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?