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The concept of the sacred spiritual consort was superimposed over the image of the female Dakini, and it was held, for the first time, that a woman could attain the same
level of spiritual enlightenment as the Buddha. These powerful and transforming concepts have been preserved in Tantric traditions to this day. In “Taklamakan” the character Nala is initiated to the Tantric Rites in the scene “Whisper of Night.”
Wikipedia discusses the broad spectrum tantric ritual and symbolism: “Secret ritual may include any or all of the elements of ordinary ritual, either directly or
substituted, along with other sensate rites and themes such as a feast (representing food, or sustenance), coitus (representing sexuality and procreation), the charnel grounds (representing death and
transition) and defecation, urination and vomiting (representing waste, renewal, and fecundity).”
They go on to define the sexual element of the practice in these terms: “Sexual rites of Vama Marga may have emerged from early Hindu Tantra as a
practical means of catalyzing biochemical transformations in the body to facilitate heightened states of awareness.[27] These constitute a vital offering to Tantric deities. Sexual rites may have also
evolved from clan initiation ceremonies involving transactions of sexual fluids. Here the male initiate is inseminated or ensanguinated with the sexual emissions of the female consort, sometimes admixed
with the semen of the guru. The Tantrika is thus transformed into a son of the clan (kulaputra) through the grace of his consort. The clan fluid (kuladravya) or clan nectar (kulamrita) is conceived as
flowing naturally from her womb. Later developments in the rite emphasize the primacy of bliss and divine union, which replace the more bodily connotations of earlier forms. Although popularly equated
with Tantra in its entirety in the West, such sexual rites were historically practiced by a minority of sects. For many practicing lineages, these maithuna practices progressed into psychological
symbolism.[27]
When enacted as enjoined by the Tantras, the ritual culminates in a sublime experience of infinite awareness for both participants. Tantric texts specify that sex has three distinct
and separate purposes—procreation, pleasure, and liberation. Those seeking liberation eschew frictional orgasm for a higher form of ecstasy, as the couple participating in the ritual lock in a
static embrace. Several sexual rituals are recommended and practiced. These involve elaborate and meticulous preparatory and purificatory rites.”
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