Theos-Talk Archives (February 2005 Message tt00724)

Konstantin,
Thanks for your comments and posts. Just the mention of "Tantra" can 
evince tumult in the western world. I think in large part it is due to the western 
prevarication to freely accept the falsely promugated idea that Tantra is 
Sexual in it's intimacy. I was myself pushed away from even inspection of what is 
actually there even though my inner voice told me this is not true. I have 
seen a lot of degenerate western invented subjective extrapolations and 
resulting practices that have been advanced in western countries for many decades, 
some redictulous to the extreme but many aretaken in by them mainly as a result 
of individual constitution that was already present in the person prior to 
exposure even to the word Tantra.

One of the better definitions I have seen to explain the existantial basis 
for Tantra Sutra Teaching is this: the Sutra's teach the Theory and students 
learn and study theory in the classroom. After sufficient study of Theory in 
the classroom the students move to the laboratory to implement Theory into 
actual Practice.
When I read about Dzogchen I always remember the Manudkhya and the four 
states of consciousness. It appears to me that just theory and aspiration are 
not the intended complete route, some time, some where it must be actualized, 
and to do this the technology that deals with the other two states than our 
waking should be entered into so that the necessary transformations can occur 
there that allow progress on the Path. This is the distinct particular value 
ofthe Tantra Teaching if one actually inspects, survey andreads what is the real 
contents rather than being stampeded into blind flight by political mythologies.
On many of the Tibetan homepages there is an animation of the tibetan 
Prayer Wheel, as it rotates the five sacred colors and the mantram on them come 
into view and perception before one's eyes. I see all of them, including the Red 
one, but it seems some can actually blank out Red and make it non-existant.

I wonder if any would actually write the Dalai Lama and ask directly if he 
ever took Tranta Initiations or performed a Tantric practice or research 
themselves this subject, I venture they would be surprised. As you say in your 
post in actual history in the actual legacy teaching Tantra was mentioned, 
instructed uponand was spiritual not a debased practise that has been fostered upon 
the west by non-tibetans in large part.

One way to run into this is to study the individual Cardinal Personages in 
the development of Buddhism, also the study of the contributors who 
compiled,translated and organized the Tripitaka itself. One of the most interesting 
results i have come upon is that a very significant percentile of the dharma 
scholars of the long past time
who assembled the Tripitaka were Afgan's, this is realy interesting to me, 
looking at Afganistan today as it has been frequently in the news, one 
remarkable feature of the Afganistan males is that they are very tall and handsome. 
Back in the ancient days it was not known as Afganistan. 

John 


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