Source Text
This book is most profitably read, then, not as a scholarly work but as an introduction to a religion by which its author-translator lives.
Most readers, even those who have read a good deal about Yoga, will find the practice of Dumo—the generating of internal heat in one’s body—strange and not at all easy to believe. I want to call to the reader’s attention the fact that this Dumo is the very foundation of the whole of Tibetan Yoga, without which no other part of it makes the slightest sense.
As in the case of Dumo, the retention in the body of male semen has a special meaning in Tantrism, although this idea (and practice) has an age-long history. In ancient Hindu and Chinese medicine, among other archaic medicines, it is believed that orgasm without ejaculation is not only healthful but preserves the semen and leads to long life.
The point is that the Tig Le retention continues to be crucial to Tibetan Tantrism because here the practice is based not on a mistaken physiology but on a mystical technique: in effect, all the life processes are reversed, turned topsy-turvy, taken out of the realm of nature: breathing is stopped as far as possible, thinking stopped, hearing stopped, seeing stopped, and so on—in a word, everything is transformed.
“The divinity of Buddhahood is omnipresent, but the quickest way to realize this truth is to discover it within one’s body-mind complex.” By spiritual exercises and the application of Tantric techniques—such as the Six Yogas—one can soon realize that his body, mind, and the “objective world” are all manifestations of the divine Buddha-hood. Samsara is Nirvana, men are “gods,” the “impure” passion-desires are themselves expressions of the Five Innate Buddhas,{1} Enlightenment or Liberation is not attained by eradicating man’s passion-desires but by identifying them with the transcendental Wisdom. The basic doctrine of Tibetan Tantrism can thus be called a doctrine of viewing man’s body-mind complex as corresponding to, if not identical with, that of Buddha. The spirit and practice of all Tantric Yogas are also directed toward the unfoldment of this basic principle.
his aspiration and energy as the Wisdom-Prāna and “Light”…In the Perfecting Yoga practice he is taught first to dissolve all his Energy-Thought{2} in the Innate Light—the Dharmakaya—hitherto concealed “in” the Center of the Heart Cakra, and from it again to project the Body-of-Form (Rupakaya), and thus to animate the infinite acts of Buddhahood.
Each of these dualities, though apparently antithetical, is, in reality, an inseparable unity. If one can understand completely and master one member of the duality, he automatically understands and masters the other. Thus, he who realizes the essence of mind as being Transcendental Wisdom will at the same time realize the essence of prāna as being inexhaustible vitality and the act of Buddhahood.
The translator declines all responsibility for readers who may rashly experiment with these Six Yogas. A mere reading of these texts can never replace a living Guru from whom a serious Bodhi-seeker should first receive initiation and guidance before he can start the actual practice. For serious students, this book can serve no more than as a source of reference, a pointer to the Way.
Ālaya Consciousness—the Store Consciousness which preserves the “seeds” of mental impressions and supports the formation of habit.
Buddhism as the “Primordial,” or “Universal” Consciousness.
AI Summary
Teachings of Tibetan Yoga by Garma C. C. Chang presents key insights from the Yoga tradition. The 10 passages above capture the essential teachings.
Core Themes:
- [To be expanded]
Key Passages: Highlights 1, 3, and 10 are particularly representative.
This entry was generated from Readwise highlights. Expand with additional context as appropriate.