Tantric Sex and Tantric Buddhism

Modern Tantric teachers often downplay the role of Buddhism in Tantric sex, while teachers of Tantric Buddhism tend to downplay the role of sex in Buddhist practice. In fact the two – Tantric Sex and Tantric Buddhism – are inextricably linked, as John T. Houseman explains in his fascinating new book Great Bliss: Tantric Sex and the Path to Inner Awakening. This is the first complete modern instruction book on Tantric Buddhism, and the first on Buddhist sexual yoga.

The heart of the book is a first-ever translation from the Sanskrit of the Ninth Century master Shabara’s The Sadhana of Secret Vajravilasini, a masterpiece of the world’s spiritual-erotic literature, and an ideal text for sexual yoga practice. Great Bliss reveals thousand year-old secrets, and is a landmark contribution to the study and practice of Tantric sex in the West. The book includes hundreds of authentic practices, making it an almost inexhaustible resource for Tantra teachers and students.

John T. Houseman is a teacher of Tantric Buddhism in the tradition of the Indian siddhas. A student of many Tantric traditions for over thirty years, he trained as a lama under the guidance of the Tibetan master His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche, completing an intensive, solitary three-year retreat. John also trained with many Western Tantra teachers including Margot Anand. He received a Bachelor’s Degree with honors in Religion from Wesleyan University, where he studied Buddhism with Robert Thurman, and earned his master’s degree from Columbia University. For four years he served on the staff of Karma Triyana Dharmacakra monastery in Woodstock, New York, the North American headquarters of His Holiness the 17th Karmapa. His newly published book is the result of his twenty year search to find the original teachings of Tantric Buddhism.

Great Bliss: Tantric Sex and the Path to Inner Awakening can be downloaded free of charge from HolyBooks.com.

Zen Shiatsu

Shiatsu is a form of massage therapy that originated in the Zen Buddhist monasteries of medieval Japan. The Japanese word Shiatsu literally means “finger-pressure”. The practitioner uses the fingers of the right hand to apply pressure to sensitive acu-points on the body of the recipient. The practitioner’s left hand rests on the recipient’standen, or primary energy center. The purpose is to draw energy from the tanden and re-route it to the acu-point being worked on.

The original purpose of Shiatsu in Zen Buddhism was to bring mind, body and spirit into balance. There was no explicit sexual element to it. However, when Shiatsu became a popular therapy in the second half of the 20th century, it was discovered that many recipients – females in particular – were able to achieve massive whole-body orgasms from finger-pressure alone. Many modern-day practitioners work on internal acu-points as well as the traditional external ones in order to heighten the orgasmic effect. In the photograph above, the fingers of the practitioner’s right hand are working on acu-points inside the recipient’s vagina and anus, while the left hand is drawing energy from the tanden.