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Wednesday 27 June 2012

Out from the Darkness


Traditionally Tantra was kept secret because it challenged cultural norms in Indian society. However in a culture where meat eating and  alcohol consumption are part of everyday life and where even multiple sexual partners is hardly even blinked at there is no need at all to keep Tantra in the shadows. Mind you, with the sheer numbers of books, video's and websites that have "Tantra" as their subject, there is the very real fact that "Tantra" is already a long way from the shadows.

I wonder whether what we are being presented with in the West is Tantra at all.  I feel and fear that a bastardisation of Tantra has taken place in the same way and by pretty well the same group of people that have trashed yoga & meditation. NeoTantra in particular seems to be pretty well an excuse to fuck whoever you want, dress it up as a "religion" and thus have a clear conscience.

Whilst I am only too happy to admit to being enthusiastic about sacred sex and swinging, to me there is and always has been far, far more to Tantra than just sex. Sex whilst integral to my practice, is but a part of a much larger whole. Tantra is about living honestly and ethically. It is about affirming all of life, something I feel that Theravada Buddhism does not do. Tantra is a loud celebration of life. It is about balance, health and a deep connection to the universe around us. This is why my practice of Metta meditation still is central to my life. Likewise with my new practice of yoga and proper nutrition as well as an enthusiastic embrace of exercise. As a Tantric my life has been brought into balance.


If we insist on presenting "Tantra" as little more than an exercise in sexual gratification, then yes it should remain in the shadows. If we want to be serious about what we are and present Tantra as a working way of living then we can and should bring it out of the shadows and into our lives and thus be no more unsure of self identifying as Tantrics than a Christian or Muslim has with self identifying as Christian or Muslim.

If we want to shed the New Age nonsense and what seems at times to be little more than an exercise in separating people from their money, then we need to come out into society. We need to present a coherent set of ethics. We need to be HONEST and kick out the predators both sexual and financial. And in this blog I am exploring a coherent set of ethics and a consisten theology.

We can make being healthy part of Tantric teachings. We can also add the Five Trainings I have written about, as well as the worship of The Divine and come out with a set of workable ethics. And I'm not wanting Theravada "with spice". I practice a Tantra that is wholistic and elevates my life, not something where fraudsters shaft the ignorant or gullible, nor where people can engage in their basest of desires and wrap it in a pseudo-religion. I want and practice Light and not Darkness. Tantra should come out into the mainstream of society and become a fully fledged way of Dharma.
Which I guess means I will be thinking and posting for some time to come as I explore and offer my way of Tantra..

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