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transforming the true

A very interesting Taoist text, which bears directly on our previous section, concerns the secret methods of mutually absorbing and transforming sexual energy. It instructs neither the man nor the woman to reach an outer climax or orgasm, but instead to keep their experience on the brink of ecstasy, all the while controlling the emotions and channeling energy upward. Known as the Secret Teachings of Transforming the True, this practice nurtures the spirit and invigorates the body, providing equal benefits to both partners.

According to ancient Eastern teachings, subtle inner channels or "ducts" connect the breasts of woman with her sexual center. These channels distribute vital energy; when a woman's breasts are sucked, the nipple erects and the womb contracts. As we have mentioned, Taoism declares that the breasts of woman secrete a subtle medicine that is a great source of potency for her lover. The same teaching is found in Tantra, where some

Leonardo da Vinci believed that there are subtle connections between the breasts and the uterus of woman, and between the Lingam and the spinal column of man. From a drawing by Leonardo, in the collection of Queen Elizabeth of England.

Anatomical chart of the body according to ancient Taoist alchemical tradition. The navel center is depicted as a cauldron. The heart center is connected directly to the central spinal axis, which ascends to the head center. From a print of the Ming dynasty.

texts prescribe the sucking of virgin breasts as an effective procedure for rejuvenation. It is noteworthy that Leonardo da Vinci's famous anatomical drawing of sexual intercourse depicts descending ducts from the breasts of woman to her uterus, as well as a subtle connecting nerve between the Lingam and the lower part of the spine. This nerve serves as the ignitor of the Kundalini.

The Tang dynasty (A.D. 618-907) Taoist text of the master Teng gives a detailed account of an alchemical love-making technique known as Transforming the True. In this text, the subtle channels connecting the breasts of woman with her uterus are mentioned. The master states that the couple should mentally repeat a power phrase during love-making and suggests that:

A man and woman may together practice the art that leads to longevity. Known as Transforming the True, it is a secret method that should only be transmitted to adepts. It allows a man and woman to activate their life-essence at the same time; the man nurtures his semen and the woman her secretions. The Yinessence becomes strengthened. If this discipline is practiced in the right way, then the vital fluid will spread like clouds throughout the entire body, their spiritual essences will be harmonized, and both partners will become rejuvenated.

Both partners should begin by medi-

By my inner firmness I have caused my seed to remain stationary in the middle of the Lingam. Thus it is always fruitful, ever ready. This is the power of selftranscendence .

SKANDA PURANA

Taoist alchemical teachings declare that the Elixir of Life is made within the body, by circulating sexual energy and distilling it into the heart center. This diagram depicts the circulation and transformation of sexual energies according to Taoism. From a print of the Ming dynasty.

The central axis of the body is conceived as a great pathway through which sexual energy can ascend. From a print of the Ming dynasty.

As between Heaven and Earth, movement must be balanced between the male and female elements. The male element absorbs the female one and is converted; the female element receives the male one and is transformed. The female and male elements must operate in complementary ways. If the Jade Stalk feels firm and strong, and the Precious Grotto moves open and extended, two life-forces exchange emissions and flowing liquids penetrate mutually.

CLASSIC OF THE

EXALTED GIRL

tating, deliberately detaching their minds from all worldly things. Then they should grind their teeth seven times, to produce much saliva, while mentally repeating the following power phrase: "May the Golden Essence of the Original White Light bring my five Inner Flowers [psychic centers] to life. May the Supreme Lord of Evolution harmonize my innermost Soul and fortify my Spirit. May all the six vital energies be bound together as One, so that their spirits return to strengthen the Head Center. May the two of us unite completely and blend harmoniously. May the fruit of our loving be sweet and may our innermost Treasure be conserved." Having completed this verse, the couple should proceed with their love-making.

The man should refrain from ejaculating. If he controls his thought and his breath, the semen will become transmuted and will ascend the spinal column until it reaches the secret center in his

brain [the pituitary gland.] This is known as the Return to Origin.

The woman should control her emotions so that she does not complete her climax; this nurtures her Spirit. She should let the vital force of her two breasts descend through the subtle channels to her sex center and then ascend from there until the energy reaches the secret place in her brain. This is what is known as Transforming the True. The Elixir formed in the bodies of the couple should be nurtured for one hundred days; then it will truly become transcendental. This practice, if prolonged, confers Liberation.

All alchemical practices require psychic and physiological stability. The alchemy of love-making presupposes that physical and emotional energies are already under conscious control. Once stability if achieved, it is the power of love that truly transforms the fires of passion into the ecstasy that endures.

The dancing ecstatic union of Hevajra and Nairatma ("The Indestructible" and "Egoless Compassion"), according to the mystery teachings of the Hevajra Tantra. The male figure is visualized as of dark color, with nine heads symbolic of the nine sentiments. From a Tibetan painting of the eighteenth century.

Footprints to illustrate the movements of a couple in ritual dance. Earth is represented by a spiral of three and a half turns (reminding us of the three and a half turns of the Kundalini at the sexual center). Heaven is represented by the constellation shape of the Great Bear. From a Chinese diagram of the late thirteenth century.

Footprints to illustrate the steps of a ritual sexual dance. This diagram is based on the seven-star constellation known as the Great Dipper. From a Chinese diagram of the Tao-tsang, circa 1116.

partner's right side, invoking the Mysterious Old Man of the Right. Then using his left hand, he caresses the woman's body from her throat center to her sexual center, all the while honoring the Supreme Being of All Becoming. He should then repeat this with his right hand.

Three times he should touch the woman's Jade Cavern, placing his right hand on her Door of Life and opening the lips of her Golden Doorway. With his right hand he should insert his Jade Flute into her Gateway. He should touch the top of his partner's head with his left hand and caress her Door of Life in a downward movement, from left to right, using his right hand and intoning the following power phrase of transcendence: "Water flows toward the East [the male side], clouds return to the West [the female side]. Yin nourishes the forces of Yang; how subtle and transcendental is this cosmic truth. Let the Life-essence rise up! May our vitality's be joined!" The woman then also declares, "From Yin and Yang all creation emerged. Heaven

covers, Earth supports. Remembering this, I fill my whole being with blissful strength!"

This ancient sexual ritual has many elements that can be incorporated into modern love-rites. The linking of fingers helps channel energy. Meditation on the beings within the body, seasonal spirits, and the purpose of the ritual all help to direct sexual energy along the path to fulfillment. Mystic dance, made up of natural movements and gestures, mirrored in each partner and increasing in tempo, greatly aids the harmonization of mood; personality limitations are quickly overcome by this joyous "opening." Breath and mind control are essential to any concept of Cosmic Harmonization.

Touching the body at precise points with the right or left hand is an ancient magical technique for channeling sexual energy. By invoking archetypes such as the Supreme Force of the Left (the Original Female Principle) or the Mysterious Old Man of the Right (the Ancestral Patriarch), energy is identified with and channeled back to its source. In this ancient text we see a very early example of the principle of identification of the couple with god and goddess archetypes. When sexual union is empowered by the invocation of power phrases and accompanied by consciously ordered movements, the limitations of individual personalities dissolve and the spirit is free to explore its deeper dimensions. Power phrases or Mantras add direction to ritual acts. The power of the word has, since ancient times, been viewed as the source of creation itself. Indeed, during ritual love-making, any word that is declared im-

presses itself deep within the psyche and takes on a lasting significance.

Such high rituals of love-making are really quite simple. It is not a matter of learning dogma, but rather of understanding how to use the most basic elements of life in an exalted way. It is not "what you do" but "how you do it" that matters. Tantra teaches that ritual love-making, like all important acts, should grow naturally and develop out of self-confidence and self-knowledge. A synthesis of sexual union, proper practice, right

Visualization of Kalachakra in male/ female union as the Lord and Lady of Time. The twenty-four-armed male figure holds his eight-armed female counterpart in ecstatic embrace. Such complex visualizations help to concentrate all mental functions in a single transcendental direction. From a Tibetan painting of the sixteenth century.