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Sexual Desire and the Body in Two Religious Traditions. March 27, 2000. Introduction. Religious experience and the body/senses Religion and sexual desire Our focus: monastic Buddhism and Tantra A word on Tantric sex ritual Visit on Wednesday by Tantric adept. Cause of Suffering: Desire.
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Sexual Desire and the Body in Two Religious Traditions March 27, 2000
Introduction • Religious experience and the body/senses • Religion and sexual desire • Our focus: monastic Buddhism and Tantra • A word on Tantric sex ritual • Visit on Wednesday by Tantric adept
Cause of Suffering: Desire • Buddha’s rejection of Hinduism • ritual • caste • suffering • True cause of suffering: desire
How to end suffering? • By achieving high level of consciousness • things perish • there is no ‘I’ • Difficult idea... • Atman? • More radical? • extinction of separateness of self • renunciation of desire
How do monks extinguish desire? • The disgusting mortal body • The rules of chastity • for monks • for nuns
The problem with world-renunciation • The problems of enduring desire, hypocrisy, self-delusion
The response of Tantrism to the world • Emerged in India 1500 years ago • Similarities with Buddhism • Immersion in, not escape from, in the world • Both pain and pleasure • Everything is divine • No taboos
Implications for tantric attitude toward the body and sexual desire • If everything is divine, so is the body • If the body is divine, so is sexual desire • But sex is a means, not an end • Sex must be linked to divinity
Siva: The underlying male principle • Procreative energy (pushes dwarf of forgetfuness toward rebirth) • meditative consciousness (arms shaped in “Om”)
Shakti: female principle • The Female principle • creativity • energy • Yoni shrines
Kali • The goddess Kali • The Tantric desire to confront Kali’s dual aspect
The sexual rite • Preparation • Meditation and becoming • The women • transcendence of taboo • The experience of bliss
Yeshe Tsogyel • Buddhist Tantric • Chose sexual rite to teach disciples
More Recent Image of Yeshe Tsogyel • The modern version • Note contrast between her hair and the hair of Buddhist nuns • Why long hair?