their [[life]]. Relationships are hard and [[spiritual practice]] is hard mixing the two seems like it could ease up the |
− | practice is hard mixing the two seems like it could ease up the | ||
process or complicate it. | process or complicate it. | ||
− | P: For spiritual practice, community is of vital importance in our | + | P: For [[spiritual practice]], {{Wiki|community}} is of [[vital]] importance in our |
− | culture. In traditional cultures the shock that broke one out of | + | {{Wiki|culture}}. In [[traditional]] cultures the [[shock]] that broke one out of |
− | complacent patterns came from moving out of a community that had been | + | complacent patterns came from moving out of a {{Wiki|community}} that had been |
− | the center of one s life. In our culture, we have just the opposite | + | the center of one s [[life]]. In our {{Wiki|culture}}, we have just the opposite |
− | senario. The shock here is brought about when people move into | + | senario. The [[shock]] here is brought about when [[people]] move into |
− | community from the isolated lives that our culture creates. This was | + | {{Wiki|community}} from the isolated [[lives]] that our {{Wiki|culture}} creates. This was |
− | central to the Gurdjieff system and very powerful. | + | central to the [[Gurdjieff]] system and very powerful. |
− | R: That sense of isolation we have as a culture is very sad. | + | R: That [[sense]] of isolation we have as a {{Wiki|culture}} is very [[sad]]. |
− | P: It is very sad - heartbreaking! As you grow and mature in sadhana | + | P: It is very [[sad]] - heartbreaking! As you grow and mature in [[sadhana]] |
− | you need to test your growth in daily life, in job, in relationship, | + | you need to test your growth in daily [[life]], in job, in relationship, |
− | and in the community of other practitioners. There are of course | + | and in the {{Wiki|community}} of other practitioners. There are of course |
− | exceptions to this, people who need solitude for their practice to | + | exceptions to this, [[people]] who need [[solitude]] for their practice to |
− | grow strong, and there are practices which require prolonged solitude | + | grow strong, and there are practices which require prolonged [[solitude]] |
− | for accomplishment. Right now I am discussing with the community the | + | for [[accomplishment]]. Right now I am discussing with the {{Wiki|community}} the |
− | formation of a Hermitage center for long term intensive retreats. | + | formation of a [[Hermitage]] center for long term intensive [[retreats]]. |
− | This is very important if we re going to actually manifest the higher | + | This is very important if we re going to actually [[manifest]] the higher |
− | levels of practice and destroy the tyranny of ordinary appearance. | + | levels of practice and destroy the tyranny of ordinary [[appearance]]. |
− | We must be careful that the higher and highest levels of Tantric | + | We must be careful that the higher and [[highest]] levels of [[Tantric practice]] do get transmitted. The loss of these great [[methods]] is a real |
− | practice do get transmitted. The loss of these great methods is a real | + | [[danger]]. There is a [[danger]] to the [[traditional]] [[forms]] of [[Tantra]] because |
− | danger. There is a danger to the traditional forms of Tantra because | + | the cultures of [[Tantric practice]] are being decimated by [[war]] or |
− | the cultures of Tantric practice are being decimated by war or | + | westernization, the {{Wiki|cult}} of scientism. I think in our {{Wiki|culture}} there is |
− | westernization, the cult of scientism. I think in our culture there is | ||
a different threat: That the deeper levels of practice will not be | a different threat: That the deeper levels of practice will not be | ||
− | reached to begin with. In our culture the threat is that Tantra will | + | reached to begin with. In our {{Wiki|culture}} the threat is that [[Tantra]] will |
− | be stillborn. Practitioners will have to break through the cult of | + | be stillborn. Practitioners will have to break through the {{Wiki|cult}} of |
− | TV. mentality and mediocrity into the dignity of their Vajra natures | + | TV. [[mentality]] and mediocrity into the [[dignity]] of their [[Vajra]] natures |
− | if Tantra is to take root here and flower in its fullness. | + | if [[Tantra]] is to take [[root]] here and [[flower]] in its fullness. |
R: There might not be enough students who have the basics down and | R: There might not be enough students who have the basics down and | ||
then move into the deeper levels of practice. | then move into the deeper levels of practice. | ||
− | P: Right. As Tantric practice takes root in our culture it is | + | P: Right. As [[Tantric practice]] takes [[root]] in our {{Wiki|culture}} it is |
− | important that there be an understanding of the vastness of | + | important that there be an [[understanding]] of the vastness of |
− | possibilities that Tantra offers. Waking up into the bliss-mad realm | + | possibilities that [[Tantra]] offers. Waking up into the bliss-mad [[realm]] |
− | of the perfect union of perception and pure pleasure is really quite | + | of the {{Wiki|perfect}} union of [[perception]] and [[pure]] [[pleasure]] is really quite |
− | something. It is better than what people are dreaming up in the sex | + | something. It is better than what [[people]] are [[Wikipedia:Dream|dreaming]] up in the {{Wiki|sex}} |
workshops. | workshops. | ||
− | For one who is awake, the relationship to the world, to the | + | For one who [[is awake]], the relationship to the [[world]], to the |
− | elements, is completely different than for anybody else. We have to | + | [[elements]], is completely different than for anybody else. We have to |
− | be able to move into the really magical and wondrous forms of | + | be able to move into the really [[magical]] and wondrous [[forms]] of |
− | transformational practice where you are working not only with your own | + | [[transformational]] practice where you are working not only with your [[own]] |
− | body/mind at its most subtle levels, but the elements themselves. That | + | body/mind at its most {{Wiki|subtle}} levels, but the [[elements]] themselves. That |
− | level of awakening needs to be realized It s power needs to be applied | + | level of [[awakening]] needs to be [[realized]] It s power needs to be applied |
− | to the culture and the actual ground upon which we live. To work at | + | to the {{Wiki|culture}} and the actual ground upon which we live. To work at |
these levels - the beginning levels and the most advanced levels, | these levels - the beginning levels and the most advanced levels, | ||
− | which bring radical awakening or enlightenment - to work with all of | + | which bring radical [[awakening]] or [[enlightenment]] - to work with all of |
− | these is the real gift that Tantra brings. The gift is that we can | + | these is the real [[gift]] that [[Tantra]] brings. The [[gift]] is that we can |
− | encompass the whole of our lives, from the ordinary to the most | + | encompass the whole of our [[lives]], from the ordinary to the most |
− | wondrous, in a single path. | + | wondrous, in a single [[path]]. |
R: Which is quite a feat. | R: Which is quite a feat. | ||
− | P: It is! The Tantric yogi, who can live married with children, a | + | P: It is! The [[Tantric yogi]], who can live [[married]] with children, a |
− | completely ordinary life, but at the same time play with the world as | + | completely ordinary [[life]], but at the same time play with the [[world]] as |
− | an ornament of awareness, is really something! To recognize all | + | an ornament of [[awareness]], is really something! To [[recognize]] all |
− | appearance as the ornament of your own wisdom nature and to live in | + | [[appearance]] as the ornament of your [[own wisdom nature]] and to live in |
− | the bliss-mad realm of freedom where all perception is delight: That | + | the bliss-mad [[realm]] of freedom where all [[perception]] is [[delight]]: That |
− | is the goal of Tantra. | + | is the goal of [[Tantra]]. |
R: Thank you. | R: Thank you. | ||
− | P: Remember we are talking here about your birthright. Awakening is | + | P: Remember we are talking here about your birthright. [[Awakening]] is |
your birthright. Accept your inheritance! | your birthright. Accept your inheritance! | ||
Revision as of 06:14, 31 January 2020
"WHAT IS TANTRA?!" RIDING THE WISDOM TIGER
Introduction:
From the beginning of time there have been those rare women and men who, following their hearts great yearning, have answered the existential question of birth and death with realization of who they truly are - who we all are. Pranama is such a one. He invites, cajoles, dares us to join the dance. Read his words, let them enter your heart and smash the taboo against unreasonable happiness. The flame of being is passed from master to disciple in the great silence of the heart - these words are an engraved invitation.
an interview with Tantric Master Prem Pranama
This interview occured in the summer of 1994. The interviewer, Ralph Abrams, has been a spiritual seeker for the last 25 years. He has worked with Swami Muktananda, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Chagdud Tulku, Nagkpa Chogyum, Native American teachers and currently lives in the Crazy Cloud Hermitage where he studies the Tantric path with Pranama.
R: The word Tantra is thrown around quite a bit in spiritual circles these days, and it often means very different things. I'd like to start off with the simple question: What is Tantra?
P: Tantra is the hot blood of spiritual practice. It smashes the taboo
against unreasonable happiness; a thunderbolt path, swift, joyful, and
fierce. There are many different types of paths. Some touch you like
a gentle spring rain, but Tantra is the wild summer thunder storm
churning with creation, destruction, bliss and emptiness. Tantra is a
wild mother tiger - if you approach her with right motivation, right intention, and integrity, she'll suckle you at her breast; but if you
come to her in a sloppy way, she'll rip apart your body-mind, eat you
for dinner, and shit out what's left.
R: Wow! I think that this sense of joyful abandon and the force and bliss you've described would make the Tantric path attractive to many people. Plus the fact that it is known to be a very swift path to enlightenment.
P. Swift, yes. But the Tantric Vajrayana path is complex and can be dangerous. It requires a strong, well integrated sense of self prepared through careful preliminary practice. Otherwise it is possible for the practitioner to make gross errors in judgment. On the Tantric path, it is perhaps easier to become the ultimate form of egohood and delusion than it is to become free. You can start off intending to liberate the tyranny of ordinary appearance into primordial awareness and end up crystallizing the ego into diamond-hard delusion. There is no authentic Tantra without profound commitment, discipline, intelligence, courage, and a sense of wild, foolhardy, fearless abandon.
R: Why is that? And why foolhardy abandon?
P: Foolhardy because the path is for gamblers. There is a beautiful Rumi poem which speaks to this from the Sufi tradition.
"Love is reckless; not reason. Reason seeks a profit. Love comes on
strong, consuming herself unabashed.
Yet in the midst of suffering love proceeds like a millstone, hard surfaced and straight forward.
Having died to self interest, she risks everything and asks for nothing. Love gambles away every gift God bestows.
Without cause God gave us Being; without cause give it back again. Gambling yourself away is beyond any religion.
Religion seeks grace and favor, but those who gamble these away are Gods favorites, for they neither put God to the test nor knock at the door of gain and loss"
(translation by Edmund Helminski)
Tantra takes the jump into crazy wisdom by eliminating even God from
the equation, leaving only the mystery with no ultimate attempt to
define it. This is a path for those whose hearts are so wild that they
are ready to throw it all away on a hunch, for an intuition.
Discipline, courage, hard work and intelligence are required because that is what any quest of the heart demands. Tantra, which molds the power of creation and ego into skillful means cutting through delusion, requires careful preparation. We don't expect someone who just wants to play around now and then on a keyboard to become a concert pianist. We don't expect someone to be able to get up off the couch one day and run a four minute mile. Great tasks require great effort.
With Tantra we are taking the mind and body as cauldron, feeling, ego, elements and world as alchemical ingredients, and imagination informed by divine power as catalyst; and we are accomplishing the great magical task of alchemical transformation. The base metal of dualistic view becomes the infinitely valuable gold of pure and luminous awareness. Tantra is a path of tremendous power. This power is not easy to use without getting burned by it. Yet, at the same time, it is a path of great joy.
If you're going to use poison, pleasure, and personality as the path, you have to be careful not to auto-destruct. In working with an advanced sadhana (practice) such as Vajrakilaya, which is central to our lineage, powerful energies of psyche, nature, and the subtle realms are harnessed. When such a powerful sadhana is introduced into one's system through authentic empowerment, it is not something to be taken lightly. Let's say you re going to bring anger into the path. It's a razor's edge between liberating anger into the wrathful compassion of mirror like wisdom and just becoming an arrogant, self-righteous prig. With Vajrakilaya, either you are actually transforming your mind stream into this wisdom-being of great wrath and power, or you are just dressing up your egoistic anger in the deitie's clothes. If Tantra is misused, the divine becomes a demon.
When you work with the Tantric path, you are playing with a live wire. It s charged not with electricity, but with the power behind creative force. Tantric sadhana deconstructs and constructs reality, as play, until the essence of reality becomes obvious. Through the sadhanas, private non-realities interface with the public non-reality until you realize the true nature of both. You use illusion to cut through illusion.
R. I am not sure I understand what you mean by public and private non-realities. Are the images, energies, and beings worked with in the practices real or not? Could you elaborate on that bit?
P. The basis of all this lies in an understanding of Dharmakaya and sunyata, "the realm of essence" and "emptiness". The Dharmakaya is not a place or even a state of being or consciousness. Dharmakaya is the field of pure potential, which is exploding into actualized energy and matter at every moment. Each object or thing, even in its "thingness", is still in essence characterized by this field of potentiality. In other words, each "thing" is empty of permanent characteristics; its characteristics share the quality of pure dynamic potentiality and are always tending towards the expression of that potential via constant change and transformation.
All worlds and fields of perception explode from this pure potentiality, which is also pure awareness or emptiness. This essence, this emptiness, is unspeakable and is not any thing at all. And yet it is the dynamic matrix from which all of this (waving his arm about the room) arises, and of which all of this is a presentation, and into which all this returns.
This explosion of essence creates fields of energetic
perception. This energy is conditioned into forms by the play of cause and effect. These forms are our world and our self. The world, and all
worlds, are coincident with the essence of awareness, which is
birthless and deathless and utterly free of the implications of form
and limit. The manifest world is not other than essence, but essence
is not limited to the shape or conditions of the manifest worlds. One
might say that the world and all worlds are held together as form by
the conditioned and habitual intent of consciousness. Our particular
world is held together by the intent of human beings. The worlds of
other beings are held by the force of their conditioned intent.
The structures of existence are not "real" in any ultimate
sense. They are public non-realities, playful dreams shaped out of
essence and molded in form. They are the radiance of pure
potentiality, momentarily given shape by intent and held in a
seemingly cohesive pattern by karma or patterned habitualized
consciousness. A Tantric yogi shatters the tyranny of ordinary
appearance - the forgetting of how things took on their seemingly real
forms - by molding new structures of existence - private
non-realities.
We are not talking here about "creative visualization" in the sense
generally used. Imagination is, generally, simply mind forms within
the public non-reality. We are talking about the actual deconstruction
of the building blocks of reality and reconstruction of
alternatives. Both public and private non-realities are conditioned
forms of consciousness. By enacting the process of creation and
destruction in the private non-reality the unquestioned authortiy and
permanence of the public non-reality is undermined. Through the
process of advanced Tantric sadhana one is able to recognize the
ground of intrinsic awareness within all conditioned forms. This
realization allows one to live as intrinsic awareness and recognize
all arising as ornaments of that awareness.
The idea of Tantra is not identification with endless new
conditioned forms of awareness and color. The point is to slip
between the cracks into the matrix of pure potentiality itself. The
goal is not achievement of unusual states it is to recognize your
primordial intrinsic nature in all appearence. Then all appearance has
the single taste of bliss and wisdom. That's not the end either it's
the beginning of endless play.
R. That goes quite a bit beyond the general view of Tantra as merely a way of advanced self-help rather than a profoundly magical or transcendental practice. But isn't it also true that Tantra (in this radical form) works with the ordinary emotions and everyday problems?
P. There are no ordinary emotions and everyday problems. That's the point. Being is the natural luminous quality of this matrix of pure potential and Being presents itself in the play of existence. The bliss-mad radiance of pure awareness plays in the colors of Being. The world and your own body, your mind and your energies are nothing other than the natural communicative thrust of limitlessness. There is absolutely nothing ordinary about anything.
When the colors of Being are read through the distortions of
dualistic view, they appear as emotions and confusion, and one is
bound in the tyranny of ordinary appearance. Being freed from
distorted view plays as feeling and clarity in the wild and raucous
romp of manifestation. When the true nature of every event is
recognized, even the most seemingly mundane moment will hold such
great beauty that it will shatter the mind.
Tantra's power lies in its ability to recognize the poisons of ego
as distortions of the qualities of enlightenment. The practices
transform these distortions or, depending on one's capacity,
spontaneously liberate dualistic distorted view into its own true nature. For Tantra the stuff of body, emotion and mind, ordinary
emotions and events are the essential ingredients needed for the
alchemical transformation of distorted view into Buddhahood.
R. You mention Being's appearance as a play of colors, and that intrigues me. So often Being is described as clear light or white light. Non-dual realization seems to be a one dimensional and one flavor thing, whereas this seems to have depth.
P. Light broken open by a prism displays the colors that are always its nature. Its essence is clear light and its nature is to manifest as the colors of the rainbow. Pure awareness is completely transparent like a sheet of glass. But when broken open, it displays the rainbow of colors or flavors that are the substance of manifestation. Pure awareness and the colors of Being are not in opposition or even in any way two. They are aspects of singleness. So many spiritual paths inherently, though often subtly, negate world, body, and existence. They are always seeking to get elsewhere into the "light" failing to recognize that all is light.
Spiritual systems often misinterpret bondage as resulting from
being in form rather than from wrong view. Because of this, they
wrongly assume that enlightenment means to be abstracted out of form
into subtle realms or "pure" awareness. These spiritual systems try to
negate form and dissolve, or return, into the pre-form matrix of pure
potentiality. This is possible and that radical act of transcending
form is most blissful - but it is not enlightenment. Form and formless
are not two; they are a single mystery. These systems are
spiritualized forms of the dualistic delusion. Tantra, which in its
true form is Advaitic (or non-dual), transcends this
limitation. Tantra is wisdom gone wild embracing the totality of what
is.
With Tantra you are not getting somewhere; you are just waking up
to the true nature of things as they are. The colors inherent in clear light are not other than the light. The display whereby Being presents
its limitless mystery is not other than the birthless and deathless
pure mystery from which Being comes..
R. It's interesting that you mention Advaita. I recently read Poonjaji, an Advaitic master. He advocates no practice. Form is illusion and every action by the illusory self adds to unenlightenment. What do you think of that.
P: Well, I have great respect for the traditional forms of Advaita. I have always been intimately connected with Ramana Maharshi, and the path that I teach is "Advaitic Tantrayana". On the other hand, there are some serious problems and limitations with the talking school of Advaita versus the various practice schools such as Tantra.
R: What do you mean by "talking school"?
P: Talking schools are those that understand that delusion is only an illusion and all that you need to do is understand the illusion to be free of it. Because all you need to do is understand, then all I need to do as master is explain the truth to you, and all you need to do is listen and you will "get it". The problem is that this is a superficial grasp of understanding. Understanding in the talking school is considered a primarily mental act. I talk; you listen. In truth understanding is a whole body act. You must understand with the cells of your body, your mind and your feelings. Listening involves a profound action of the entire self. This action is what practice is. Spiritual practice is the act of listening to the teaching with the whole body.
There are fundamental differences between a teacher, even an
awakened one, and a master. Poonjaji is a teacher. He speaks about
Truth very nicely, though he suffers a bit from the delusion of
viewing form as illusion rather than presentation of the formless. Due
to this he lacks the skillful means needed to deal with the actual
roots of delusion. He lacks the skillful means to communicate with the
whole bodily being rather just the mind. In a recent interview he said
that he teaches the pure Truth - some get it, some don't, and he doesn t
know why. That's the difference between a teacher and a master: A
master knows why and can deal skillfully with the causes. A master is
willing to deal with delusion on its own ground if necessary. He or
she is willing to take on the dragon in its cave, even if the dragon
is only an illusion.
The teachers of the endless talk no practice school go on to say
"open your eyes and see the beautiful sunset. You do not need to do
anything, add anything to yourself. Just open your eyes". While it is
true that you don't need to add anything, the problem is that your
eyes are shut and you are wearing a blindfold. You open your eyes and
see nothing. These teachers do not see you because they are too busy
admiring their own "non-dualism".
The teachers of the Advaita talking school do in fact give
practices. They give the very difficult practice of pre-verbal inquiry
which works once you have taken off your blindfold. But until then it
leaves you stranded. All too often people make sense of the words and
develop conceptual enlightenment. You understand the description of
the sunset so well that you think you are seeing it, even though you
are still wearing a blindfold and have your eyes closed. People in
this condition even go on to become teachers of the talking school,
endlessly describing the imagined sunset to others. I am sure that it
is based on my Tantric predilection for wisdom gone wild, my delight
in manifestation, but I often find these Advaitic teachers a little
prissy. They are unable to enjoy the game, unable to enjoy the madness
and wildness of existence. There is no space for non-dual dualism in
their non-dualism.
R: That clears up some confusion about Advaita which I hadn't quite been able to put into words. You mentioned Ramana Maharshi. As I understand it your path was not originally Tantric. I would be interested in hearing about how you evolved into this style of practice and teaching. What led you to awakening and to teaching the way that you do?
P: My introduction and initiation into the world of Tantra began with a naked menstruating woman in the University of Michigan's graduate school library. She danced and sang and placed her bleeding cunt over my mouth and I drank from that source the nectar of immortality, the liquid union of bliss and emptiness. She was the Vajra Dakini Yeshe Tso-gyal, Mother of my true life. But that is the end of the story and was not planned, asked for, or expected. For most of my spiritual journey I had nothing to do with Tantra nor wanted to.
My own spiritual work began in the Gurdjieff system. Gurdjieff was
influenced by Tantric teachings though more strongly influenced by the
Sufi schools. In his system I found a concrete practical method for
working with the habitual conditioning of my body, mind, and
emotions. I got to see myself without any veneer. It was in this
school that I began to truly crystallize the wish to grow and forge it
into a center of gravity that could begin to pull the unintegrated
parts of the self into a unified whole.
After some time I began to find that certain axioms on which the
work depended were, for me, limited in their view. Given the lack of
anyone I considered a true Master, I resumed my search for a system
that could take me farther. I visited many different teachers and
communities, read enormous amounts, and engaged in a variety of rather
extreme experiments on myself. Eventually I encountered the work of
the enigmatic and rascally Master Osho. My meeting with Osho, who was
called Bhagwan at that time, awakened my heart into intense ecstasy
and devotion. It also began a long period of powerful visionary experiences that centered on the Virgin Mary and the Goddess Kali.
For me devotion was an instant and natural though hard path often
filled with confusion. My heart exploded in love. The Guru is the
trigger. The Guru is the object that the devotee uses as an excuse to
slip through the boundaries of ordinary feeling. I learned, in a trial
by fire, that irresponsible devotion to the master always ends in
serious suffering. In other words the Guru ain t your daddy, the Guru
is an introduction to your own nature. What is most important is that
I did learn, and over time the love that Bhagwan awoke in me matured
into non-dual inquiry.
One day all the energy that had been pouring outward in love for
five years simply stopped and began to move inward. This process was
fundamentally Ramana Maharshi's question "Who am I"?. Who is the one
who experiences all experience? This process cuts through all
hierarchy of "higher" or "lower" experience by cutting to the root of
all experience. Each time I sat down it was like a vortex of energy
moving into expanding fields of silence. I would feel this vortex and
rest in it. It would draw me into deeper and deeper states of silence
from where I would engage pre-verbal inquiry. What had been ecstasy
and love before was now recognized as a womb-like place of silence.
When I started the meditative phase of my practice, all the visions
stopped short. Previously they were explosions of love, and they kind
of rode on the outflowing energy of devotion, my interest in them
fueling their appearance. Very late in the silent phase of practice,
several months before my own awakening, a new series of visionary experiences began. Visions of Yeshe Tso-gyal, Queen of the Lake of
Awareness, Mother of Pure Pleasure. These visions exploded from the
depths of emptiness and silence.
One morning, after I had finished my practice, I went to the
library to study Sufi texts. I was reading two volumes of Rumi's
works. As I was walking towards the library, I had a feeling that was
familiar from previous visionary experiences. It was an intense
pleasurable sensation that pushed out from the center of my body, from
my heart, towards my skin, though this time it seemed to open forth
from silent space. I felt giddy and drunk. I looked up and for a
moment I could swear I saw the outline of a dancing woman standing in
the air above the library. She was huge! Maybe three hundred feet
tall.
The vision lasted for a second, and I went in and began reading on
the nearly deserted fourth floor. The longer I sat, the more intense
this vibration became. I knew this process very well, and I knew it
would lead to a feeling of such intensity, that the ordinary world
around me would black out. This feeling of ecstatic drunkenness gets
stronger and stronger as if it's resonating more and more swiftly
through the entire body. At a certain point visionary experience
outshines the "ordinary" world.
I found myself in a cemetery. A woman approached. She was naked,
except for some bone ornaments. She was singing and dancing a tune of
haunting melody, which I later discovered was the mantra of her
consort Padmasambhava: Om Ah Hung Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hung!
I was entranced, simultaneously with ecstatic love and an absolute feeling of overwhelming sexual desire so strong that I was sure I would die from it. She danced around me and then swiftly stood directly in front of me placing her genitals over my face. Her vagina was over my mouth, there was blood flowing from it, and I drank this blood deeply in an unending flow. I could feel it coursing through my body like liquid heat. Suddenly the vision disappeared. I got up and went home - well, actually, I think I first went and had a chocolate chip cookie. This began a period of what my wife and I refer to as the "drooling in the living room" period. I spent close to a month, mostly sitting in a rocking chair in our living room unable to function because the force of Bliss that was flowing through my body was so overwhelming. I was also unable to speak about what was happening.
R: You have a very understanding wife.
P: Yes. Without her I cannot imagine what would have happened to me during this time. These experiences awoke in my mind and body such intense unending bliss and latent neurotic traces of such force that it was unbelievable. Feelings of every kind of distortion, rage, anger, lust, grasping, aversion. I am sad to say that I did a fair amount of acting out on these before any balance was restored, causing suffering to myself and others. Needless to say, this was a very trying time for our marriage.
One of the things that happens in spiritual practice is that the
subtle aspects of our ego, the seed essences of ego, hide within our
own practice. If you are lucky enough, at some point the bliss force
of the divine will force these out into the open.
So it wasn't all just bliss. It was an encounter with the ugliest sides of myself and the most beautiful. The whole picture. The visions, on a daily basis, kept arising. By and large they involved an experiment in mixing states of bliss with my previous practice of self inquiry and the feeling of silent emptiness. Bliss wed to emptiness produces tremendous power and that's what was being introduced at this point.
R: I can see the evolution of you path from Gurdjieff's very concrete self work into the devotional relationship with a master and mystical states and that leading into silence and inquiry. It seems kind of like this Tantric part was finishing you off. So did this practice lead to your realization?
P: This was all going on without any conscious volition at all. I was continuing Advaitic non-dual self inquiry with all the force I could: Who is the one experiencing this? And if I had actually been able to stop these experiences I probably would have, because they were distracting me from inquiry as well as provoking some pretty stupid behavior in my ordinary life. Luckily, the power of the Dakini, the wisdom woman, was so much greater than my piddling efforts to prevent it. But as these experiences continued in the body, mind and emotions I continued my inquiry.
The awakening came as a result of this practice mix. The mind of
bliss is capable of penetrating much more deeply into
truth. Happiness, bliss and pleasure inspire a radical kind of
courage. Without it no one would leap into that sky of deathlessness
and selflessness. Without the bliss force no one would be such an
idiot as to throw their life away on a hunch. Realization itself is
beyond any and all experience. It is, however, not exclusive of
experience or even rejecting of it; it is all-inclusive. After
awakening one is restored to absolute and endless humor.
R. So how did your teaching work begin and where did the Tantric transmission figure in that?
P. Several months after Awakening, a friend of my wife's, feeling the difference in me, asked if I would help her with her spiritual practice. I agreed, and several months later more friends of our family asked if I would work with them. My teaching began very slowly and gradually. In the beginning, what I taught was non-dual inquiry, because it seemed the most direct. What I realized over time was that the practice of inquiry and also the natural practice of devotion toward the formless divine is ineffective in most people's lives. It doesn't carry with it the skillful means to work with the obscurations and defilements - the gross and subtle neuroses - that prevent people from realizing their own nature of bliss and awareness in perfect union.
The Advaitic practice that I was doing was extremely similar to the
Dzogchen or Ati Yoga teachings of the Nyingma lineage. It was through
the Advaitic practices that I was able to reconnect.
One of the most amazing things about Padmasambhava, Yeshe
Tso-gyal's Guru, was his recognition that there were many teachings
that would need to be re-discovered at a later time. He and Yeshe Tso-gyal wrote the practices down and hid them in the elements and in
the pure nature of awareness - in the mind stream of his
disciples. This is the true origin of my connection to Tantra.
Padmasambhava created what is called a Mind Mandate Seal and hid
teachings on Tantra's skillful means like a timed-release
capsule. When my own practice matured to the point where it was
appropriate this force of wisdom opened. The force, power and bliss
of it was released also, even though I had completely forgotten this
connection.
R: So you really didn't have any contact with Tibetan lamas, or the Nyingma (Padmasambhava's) lineage, yet your teaching is very much influenced by Tantra and you recognize Padmasambhava as your root Guru. Without any contact with the lineage, you're kind of a wild card as a teacher.
P: (Laughing uproariously) Yeah, I am a wild card as a Tantric Master. But even wilder than this crazy connection with Tantra is that I am free. Free of birth and death, fear, anxiety, worry. Free beyond being and non-being. Free to do anything. And I just might - and it's a wonderful thing!
A wild card like me who has awakened into and embodied the heart
of Tantric practice is unique in terms of the trans-cultural migration
of Tantra to the West. Padmasambhava was a wild guy because he was
the freedom and bliss of this mysterious reality. Those who awaken to
their true nature are the same one - though in their own unique
appearance. As Tantra develops in this culture, many aspects of its
form are going to have to change. At the same time this must be done
in such a way as to not damage the teachings. This is a job of great
delicacy. These changes need to be done by someone who stands outside
the traditional lineages yet respects the heart drop of the teachings
with extreme reverence..
All Tantric practice originates from Pure Vision revelation.
Tantric practices in the Buddhist form originate from the
Sambhogakaya, or the Visionary Bliss Realm of reality. An advanced
practitioner can receive teachings from this source though it is very
rare. An awakened master is this realm - it is an aspect of their
body.
It is certainly reasonable to be skeptical, and I ask my
students not to accept anyone's teachings on blind faith, but to test
them in the laboratory of their own body/mind. The faith needed to
have a Tantric relationship to a Spiritual Master has to develop over
a long period of time. You can't simply jump right into it. There
must be testing on both sides - time and deeds. I certainly am mad by
any standard. You and I don't live in even remotely similar worlds. I
know the universe to be my body, time itself to be my subtle form, and
the sky of deathless awareness to be my mind. My interest now is to
spark this awakening in others, not to have them fixate on me. That
would only destroy their growth and in the long or short run cause
them to hate me. We all hate what we are dependent on - no one likes
to be a slave.
You should take a little time before hopping into the Dharma bed
because once in it there really is no such thing as safe sex. Think
about it as carefully as you would a marriage partner. It can take
years.
There is a safety catch: You don't receive advanced
Tantric practices in the beginning anyway. You begin with the
pre-preliminary practices, which in our community are a series having
to do with developing stability in body, mind and emotion at the
ordinary psychological level. You can use the traditional meditations
on loving kindness, and exchanging oneself for others. These styles of
meditation work very deeply. At the same time, I might suggest that
somebody seek out therapy, or work in a Twelve Step program.
If you are obsessed with anxiety, fear, worry, comparison,
shame, self doubt, body doubt, sex doubt, then those things become
your center of gravity. The constant effort to compensate for the
pain of neurosis saps you of the joy of ordinary life and the energy
for spiritual evolution. In this state of being, people try to replace
the work neededto develop an authentic center of gravity with the
Master or God - as if some external could be it for you. This must be
outgrown.
Next there are the extraordinary Tantric preliminaries involving Prostrations, Vajrasattva practice, Mandala practice and Guru Yoga. These are fairly traditional. This is not an assembly line to enlightenment. Each person s path is unique and possibly very different from this description. There are people in our community who never work with the Tantric path at all, who work along other lines. The extraordinary preliminaries however are profound psycho-transformational methods weaving together body, emotion, energy and mind to awaken latent potential.
During this phase and after the preliminaries are finished students begin to work with the energies of diety yoga and the radical practices of Advaita and Mahasanti. Another way I work with my students is to send them to the best of the living masters from the traditional lineages. This broadens their view and them to test my teaching, my style of teaching, and the authenticity of my transmission in the context of those who are commonly acknowledged to be Tantric Masters. Three wonderful Masters I send my disciples to are Chagdud Tulku, Lama Tharchin, and Nkgapa Chogyam.
R: It doesn't sound like you're shy about letting your students go out and experience other Masters.
P: Absolutely not!
R. That seems a bit unusual. Most people have a great fear of Gurus entrapping them in dependency relationships. Sending disciples to other masters seems like it would help cut through that.
P. It is necessary for two reasons. One is that it cross-pollinates the lineage. This is one of the beautiful things about Tantra. You need the foundation of more than one master. You need to receive the special energies of transmission and empowerment from a variety of skillful masters. This cross-pollinates, just like in gardening; it creates a stronger plant. There is one Guru in your heart and many in the world. It is up to each person to figure out who their heart connection is with.
The other reason is, I am a wild card as far as Tantric teachings go. I claim the authority to teach Tantra based on my own radical awakening into non-dual awareness and my own Mind Mandate Transmission from Padmasambhava. Such claims could easily be made by any idiot - and often are. I want my students and disciples to have a strong ground on which they can evaluate me and decide where our connection will go. I would like my students who do Tantric practice to be able to work with other masters so that they can come to a greater degree of understanding of my work when evaluated in the context of the traditional tantric practice.
R: It seems to me that there is a lot of information and books written about sexual Tantra, and certainly more people are interested in that than in other forms of Tantra. Perhaps they are seeking this bliss courage that you mentioned earlier. Do you think that people practicing sex yoga are by and large serious Tantric practitioners?
P: Well, there's no point in judging other peoples' spiritual paths. If your path is not authentic over time that becomes clear. Traditionally, the use of sexuality in Tantra comes at a very developed stage of the path. There is no sexual Tantra if one has not transcended desire. Certainly a lot of people are trying to explore and play with sexual energy, and that is great, and they are relating it to the word Tantra because Tantra uses sexuality as part of the path. We live in a seemingly open and permissive culture that actually is very uptight, prudish and provincial. We hype neurotic sense stimulation in order to sell everything from shampoo to cars. Underneath, there is fear of everything genital.
Tantra, however, is not about sexuality. It is about enlightenment. Compared to the bliss force of your true nature, the pleasure of orgasm is pretty puny. The teachings can be used to bring a certain degree of ordinary balance to the psyche, including openness about sexuality. That's a very good thing but let's not stop at the doorway!
R: Enjoying Tantra for the psychological help is good but no substitute for radical absolute spiritual liberation.
P: Right.
R: You emphasize community and that is very interesting to me. I find that many people these days want their practice to be a personal and private part of their life. Relationships are hard and spiritual practice is hard mixing the two seems like it could ease up the process or complicate it.
P: For spiritual practice, community is of vital importance in our culture. In traditional cultures the shock that broke one out of complacent patterns came from moving out of a community that had been the center of one s life. In our culture, we have just the opposite senario. The shock here is brought about when people move into community from the isolated lives that our culture creates. This was central to the Gurdjieff system and very powerful.
R: That sense of isolation we have as a culture is very sad.
P: It is very sad - heartbreaking! As you grow and mature in sadhana you need to test your growth in daily life, in job, in relationship, and in the community of other practitioners. There are of course exceptions to this, people who need solitude for their practice to grow strong, and there are practices which require prolonged solitude for accomplishment. Right now I am discussing with the community the formation of a Hermitage center for long term intensive retreats. This is very important if we re going to actually manifest the higher levels of practice and destroy the tyranny of ordinary appearance.
We must be careful that the higher and highest levels of Tantric practice do get transmitted. The loss of these great methods is a real danger. There is a danger to the traditional forms of Tantra because the cultures of Tantric practice are being decimated by war or westernization, the cult of scientism. I think in our culture there is a different threat: That the deeper levels of practice will not be reached to begin with. In our culture the threat is that Tantra will be stillborn. Practitioners will have to break through the cult of TV. mentality and mediocrity into the dignity of their Vajra natures if Tantra is to take root here and flower in its fullness.
R: There might not be enough students who have the basics down and then move into the deeper levels of practice.
P: Right. As Tantric practice takes root in our culture it is important that there be an understanding of the vastness of possibilities that Tantra offers. Waking up into the bliss-mad realm of the perfect union of perception and pure pleasure is really quite something. It is better than what people are dreaming up in the sex workshops.
For one who is awake, the relationship to the world, to the elements, is completely different than for anybody else. We have to be able to move into the really magical and wondrous forms of transformational practice where you are working not only with your own body/mind at its most subtle levels, but the elements themselves. That level of awakening needs to be realized It s power needs to be applied to the culture and the actual ground upon which we live. To work at these levels - the beginning levels and the most advanced levels, which bring radical awakening or enlightenment - to work with all of these is the real gift that Tantra brings. The gift is that we can encompass the whole of our lives, from the ordinary to the most wondrous, in a single path.
R: Which is quite a feat.
P: It is! The Tantric yogi, who can live married with children, a completely ordinary life, but at the same time play with the world as an ornament of awareness, is really something! To recognize all appearance as the ornament of your own wisdom nature and to live in the bliss-mad realm of freedom where all perception is delight: That is the goal of Tantra.
R: Thank you.
P: Remember we are talking here about your birthright. Awakening is your birthright. Accept your inheritance!