Desire: The Tantric Path to Awakening - Softcover

Odier, Daniel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0892818581 ISBN 13: 9780892818587

Publisher: Inner Traditions, 2001

Synopsis

· Explains how the primal energy generated by physical desire can be used to achieve enlightenment

· Reveals the techniques used by Tantric adepts to attain mastery over breath, thought, and all physical processes

Nothing can match the explosive energy created in the body by pure desire. For millennia, Tantric adepts have harnessed this force as a means of attaining the summits of the mystical life. The energies fueled by passion are used to nourish the inner flame that burns away the egotistical perception of the mind.

Desire explores the subtle techniques of Tantra that enable the seeker to attain the triple mastery of the breath, thought, and the natural processes of the body. Tantrics believe that the body is the temple and divinity lies at its heart. In order to arrive at profound awareness, the body needs to be perfectly tuned and working toward a state of perfect fluidity. Desire reveals many of the secret practices intended for this purpose that have been passed down in the major Tantric treatises such as the Vijnanabhariva Tantra and Ch'an master Chinul's treatise on the Secrets of Cultivating the Mind, including the important techniques of the ritual sexual observances known as Maithuna.

About this title

Review:

The old saw in Buddhism is that desire is the noxious weed that keeps us lurching from one unsatisfactory pleasure to the next, and that uprooting it is the only way to liberation. Daniel Odier, a scholar and teacher of tantra, turns this wisdom on its head in Desire: The Tantric Path to Awakening, saying that desire is the only true path to liberation. Odier objects to any religion that pretends to offer liberation in any form other than simple, personal experience. Stemming from the Tibetan master Kalu Rinpoche and the Kashmiri Shaivite yogini Lalita Devi, Odier's tantrism focuses on "micropractices," conscious withdrawal from habitual activities for just a few seconds several times a day. The crux is to attain consciousness, presence--and beyond this, there is no goal. For when there is eventually presence in every activity, the luminosity of existence pervades everything. At this point, the smallest things give pleasure. Gross desires fall away, to be replaced by spontaneous desires arising in a life of grace and joy. Odier's Desire is a challenge and a pleasure to all who feel constricted by ordinary religious practice. --Brian Bruya

From the Author:

Daniel Odier is one of France's most honored authors. He founded the Tantra/Chan Center in Paris and has taught courses on the spiritual traditions of the Far East at several American universities, including the University of California. He is the author of several works of nonfiction including Nirvana Tao and Tantric Quest, and many novels. His mystery novels, written under the pen name Delacorta, include Diva, which was made into an award-winning film in 1981. He lives in Switzerland.

About this edition

• Publisher: Inner Traditions
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0892818581
• ISBN 13: 9780892818587
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192