The Practice of “Controlled Dreams” in the Alchemical Tradition of Taoism

The paper focuses on the Taoist concept of “dreams”, which is considered from the point of view of the meditative practice of “realized dreams” or “controlled visions”. Famous Taoist masters Chen Tuan (10th cent.), Ma Danyang (12th cent.), Bai Yuchan (12th cent.) and many others implemented techniques of “controlled dreams” as a type of meditative alchemical practice: erasing the frontier between sleep and reality, long periods of vigil in a state of “almost sleep” lead to deactualization of the own “ego”. Deliverance from the conventions of the “dream world” leads to the beginning of the mystical transformations inside the body, and the practitioner passes through several stages: to set up breathing, calm consciousness, the beginning of the “copulation” inside the body of two agents (analogs of alchemical lead and mercury), concluding with the formation of a “miracle remedy”. With the control of the spirit-shen, overnight visions were the continuation of the Taoist self-control during the day, while due to various psychosomatic methods, dreams and reality were perceived as a single indistinguishable continuum, and various “lustful desires” were expelled from consciousness. In this regard, the popular idea of a “dream” in Taoist practice, just as a philosophical and aesthetic category, seemed to be too one-sided. The technique of “controlled dreams” did not exist in separation from the general alchemical practice and was rather an additional than the central part of it. Dreams themselves, in other words, the uncontrolled immersion of a person into the world of images and traces of consciousness, at that moment turned into his opposite – a similar, but not identical – in the colossal work of the spirit for the complete transformation into an “immortal”.

On the meanings of the terms dhāraṇī and mantra in the Buddhist written tradition

The article comprises an analysis of some of the most important terms in the Buddhist religious tradition – dhāraṇī and mantra. It is based upon research of the Buddhist canonical and post-canonical texts. Among others, the article sets to clarify whether it is possible to identify the terms of dhāraṇī and mantra also as ‘spells’, ‘incantations’ or ‘invocations’. Special attention is paid to the study of the semantic areas of the terms in question. This aims to clarify whether the dhāraṇī and mantra can be considered synonyms. The article also examines the approaches of Russian and foreign scholarly traditions, which interpreted the meaning of these terms. On a parallel basis, it analyzes the meaning of the term dhāraṇī recorded in Buddhist canonical and post-canonical texts. Additionally, the article comprises a research of the technical terms, which are synonymous for dhāraṇī and mantra, however, used in both authentic (Indian) and non-endemic zones and the relevant traditions, where the Buddhist teaching was also popular, i.e. in Tibet, China and Japan. As a result, the author concludes as follows. On the ‘popular level’ of the functioning of Buddhist doctrine (protection from illnesses, robbers, bites of poisonous snakes and insects, etc.) both terms dhāraṇī and mantra can be certainly bear the meaning as ‘spells’, ‘incantations’ or ‘invocations’. On the level of the meditative practice of the consciousness transformation, which aims to the final liberation from affects, both dhāraṇī and mantra function as a ‘mental construct’. On the one hand, they protect the ascetic consciousness they protect the ascetic consciosness (manas-tra) from afflictions, on the other, they provide the mental comprehension ‘grasping’ and firm holding (dhāraṇa) in memory of the aspects of religious doctrine, that, ultimately, leads to the Nirvāṇa obtaining. In both cases, dhāraṇī and mantra function as synonyms, with the only difference that dhāraṇī is a product of Buddhist ideologists who sought to identify a break from the previous religious tradition – Brahmanism.

The Path and the Buddha

This chapter examines fundamental Buddhist themes addressed at the beginning of the Vimalakīrti Sūtra. After discussing the setting and the primary characters in the story, it describes the metaphor of Buddhism as a path through life that can be pursued through the various disciplines of Buddhist practice and describes the importance attributed to a motivating concept of the goal of Buddhist practice, bodhicitta, the “thought of enlightenment.” The chapter addresses the question of who the Buddha is understood to be and how Buddhists in the sutra understand the miracles performed by the Buddha as “skillful means” of providing motivation for meditative practice.

Conserving the ‘Container’ of Tantric Secrecy: A Discussion with Western Śākta Practitioners

Secrecy has long limited the possibility of gaining emic insight into the spiritual experiences of tantric practitioners. By sharing reflections obtained via semi-structured interviews, the present article examines how a contemporary community of Western Śākta practitioners not only interprets the functions of secrecy and the necessity of maintaining it, but re-defines it in a way that divorces it from the negative connotations that have commonly been ascribed to it. In light of the latter, this article also evaluates the scope of applicability that certain existing scholarly interpretations of secrecy in tantric traditions have in the context of present intercultural exchanges of such practices. Moreover, it identifies the conditions according to which this group of practitioners was willing to discuss practice-related experiences of both a challenging and transformative nature with non-initiates, including what motivated them to do so, and what benefits they expect might result from such bridge-building. In doing so, it demonstrates the negotiable boundaries of secrecy and the ground of possibility for dialogue, thereby providing an example of how future research on the spiritual experience and impact of tantric meditative practice may be further expanded and explored.

Buddhist Meditation and Contemplation: An Introduction

Perhaps the most significant contribution of Buddhism to the international stage in recent years has been the promotion and cultural acceptance of meditation. Historically central to many Buddhist traditions and once considered an activity for a dedicated few, meditation has become mainstream. Within Buddhism itself, it has now become more widely acknowledged as a lay as well as a monastic practice. Meditation has been reinstated in religious orthopraxy in many spiritual traditions, Buddhist and non-Buddhist, where its practice had previously fallen into abeyance. Meditation is now also normalized and often recommended in secular and clinical contexts: the modern mindfulness movements and various psychologically related disciplines, by adopting various forms of meditative practice as highly effective therapeutic techniques, have made meditations, often derived from Buddhist practice, internationally acceptable. It would be fair to say that the figure of the Buddha seated in deep calm has become an internationally recognized image for the tranquility and alertness thought possible for the human mind. But what exactly is meditation? The term applies to a range of activities that go beyond, but include, the simple seated activity suggested by images of the Buddha. Walking, sitting, and eating may include exercises regarded as central elements in meditative practice. Buddhist traditions throughout all regions have often been richly varied in their attitude to the praxis and the theory of the eightfold path; all path factors are considered interrelated. The isolation of any one activity from others that may support and enhance it does not present an authentic, or what would be regarded as an effective, picture of what is known as bhāvanā, literally “making to become,” the cultivation of the eightfold path and, specifically, meditation itself. The term bhāvanā is certainly applied to seated meditation. But it also includes exercises in other postures, devotional practices, offerings, prostrations, listening to teaching, debate about the teaching, and chanting. Some of these, in some traditions, assume a central role whereby they become the core meditation practice. Meditations and other activities are often considered interdependent: from early times, the absorption and investigation of theory, sitting meditation, walking practice, chanting, and rituals aimed at stilling and clearing the mind were designed to support and complement one another. Meditation and its associated exercises are often selected and taught with careful consideration of individual needs. Many require continued guidance by more experienced practitioners: mixes of practices are often suggested to individuals according to their temperament and stage of practice. Forms of Buddhism are quite distinct; but practices are usually seen as graduated, requiring patient training before the next stage of teaching is reached, and mutually supportive. Historically, Buddhism has also often tended to adapt in a creative and flexible manner according to local customs, variations, and belief systems. These features can be seen in the great diversity of Buddhist meditative practice.

Both partners practicing orgasmic meditation report having a mystical-type experience: results using the Mystical Experience Questionnaire

Background: Practitioners in a variety of spiritual/religious traditions have described “mystical experiences”, defined by a common set of qualities. The “Mystical Experience Questionnaire” (MEQ30) provides a validated and quantitative measure of mystical experience, and has been used successfully to demonstrate that the hallucinogenic substance psilocybin triggers a mystical-type experience. Orgasmic Meditation (OM) is a structured, partnered meditative practice involving manual stimulation of the clitoris. Although the partners in an OM have different roles (one is stroking, and the other is being stroked), both claim benefit from the practice. The aim of the current study is to use the MEQ30 to assess to what extent participants report mystical experiences during OM, and to what extent that experience is correlated between the partners. Methods: In Study 1, 780 participants completed the MEQ30 with a single powerful OM in mind. In Study 2, 56 pairs of participants (both partners) completed the MEQ30 after their next OM. If the respondent had a score ≥60% of the maximum possible score on each of the four subscales of the MEQ30, this was considered a “complete” mystical experience. Results: Respondents from Study 1 reported an MEQ total score of 3.35 (SD = 1.08), with 62% of respondents reporting a complete mystical experience. Respondents from Study 2 reported an MEQ total score of 3.21 (SD = 0.92), with 23% reporting a complete mystical experience. We found strong relationships between MEQ total score and role (i.e., stroker or strokee), interrater agreement within-group index (aWG) = 0.46, and an even stronger relationship between partners and MEQ total score, aWG=0.71. Conclusions: These findings suggest that OM can trigger a substantial mystical experience in both partners. Whether the brains of people who OM show similar activity changes to those having other mystical experiences awaits future study.

Phenomenological reduction of E. Husserl through the prism of Buddhist meditation

The subject of this research is the method of phenomenological reduction developed by E. Husserl. The article examines the difficulties faced by this method, as well as observes the reception of Husserl’s ideas by the adherents of phenomenology in the XX century. It is substantiated that the phenomenological reduction is unrealizable by theoretical means due to impossibility to comply in the with the initial requirements of directness and non-prerequisiteness in the verbal expression. At the same time, the author proves that the phenomenological reduction could be implemented as a practice. Buddhist meditation is taken as an example. The goal is set to examine the phenomenological reduction through the prism of meditative practice. The research methodology is based on the comparative study of phenomenological and Buddhist philosophy with regards to the subject matter. The scientific novelty lies in examination of the problem of implementation of phenomenological reduction in the context of a completely different, non-Western tradition. The analysis demonstrates that Buddhism and phenomenology, proceeding from similar ideological prerequisites and studying the same subject, come to the markedly different conclusions. The examination of meditative practice indicated the differences between the phenomenology and Buddhism in their interpretation of the problem of consciousness. The fundamental difference pertains to the problem of “Self”: Buddhism does not recognize the apodictic evidence of the empirical and transcendental ego. This opinion is grounded on observation of the variable nature of the mind in the process of meditation. Other differences considered in this article consists in the discrepancy between the phenomenology and Buddhism regarding the interpretation of such concepts as “intentionality” and “ideation”.

Buddhist-Taoist Syncretism in the School of the “Twofold Mystery” and the Meditation of “Purity and Quietness”

The papers are dedicated to the concepts, main ideas, texts, and forms of practice of the syncretic Taoist movement Chongxuan-pai – “Twofold mystery”, which was developed in the 7–10th centuries. This school borrowed a number of logical constructions of Madhyamika Buddhism, including the system of four-level dialectical negation, as well as the idea of absolute “emptying of consciousness” for overcoming attachments both to mundane life and to any mental concepts. In part, these ideas are reflected in the Taoist-Buddhist practice of attaining “purity and quietness, a specific tradition of meditation, with its most important text “Canon of Purity and Quietness” (Qingjing jing) (given in this article in the author’s translation). Despite its traditional structure, thematic allusions with “Dao De Jing” and precepts attributed to Lao-jun, this Canon pays special attention to the technique of “inner contemplation” (nei guan), which also gravitates to the Buddhist practice of vipasyana and is called to eliminate binary opposition (pure-polluted, movement-rest) in the practitioner’s consciousness. The “Canon of purity and Quietness” is still highly revered in central China’s Taoist schools today. The basis of the meditative practice according to this Canon is the gradual ascending from “looking inward”, “looking outward” and “looking away” to “contemplation of emptiness”. The highest stage of “emptying the emptiness” leads to the complete deactualization of the ego and the breaking of all ties with the world. In this way, the exegetical idea of the “Twofold mystery” is realized as a form of Taoist practice influenced by Buddhist ideas.

Classical Daoist Meditation, 400–100 bce

Daoism is the indigenous Chinese religious tradition that has been a major feature of this culture for over two thousand years. It is grounded in a comprehensive cosmology of the Way (Dao) that derives from the ancient practice of a meditation that emphasizes attentional focus and mental tranquility attained through an apophatic (self-negating) practice of systematically emptying consciousness of its normal contents. These foundational ideas are present in a series of surviving works that include the famous Laozi and Zhuangzi, which have recently been supplemented by newly excavated texts and newly appreciated extant ones known for millennia. They contain a meditative practice that has been called “inner cultivation” and that emphasizes methods that develop concentration in order to empty the mind of all common thoughts, desires, emotions, and perceptions. These lead ultimately to self-transcending experiences in which adepts experience a complete union with the non-dual Way. The return to dualistic consciousness is accompanied by a fresh and transformed cognition in which adepts are able to spontaneously and effortlessly act in harmony with all new circumstances. This flowing cognition is able to effect transformations in other people and in the body politic and so becomes part of the arcana of government advocated to local kings by the scholar-practitioners of this tradition. These apophatic methods constitute one of the main contemplative practice streams within the Daoist religious tradition and its continuities with later Daoism are detailed by Louis Komjathy in another chapter of this volume.

Five Stages of Religious Practice in the Early Yogācāra Philosophy

Ascending by the stages of religious practice according to Mahāyāna teaching, an adept finally achieves the enlightenment and leaves the wheel of deaths and rebirths. The first stage of the practice according to "The Compendium of Mahāyāna" by Asanga (4th century) is the stage of accumulation. On this stage, an adept follows the rules of monastic discipline improving his moral virtues. His aim on this stage is to make morality natural for him, when moral behavior does not demand special from him. The second stage is the preparatory one, and here the adept proceeds to the meditative practice based on his moral achievements, gradually eradicating afflictions that obstruct enlightenment. On the third stage, the stage of seeing he intuitively comprehends the essence of four Noble truths. On the fourth stage, the stage of cultivation he finally eradicates afflictions remaining in his consciousness after the third stage. The last, fifth stage of conclusion leads him to enlightenment and nirvā a. But there is a paradox in the religious ideology of Mahāyāna. The religious ideal of Mahāyāna is the bodhisattva, or the person who voluntarily renounce to enter into nirvā a for the sake of other sentient beings whom he vowed to save from sa sāra. But if a person enters into nirvā a he cannot already save other beings. Therefore if a person seeks to realize the religious ideal of Mahāyāna he cannot go through this way till the end and must stop "on the threshold of enlightenment" retaining some minimum of unwholesome dharmas in his consciousness. For solving this problem Mahāyāna thinkers introduced the notion of "unestablished nirvā a" (aprati hita-nirvā a) or the state of enlightenment that does not exclude being in sa sāra and allowing bodhisattva to preach Dharma and to lead all sentient beings to the liberation from the wheel of rebirths.