Re: Left Hand Mysticism

From: Peter Metcalfe <metcalph_at_QmTLYfSiKtKTvQ1WQa1rBshusT1hob5xOHWxF1TLidArqkA3GiR9yGoBvrEkJT6eKWP>
Date: Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:09:22 +1300


On 3/9/2010 5:17 PM, Kevin McDonald wrote:

> Tantric practices involving sex do exist in Tibetan Buddhism, but are only
> supposed to be performed by very highly realized yogis. It is otherwise a
> serious violation of celibacy vows and can be the cause for major scandal.

An example of a major scandal was Tibet before the Chinese took over. During the minority of the fourteenth Dalai Lama (the current chappie), the regent was one Retting (IIRC), a high-ranking Lama who kept a mistress on the side. Other monks thought this was dodgy but he had the excuse that as he was practically a buddha himself, he obviously knew what he was doing.

Now the time came when the Dalai Lama had to take his vows of celibacy, which would normally be adminstered by the Regent, one Retting who wasn't exactly keeping his own vows. Peer pressure forced him to step aside for a while to hand over the reins to a highly conservative monk whose own virtue was impeccable.

Unfortunately for the erstwhile regent, the monk highly disapproved of his affair and refused to hand power back. Retting tried to organize a coup, was captured and put to death in prison using the Tibetan Death Grip (which simply is crushing the testicles, a punishment my source says was highly unlikely to result in death unless a heart attack was sustained).

That something like this should happen in glorantha goes without saying...

--Peter Metcalfe            

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