THE ARCANE ARCHIVE
	a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.

Path: ultra.sonic.net!not-for-mail
From: catherine yronwode 
Newsgroups: alt.magick.tantra,alt.magick.tyagi,talk.religion.misc,alt.religion.sexuality,alt.consciousness.mysticism
Subject: Homo/Bi/Hetero Sexuality and Tantra (was Re: MALE TANTRIC SEEKS OTHERS)
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 13:46:12 -0800
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NinthWave wrote:
> 
> Viva743259 wrote:
> >
> > how can a gay practice tantra ? it's impossible ? where is the 
> > kundalini ? I know very little about tantra but, I think, enough to 
> > know that for tantric experience a male and a female are required.
> >
> >Other tantrist, please confirm. thank you in advance.

Sorry, i cannot confirm your opinion., In fact, i can openly oppose it!

1) Kundalini energy is not a requisite theoretical part of the composite
and diverse systems of Hindu and Buddhist tantra. It MAY be a factor in
any given school's approach to energetics, but it is not essential. For
instance, Taoist sex alchemy, which makes use of many Hindu and Buddhist
tantric teachings, presents the practitioner with the standard
"meridian" model of energy (chi) flow in the body, familiar to many
readers who have been exposed to the doctrines of "traditional Chinese
medicine." 

2) Kundalini energy is usually envisioned as rising up in the region of
the spine in twin currents (ida and pingala) surrounding a central core
(sushumna); these currents are conceived as being the same in
homosexuals, bisexuals, heterosexuals, celibates, intersexes, and
eunuchs. 

3) The history of Hindu tantra yoga contains many visual examples of the
ritualization of male castration (severing of both the testicles and
penis) as part of an extreme devotionary act dedicated to Shakti in her
wrathful form of Kali. Ritual castration is not condoned by the Indian
govenment at the present time, but insofar as it was admired,
advocated,  and institutionalized by certain (minority) tantric gurus
and their students in the past, it is evident that a male practitioner's
sexual orientation and/or his capacity to function as a vaginal
penetrant are NOT relevant to his acceptance into certain schools of
tantra yoga. This information was not presented with the aim of equating
homosexuals with castrati, merely to indicate that the penis-in-vagina
coupling of heterosexual male and female bodies is not central to all
schools of tantric teaching. (Ritual castration, by the way, was not
limited to Indian religious practice: male members of the Near Eastern
cult of Cybele also offered their genitals to their goddess; likewise,
ritual male castration made inroads into early Christianity, although it
was eventually condemned as excessive during the late Middle Ages.) 

> I am a bi-sexual male tantrist, who also knows very little about about
> tantra.
> 
> Until now, I had not questioned my solo tantric practice, nor would I 
> have made a radical distinction between that and tantra practice with 
> another male or female practitioner.
>
> My aim is to acheive union between my consciousness and my body.
> I attempt this by visualising these as male and female, during a state 
> of sustained (non-orgasmic) sexual arousal and increased awareness.
> I am not trying to acheive tantric union with someone else, except in 
> the in the sense of transcending my separate self.
> 
> Have I missed the point of tantra, does one need a male and a female?

Here's a rough reply from the alt.magick.tantra FAQ: 

----------------------------

3.6 Can a solitary person practice tantra or karezza through 
     masturbation?

        To "practice tantra" is not the sole privilege of the 
        partnered or polyamorous. Firstly, the wide range of 
        descriptions for the practice and its goals allow a variety 
        of possible objectives, and secondly, the exploration one 
        does on one's own easily becomes invaluable groundwork for 
        what one does with any future lovers.

        Masturbation serves in a two-fold manner as an effective 
        tantric practice. It combines, especially within a 
        puritanical culture, the violation of the cultural 
        dissuasion against self-pleasure with an ecstatic 
        experience that can develop mystical results.

        Some find the ritualization of masturbation to be 
        liberating, some integrate it into their devotionals 
        (fucking their god, for example, or dedicating their 
        pleasure to a deity as an offering), some explore the 
        parameters of their sexual excitation and arousal cycles, 
        and others try to integrate an attitude toward themselves 
        and their aesthetic relish that has the propensity to lead 
        to very important life-transformation.

--------------------------------------------

By the way, since queries about homosexuality in regard to tantra yoga
are fairly frequent, we will be adding a section on this topic to the
alt.magick.tantra FAQ

catherine yronwode and tyagi nagasiva