Posted by ToC on July 12, 2006 at 00:50:51
Most Buddhist schools de-emphasized sexual desire, and traditionally Buddhist monks have been celibate. But this is not so of the school of Mi-tsung (Mantrayana, mantra means secret, Tantrayana, or Tantrism), the True Word school (Chen-yen Tsung), or the Esoteric school of Buddhism. The term Tantrism, or Tantra, refers to a pan-Indian religious movement that arose in about the sixth century A.D. within both Buddhism and Hinduism and to the texts (either Buddhist or Hindu) setting forth its practices and beliefs. The main emphasis of Tantrism is on the development of the devotee's dormant psycho-physical powers by means of special meditations and ritual techniques. These are essentially esoteric and must be passed on personally from master to initiate. Stressing the coordination of the body, speech, and mind, they include the use of symbolic gestures (mudras); the uttering of potent formulas (mantras); the entering (through meditation) of sacred diagrams (mandalas) and yantras; the meditator's creative visualization of and identification with specific divine forms; and the physical, iconographic, or mental use of sexual forces and symbols. Although the particulars of practice vary between the Buddhist and Hindu Tantras and within each of these traditions form one text or lineage to another, they all stress the realization, within the body, of the union of polar opposites, whether these be conceived of as devotee and goddess, the masculine principle (Shiva) and the feminine (Shakti), reason and compassion, or samsara and nirvana. Tantrism is traditionally practiced in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and other countries where Tibetan Buddhism is followed, as well as in India.
Sex was the major subject of Mi-tsung. Mi-tung was very similar to some sects of Taoism, and stressed the sexual union. Even Mi-tung said, "Buddheity is in the female generative organs." In China, the Tibetan Esoteric Sect (Tsang Mi-tsung, or Tibetan Mi-tsung) flourished in Yuan Dynasty, especially from the time of Kubilai Khan (1216-94 A.D.). Even the Chinese standard history Yuan Shi [The History of the Yuan Dynasty] recorded some kind of sexual Tantrism as follows:
He [Ha-ma, prime minister] also presented to the emperor [Hui-tsung, 1333-67 A.D.] the Tibetan monk Ka-lin-chen, who was an expert in the secret [Tantric] ritual. The monk said to the emperor: "Your Majesty rules over all in the empire and owns all riches within the four seas. But Your Majesty should not think of this life only. Man's life is brief, therefore this secret method of the Supreme Joy [which ensures longevity] should be practiced." The emperor thereupon practiced this method, which is called "Discipline in Pairs." It is also called "yen-t'ieh-erh," and "secret." All these practices refer to the art of the bedchamber. The emperor then summoned Indian monks to direct those ceremonies, and conferred upon a Tibetan monk the title of Ta-yuan-kuo-shih [Master of the Great Yuan Empire]. They all took girls of good families, some four, some three, for these disciplines and called that "to sacrifice" (kung-yang). Then the emperor daily engaged in these practices, assembling for the purpose great numbers of women and girls, and found his joy only in this dissolute pleasure. He also selected a number from among his concubines and made them perform the dance of the 16 Dakini (Shih-liu-t'ien-mo, the 16 Heavenly Devils) and the Eight Males (pa-lang) [the 16 may represent Tantric she-devils, who had intercourse with men representing their male companions, one pair of women with one man]. The brothers of the emperor and those men called "companions" all engaged in front of the emperor in these lewd embraces, men and women being naked. The hall where these things took place was called Chieh-chi-wu-kai ("Everything without obstacle"). Ruler and statesmen thus displayed their lewdness, and the crowd of monks went in and out the palace, and were allowed to do anything they liked. [Translated by R. H. van Gulik.]