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| ISBN-13: | 9781608683437 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | New World Library |
| Publication date: | 05/15/2015 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 296 |
| File size: | 1 MB |
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Tantra for the West
A Direct Path to Living the Life of Your Dreams
By Marc Allen, Mimi Kusch
New World Library
Copyright © 2015 Marc AllenAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-60868-343-7
CHAPTER 1
The Direct Path of Tantra
Open up to the possibility that there is a quick, direct path in front of you to the fulfillment of your dreams.
It's fascinating that when the word tantra is used in the West, it's almost always thought of as sex, with some kind of mysticism thrown in. But if you look at how tantra has been taught and studied in the East for the past several thousand years — particularly in India and Tibet — you get a much broader sense of its meaning.
Tantra is not just "the yoga of sex"; it is the yoga of everything — of every moment. Yoga means "union," so a good way to define tantra is "union with everything" or "the practice of every moment." Here's another good definition:
Tantra is the awareness that every moment is a direct path to love, freedom, fulfillment, and enlightenment.
Tantra is a path, a means, to freedom and fulfillment. What do freedom and fulfillment mean? It is up to you, of course, to discover what they mean for you — no one can do it for you. Once you can clearly define what freedom and fulfillment mean for you, you can realize them in your life — and it's not all that complex or difficult. Freedom is being free to be yourself. Fulfillment is finding the direct way to realize your greatest, most wonderful dreams.
Tantra is wide open, with infinite possibilities — like life is, and like you are. Tantra includes sex, yet it includes everything else, too — every moment of your life. Every moment is sacred. Every moment is either something to enjoy and celebrate or something to be used as a teaching, a piece of valuable instruction, a message from the Universe for you in your emotional, mental, and spiritual growth.
Everything you are doing, have done, and will do are part of your practice of tantra. Through an awareness of tantra, we discover the unique perfection of every moment of our lives.
You don't have to believe this; you don't have to believe anything that follows. Just read with an open mind, try some of the practices and processes, and see what happens.
This book contains powerful tools that can help you find happiness, love, freedom, inner peace, abundance, power, enjoyment, fulfillment, enlightenment — whatever your heart desires. But these tools must be applied, not just read. Understanding intellectually is a very different thing from experiencing deeply, with your whole being. Mental understanding has no effect at all on the quality of your daily life, while experiencing deeply can work miracles.
You can work miracles in your life by spending some time with the principles and practices that follow. All you have to do is open up to them. Open up to the possibility that there is a quick, direct path in front of you to the fulfillment of your dreams. It is up to you.
The Brilliant Concept of Tantra
The concept of and the vast body of teachings encompassed by the word tantra are far more ancient than any scholar or historian could ever trace. The word comes from the ancient Sanskrit root word meaning "to weave." Tantra is the stuff of life, the unique fabric of our lives that we have woven over the years.
Tantra has come to us through two vast, multifaceted traditions: Hinduism and Buddhism. Both originated in India, in all likelihood, although Buddhist tantra comes to us through the Tibetan culture. (If you're interested, see the addendum, "Tantra in the East," for more historical details.)
Although every form of tantra is unique, some important points can be made about all tantra:
Tantra is a way of life that involves acceptance of all life. It does not reject anyone or any spiritual path or psychological area of study. It embraces the whole of life. Everything has its own perfect reason for being.
Tantra shows that within every moment of our lives — within every feeling and thought and activity — there are deep and powerful truths that, when examined in a clear light, can lead to making great leaps along our paths in a very short time.
Tantra teaches respect for the individual, recognizing that everyone must evolve in her or his own way. There is no one answer. There is no pat system that will work for everyone. There is only endless evolution, and we're part of the process, whether or not we're aware of it. Simply becoming aware is the most important thing we can do to speed up the process and move into a state of being in which we are peaceful and free.
The Western world is ripe for the ideas and practices of tantra. Westerners are usually too individualistic and too worldly-wise (and a lot of us are way too lazy) to accept most forms of Eastern thought and practice, mainly because they contain a great many of the cultural trappings from the countries of origin. Many Eastern traditions encourage Westerners to go without sex, alcohol, coffee, meat, and "impure" foods; to live a life of rigorous discipline; and to reject a great deal of the culture, heritage, and lifestyles of the West.
A study of the history of tantra reveals that its power, its ability to adapt so successfully to other cultures, rests on the fact that it does not reject modern culture. We don't have to give up sex and meat and TV in order to achieve freedom and happiness. This is the effectiveness and power of tantra. We can create our lives exactly as we want them to be. It is up to us.
Three Different Paths
There is a season for everything, a time for every path. The path of tantra is not for everyone, by any means — only for those wanting something direct and immediate and for those ready to take a leap.
A Tibetan lama living in America told me the following short parable. It is a traditional Tibetan story, and it places the different paths into a simple, clear perspective, while defining tantra beautifully:
There is a path going through the woods. A dense patch of poisonous plants is growing by the side of the path and, in one place, totally engulfs the path.
A monk — with shaved head, robes, and begging bowl — comes up the path. The monk sees the poison and immediately turns around and heads the other way.
Then a bodhisattva — an awakening being working for the enlightenment of all beings — comes up the path. Seeing no way around the poisonous plants, the bodhisattva courageously plows directly through them and keeps moving on up the path.
Finally, a tantric yogi comes wandering up the path. This person has no outward signs of a spiritual life, unlike the monk or the bodhisattva. The follower of tantra sees the poison and plunges directly into the center of it, even though it seemingly takes him or her off the path.
The key to understanding this story also enables us to discover the value of tantra in our lives: The key is that the poisonous plants represent the so-called negative or separating emotions — fear, anger, greed, jealousy, and so on. (Interestingly enough, the Tibetan word for poison is the same as the word for negative emotion.) This little story presents a clear picture of three alternative reactions to our feelings: We can run from them, we can plow through them as quickly as possible, or we can jump into them and experience them fully.
None of these three choices is any better than the others — each person in the story just did what he or she had to do, and each choice must be respected. It is perfect for monks in some traditions to withdraw from the world, and even to ignore or annihilate their feelings. It is perfect for some people to avoid talking of negative feelings or death, and to put on a happy face — we all do what we need to do on the level of evolution we have attained. But it is also good to be aware that if you choose not to examine your feelings, you might continue to be motivated by fear, and that fear will never lead you to the blessed land of peace.
It is perfect for spiritual seekers to plow through their negative feelings quickly and continue up the path of their (vitally important) work in the world. Most people consider their negative feelings things to be dealt with as quickly as possible in order to get into a more loving, supportive frame of mind.
Are tantric yogis more or less evolved as they plunge into the poison of their negative feelings? It is impossible to say one way or the other. But one thing we know for sure — by using this method, they will evolve faster, by leaps and bounds, than they would by using any of the methods that lead us to avoid or minimize our so-called negative feelings. For one of the most important things to realize about our negative feelings is that until we openly look at, clearly understand, and deal with them effectively, they will retain their power and keep resurfacing over and over again.
The path of tantra is the path of leaping into the fire of our feelings. It is a path of tremendous power and true freedom. It means acknowledging our feelings at every moment — something that children are natural masters of, before they are taught to give up their freedom and sit for six hours a day in a classroom, exercising their rational minds, burying their intuitive visions, and suppressing their feelings.
The Tibetan teacher who told me the story of the three paths emphasized that the path of tantra was a direct path to enlightenment. By going off the straight-and-narrow path toward your goal and plunging into the poison of your negative emotions, you see those emotions for what they are — completely empty at their core — and you discover that you are a being of lightness and wonder.
Confronting Negative Feelings
When we acknowledge and even confront our negative feelings, we are plunging right into the heart of tantric practice. That's our meditation. And that's what I'm inviting you to do — right now, right at the start of this book, the start of this journey into tantra.
I can sense some of you thinking, "Wait a minute! I thought tantra was entirely different. I thought it was going to be fun and exciting!" Well, I can promise you that it will become fun and exciting — but we have some homework to do first, some inner work that is given to us whenever we create a situation in our lives that is not fun or exciting.
Many people don't dare confront their negative feelings, because they feel they would hurt somebody or be destructive in some way if they did. One man at a seminar once went so far as to say that, if he plunged into his feelings, he might rape hundreds of women and kill hundreds of men! But there are skillful ways to get into your feelings — ways that don't hurt others, or yourself. Many of the practices and processes that follow deal with these methods.
So many people are afraid of their anger, and this keeps them from confronting and expressing it. But then they end up carrying their anger around with them for years and years. It ends up damaging their bodies, and often their relationships, because it comes out in all kinds of covert ways, such as irritation, anxiety, stress, and periods of deadened silence.
By expressing that anger, you can let go of it. But you don't have to attack anyone to express it. Here are two good methods for getting something off your chest: (1) Let yourself yell and rant and rave and condemn and say all kinds of terrible things when you're driving in your car alone. (2) Go into your room alone and put a pillow on your bed and pretend that pillow is the person you're angry with. Then proceed to yell at it all you wish and pound it with as much physical energy as you care to put into it. Pound it to shreds, if necessary, to blow off steam. You can even use a plastic bat if you wish. (Somehow, something about smashing a pillow with a plastic bat makes it all kind of fun — even a bit funny.)
If you allow yourself to really act out your anger in ways that don't hurt anyone, you'll notice afterward that you feel much better, lighter, relieved. You have found a way to effectively let go of your anger, and you aren't carrying it around with you anymore. If it comes up again, use these methods again, and again if necessary.
Whenever you're in an unpleasant place, confronting a negative emotion, remember: It is not the situation itself that is causing you your problem — it is your rejection of the situation that is causing the problem. Another way to put it is:
It is not the world causing your problems, it is your own mind, your resistance to what is.
Don't reject the situations you're in, and don't reject your feelings. Instead, be with your feelings, respect them, examine them. Look closely, and gently, at them. Simply look at what you're telling yourself, and see the thoughts that are going through your mind. Look at them honestly, openly, and as objectively as possible.
The most difficult moments of your life are your finest sources of instruction. These are the times when you can make the greatest leaps forward on your path. Your feelings are a storehouse of wisdom, if you embrace them, and look closely at them.
Within our darkest moments, our brightest treasures can be found.
You may be wondering what kind of wisdom can come from being angry or jealous or guilty. Look at it this way: There's always a reason for your feelings, often a very simple reason. But when you're caught up in those emotions, you can't see why you're creating them. If you can take a breath and ask yourself why you're feeling the way you are, you learn things about yourself that you've never seen quite so clearly and never been able to express in such simple language. That knowledge alone produces some very positive changes in your life — changes that free you in a great many ways. The process that follows, a tantric practice, provides specific instructions in how to do this.
This may seem like a time of indecision ... or confusion ... or regret ... or pain ... or anger. But look again — and this time, don't reject your feelings but embrace them instead. Welcome them, even act them out (as long as you don't hurt anyone else). Discover what you're telling yourself, even if it sounds stupid, or violent, or unloving, or totally negative. By simply taking a clear look at these hidden feelings, you are shining the light of your understanding on them, and you come to see exactly where you are limiting yourself, holding yourself back, being far less expansive, less wonderful, less creative than you really are.
Many so-called negative feelings simply dissolve when looked at in the clear light of an accepting, open mind. Others require more powerful techniques, which we'll explore later on in this book.
As soon as you decide to look into the path of tantra, it becomes obvious that every "negative" feeling you have contains within it an opportunity for growth — if you allow yourself to plunge into it and discover what it is. Every feeling contains within it the understanding, knowledge, and wisdom that lead to true freedom and peace of mind.
If Buddha — the historical Buddha who revolutionized religion and philosophy in India 2,500 years ago — hadn't gone into a period of deep depression and anxiety, propelled into despair by fears of sickness, old age, and death, he never would have begun his years of searching and examining. And he never would have become a Buddha, a "fully awakened one."
Within our darkest moments, our brightest treasures can be found.
A Tantric Practice
This first practice may come as a surprise to some of you, for it doesn't deal with the usual things associated with "tantric practices." But you'll see that it is truly a tantric practice in the broadest, most meaningful use of the word. It is designed to give you insight into yourself.
This four-step practice is best done when you are feeling uncomfortable, emotionally upset, pressuring yourself to make a decision, or any time you wish to get more deeply in touch with what's going on in your active mind and body. This little process gets to the essence of the meaning of tantra, for it reminds us that our state of mind at any given moment is the perfect teaching for us. Asking the simple questions below will help to clarify the teaching that is within every one of our feelings. It can help us break through the emotions that seem to be controlling us and give us the power to master them, and ourselves.
Don't skip over any of these steps — especially the ones that may seem insignificant.
1. Ask yourself a question that examines and confronts the feelings you're experiencing at the moment. It could be, "What am I telling myself right now?" or "What is the truth for me about this situation?" or even "What am I feeling right now?"
2. Answer yourself with the very first words that come into your mind, without censoring anything.
3. Acknowledge yourself, each time you answer, by saying, "Thank you!" to yourself for sharing these feelings. Then repeat these steps again, and again — until you arrive at an answer that sheds the light of clear understanding on your situation. You'll know when it happens because you will suddenly feel better, clearer, more aware of your feelings and attitudes, and more aware of your options.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Tantra for the West by Marc Allen, Mimi Kusch. Copyright © 2015 Marc Allen. Excerpted by permission of New World Library.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Foreword by Shakti Gawain,Preface to the Revised Edition,
Introduction,
1 The Direct Path of Tantra,
2 The Power of Affirmations,
3 Relationships,
4 Sex,
5 Being Alone,
6 Work,
7 Money,
8 Creativity,
9 Food and Drink,
10 Meditation and Yoga,
11 Aging and Healing,
12 Politics,
13 Enlightenment,
14 Daily Life,
15 Freedom,
16 Reflections,
Addendum. Tantra in the East: A Brief History of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism,
Acknowledgments and Notes,
Suggested Reading,
About the Author,