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.

Tantric Art

The Tantric tradition of India and Tibet is much broader in its scope than the subset of Tantric Sexuality taught in the West. While Western Tantra focuses on practical techniques, the Eastern form also uses sexual symbolism for purely meditational purposes. As such, Tantric art often contains imagery that can seem bizarre to Western eyes. This Tibetan-style devotional painting, for example, depicts an animal-headed female deity trampling on two small figures while she menstruates into a bowl they are holding. At the same time, she is balancing the Hindu elephant God Ganesha on her hands and performing fellatio on him – in other words, sucking his penis!

Adoration of the Anus

In Tantric Sex, anal intercourse is known as adhorata. This Sanskrit word has no direct linguistic connection to the English word “adoration”, although the meaning is much the same. To a skilled Tantric practitioner anal sex is a form of worship, in which the object of worship – or adoration – is the underlying reality of the cosmos, which in its eternally receptive nature is symbolized by the human anus.

The Mystic Syllable Om

The Sanskrit syllableॐ – transcribed in English as Om – represents a sound that has mystical significance in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. It features in numerous Sanskrit mantras, and is the opening word of many sacred texts. Om symbolizes the beginning, duration, and dissolution of the Universe and its associated Gods.

In the Tantric tradition, the syllable Om is chanted rhythmically by both partners during sexual intercourse. In some cases an extended form of mantra such as Om Mani Padme Hum is used instead. The visual depiction of Om – the Sanskrit character ॐ – us also important in Tantric sex. The female sex practitioner or Dakini in the photograph has the symbol tattooed on her shoulder. She is shown performing the devotional Tantric ritual of Auparishtaka, better known in the west as a blowjob.

Chakra Meditation

The Chakra system, comprising the seven major energy centres of the human body, is one of the central concepts of New Age philosophy, holistic wellbeing and alternative therapy. The term Chakra is derived from Sanskrit, and originated in the Hindu tradition of India. The Chakra concept also features prominently in Tantra, where sexually charged Kundalini energy is seen as flowing upwards through the system of chakras. It is possible to achieve an ecstatic state of orgasmic bliss by visualizing Kundalini slowly rising up through the seven chakras like an enormous, swelling penis made of pure energy.

Tantric Services

Here are a few panels taken from the new Kindle comic-book Fifty Shades of Tantric Sex. It shows just two of the 50 characters featured in the book. What do they have in common? They’re all stereotypes of the different sorts of people who make their money by offering “Tantric” sexual services.

With its cartoony caricatures and photo-manipulations, the book’s witty tongue-in-cheek style will be familiar to readers of this blog. Fifty Shades of Tantric Sex is available for just $2.99 from the U.S. Kindle Store.