From Limited Mind and Body to Our True (No) Self

Abstract: Have you ever wondered why tantric practitioners live with their partners ? If the ultimate goal of Buddhism is renunciation, why do certain Maha-(Tantra)-yana traditions allow practising with a consort ? How can we justify Guru Padma's decision of being with  his consort  Mandāravā/Yeshe ? Is it why some people call this a distorted version of Buddhism or is there a deep esoteric reason behind this ? Does being with a partner accelerate the enlightenment process like it worked out well for early mahasiddhas ? Do Theravada and  Maha-(Tantra)-yana traditions finally converge ? We try to find answers to these questions in this article......... Fig. 1: Guru Padma and Marpa with their partners. In both Guru Saraha 's Mahamudra and Guru Padma 's Tantric traditions, we find many practitioners as non-monastic or domestic yogis who diligently engaged in their practices with consorts, partners and families as ordinary people. However their realization was superior to that

Abstract: When we talk about "Tantra", most likely the first thing crosses our mind is "Sex". Terms Tantra and Sex have become so interrelated in our mind, despite its true meaning: To go beyond mind. Tantra means the interwoven nature of existential phenomena. In other words, the existential phenomena and the buddha nature are inseparable, intertwined with each other and therefore, our very (mundane) life is the perfect playground to exploit, practice spirituality, according to Tantra. As the saying goes, "passion" was the source of universal creation and therefore can be exploited to end it. This principle gave the rise to the practice of sexual yoga or "Karma Mudra". For an ordinary being, this is certainly a drive force to practice Tantra. Would it be same for a bodhisattva ? Let's dig into this deeper and explore the science behind it.  Note: Please do not try anything in this content at home !  Reports on sexual scandals and misconduct