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The Tantra Pages
Art
in Tantra
 Not with standing the fact that the Buddha
essence is non-polar, Buddhist iconographers use sexual
polarity to symbolize the twin concepts of insight and
compassion. All goddesses are symbols of insight and the
gods represent compassion. The union of compassion and
insight symbolizes the non-polarized state of bodhicitta,
or the mind of enlightenment, which is represented
visually by showing two deities engaged in sexual union.
Tibetans
characterize such images as yab-yum, which literally
means father-mother; in Sanskrit the expression is
yuganaddha (pair united). This sexual metaphor is also
used to denote the highest stage of yoga in which there
is no polarity, no discrimination, and the truth is
indivisible as the vajra itself. It may be added
parenthetically that while such images, whether statues
or paintings, are today much sought after by collectors
and boldly displayed in museums, in Tibet they were
always meant to be seen only by the initiated. The rites
associated with these images were also arcane and not for
public consumption.
The word
Tantra itself is derived from the verbal root tan,
meaning to "weave". Many things are interwoven
on the Tantric path, including the lives of men and
women. The Buddha couples of Tantric iconography
celebrate this deep harmony of the sexes. The purpose of
this dynamic was the creation of partnerships devoted to
the realization of the ultimate truth. For instance, the
man cultivates pure vision by seeing the woman as a
deity, her sexual organ as the throne of enlightenment,
and her sexual fluid as divine nectar. Thus according to
the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad, sexual union also constitutes
a fire sacrifice, as performed by the creator god
Prajapati upon creating woman Having created her, he
worshipped her sexual organ; Therefore a woman's
sexuality should be worshipped. He stretched forth from
himself a stone for pressing nectar [i.e., causing a
woman's sexual fluid to flow] And impregnated her with
that. Her lap is the sacrificial altar; Her hair, the
sacrificial grass; Her skin the soma press; The depths of
her sexual organ, the fire in the middle. . . . . . . . .
.
Many
mortals...go forth from this world...without merit,
Namely, those who practice sexual union without knowing
this. Brhadaranyaka Upanisad 6.4.1-4 Often the mother is
shown in a posture with both legs around the father's
waist. In this remarkable and richly symbolic
manifestation, both the male and the female are
emanations of the Buddha. They appear simultaneously
united and independent, like the complex relationship of
sameness and difference between wisdom (female) and
compassion (male) in the enlightened state. Ponderous,
energetic forms confront the viewer in this stunning
portrayal. Shamvara (supreme bliss) embraces the massive
sky blue body of his consort Vajravarahi, holding in his
hands various implements symbolic of his triumph over
ignorance and evil. She gazes rapturously and intently at
her consort with her head thrown back, heightening their
electrifying aura. Two of her arms tightly clutch
Shamvara's neck. His first two arms embrace his consort,
and holding a Vajra and a bell make the diamond HUM-
sound gesture with the crossed wrists, behind her back.
This gesture celebrates the inseparable union of method
and wisdom.
The
father-mother union image is not an example of erotic
art, but is a manifestation of the Buddha's highest
spiritual essence. More than metaphorical, to the devout
Tibetan this image is concrete evidence of the existence
of great spiritual attainment. The female (mother)
represents transcendent wisdom the direct awareness of
reality as the Buddha experienced it and taught it. The
male (father), represents compassion for all beings,
which is the natural expression of such wisdom. Their
union, although exquisitely blissful, is ultimately
undertaken out of compassion for the world. This sacred
communion of the male and female Buddha generates waves
of bliss and harmony that turn the world into a Mandala
(container of essence) and showers forth a rain of nectar
that satisfies the spiritual hunger in the hearts of
living beings everywhere. Modern depth psychology has
recognized such images to represent the deepest
archetypes of the unconscious, integrating the powerful
instinctual energies of life into a consciously
sublimated and exalted state.
The texts
often refer to the union of a lotus and vajra, or diamond
scepter. Clearly, "lotus" and vajra are
metaphors, not literal terms. One is not meant to bring
together a flower and a scepter, but something denoted by
these terms. Depending upon the level of interpretation,
uniting the lotus and the vajra can mean uniting wisdom
and compassion, or bliss and emptiness, within the
practitioner's psyche, or bringing together the female
and male organs in physical union, or a number of other
things that must be combined on the path to
enlightenment. Along with Gopa, he experienced bliss. By
uniting the diamond scepter and lotus, He attained the
fruit of bliss.
Buddhahood is
obtained from bliss, and Apart from women there will not
be bliss. And at another place The man [sees] the woman
as a goddess' The woman [sees] the man as a god. By
joining the diamond scepter and lotus, They should make
offerings to each other. There is no worship apart from
this. __ Candamaharosana-tantra The forms expressing this
union are based upon the germinal mantra 'Om mani padme
Hum'. This mantra contains both mani, meaning jewel,
synonym for vajra, the word which means diamond,
thunderbolt and the male organ, and padme meaning 'in the
lotus' (locative case of padma), a symbol for the female
sexual organ, the outer opening of which resembles the
petals of a lotus.
 This formal
similarity, as well as the fact that the lotus is a
Buddhist symbol of purity and enlightenment, makes this
magnificent flower a natural symbol for feminine
sexuality. The supportive texts envision a resplendent
world of vivid color, choreographed movement, exquisite
texture, and intimate gesture Constantly take refuge at
my feet, my dear... Be gracious, beloved, and Give me
pleasure with your diamond scepter. Look at my
three-petaled lotus, Its center adorned with a stamen. It
is a Buddha paradise, adorned with a red Buddha, A cosmic
mother who bestows Bliss and tranquility on the
passionate. Abandon all conceptual thought and Unite with
my reclining form; Place my feet upon your shoulders and
look me up and down. Make the fully awakened scepter
Enter the opening in the center of the lotus. Move a
hundred,thousand,hundred thousand times In my
three-petaled lotus Of swollen flesh. Placing one's
scepter there, offer pleasure to her mind. Wind, inner
wind-my lotus is the unexcelled! Aroused by the tip of
the diamond scepter, It is red like a bandhuka flower.
....Candamaharosana-tantra.
Another
common Tantric metaphor for sexual union is the image of
the "Churner and the Churned". Tsongkhapa
(1357-1419), drawing on a range of Indian sources,
explains that churning the female partner with the
diamond scepter is the efficient cause of the nectar of
Buddhahood, and argues that just as fire is kindled by
rubbing two sticks together, bliss is generated by
churning. The image of churning also refers to the Hindu
myth wherein gods and demons churn the cosmic ocean of
milk to extract its nectar. The goddess Sakti is produced
from this process, and her sexual fluids become the
immortality-bestowing nectar the gods are seeking. Thus,
churning the yogic partner, which stimulates the flow of
her nectar, mirrors the stirring of the cosmic ocean for
its potent, liberating nectar. Churning also connotes the
circulation of the yogic energy as it surges within the
psychic channels and then rises in the central channel.
Thus, the metaphor of churning, which appears to be a
simple physical analogy, resonates richly with various
nuances of Tantric union. Tantric Buddhism is unique
among Buddhist sub-traditions in its acceptance of the
body and sense experience as sources of knowledge and
power. Tantric Buddhists eulogized the body as an
"abode of bliss" and boldly affirmed that
desire, sexuality, and pleasure can be embraced on the
path to enlightenment. In keeping with this
life-affirming orientation, the movement upheld the
possibility of liberating relationships between men and
women and envisioned cooperative yogic methods that men
and women can perform together in order to transform the
ardor of their intimacy and passion into blissful,
enlightened states of awareness.
 This mood of
exuberant delight, graceful sensuousness, and reciprocity
that often characterizes the sculpted and painted couples
also suffuses the literary descriptions in the Tantric
texts, which exult in an open and unshamed affirmation of
sensuality in a religious context Therefore, one who
desires Buddhahood Should practice what is to be
practiced. To renounce the sense objects Is to torture
oneself by asceticism-don't do it! When you see form,
look! Similarly, listen to sounds, Inhale scents, Taste
delicious flavors, Feel textures. Use the objects of the
five senses- You will quickly attain supreme Buddhahood.
__ Candamaharosana-tantra Tantra asserts that, instead of
suppressing, vision and ecstasy, they should be
cultivated and used. Because sensation and emotion are
the most powerful human motive forces, they should not be
crushed out, but harnessed to the ultimate goal. Properly
channeled they can provide an unparalleled source of
energy, bringing benefits to society as well as
continually increasing ecstasy for the individual. Tantra
deals in love, and love needs objects. One cannot love
nothing. Love means care; and care carried to the limit
is perhaps the ultimate social virtue.
We hope you
have enjoyed reading the article. Any comments or
feedback that you may have will be greatly appreciated.
This article
was sent to us by, Nitin Kumar from
Exotic India This company specialises in sacred
arts and you can purchase a variety of tantric and erotic art there.
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