> In this, the last chapter of "Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism",
> Trungpa addresses for the first time the aspect of Buddhism that is of,
> perhaps, the most interest to magicians,the concept of tantra.
>
> Trungpa says, "Finally we reach the tenth and last stage of the Bodhisattva
> Path: the death of shunyata and the birth into 'luminosity'.  Shunyata as an
> experience falls away, exposing the luminous quality of form.  Prajna
> transforms into jnana or 'wisdom'.  The powerful jolt of the vajra-like
> samadhi is necessry to bring the bodhisattva into the state of being wisdom
> instead of knowing wisdom. This is the moment of bodhi, or 'awake', the
> entrance into Tantra."
>
> The basis of Tantra is working with energy, "that which aides in the heart
> of all beings, self-existing simplicity, that which sustains wisdom.  This
> indestructible essence is the energy of great joy; it is all-pervasive, like
> space.  This is the dharma body of non-dwelling" according to the Tantra of
> Vajramala.
>
> As I mentioned in a comment on the last chapter, I see the process as an
> interaction of the supernals of the Tree of Life.  Form and emptiness
> correspond to Binah and Chokmah, and Tantra itself is expressed in Kether.
> And, just as the qabalists say that Malkuth is in Kether and Kether in
> Malkuth, Trungpa says:
>
> "Tantric wisdom brings nirvana into samsara.  This may sound rather
> shocking.  Before reaching the level of Tantra, you try to abandon samsara
> and strive to achieve nirvana.  But eventually you must realize the futility
> of striving and then become completely one with nirvana.  In order to really
> capture the energy of nirvana and become one with it you need a partnership
> with the ordinary world.  Therefore the term 'ordinary wisdom',
> thamal-gyi-shepa, is used a great deal in the Tantric tradition.  It is the
> completely ordinary version of 'form is form, emptiness is empty'; it is
> what is.  One cannot reject the physical existence of the world as being
> something bad and associated with samsara.  You can only understand the
> essence of nirvana by looking into the essence of samsara."
>
> Alchemical symbolism is also used a lot in the teaching of Tantra.  The
> transmutation of lead into gold is accomplished not be destroying the lead
> but transmuting it.  "You do not have to change its metallic quality at all.
> You simply transmute it."
>
> As in alchemy, the practice of tantra is predicated on the proper
> preparation of the vessel.  Without cutting through to shunyata, and then
> cutting through shunyata as well, you simply haven't got the capacity to
> handle the energies of Tantra in a controlled fashion.  Thus, the
> consequences of doing so are that your results are not predictable, not
> exactly what you set out to accomplish.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it
> has strange and unexpected effects, and sometimes it doesn't work at all.
> Sometimes it backfires and can potentially do a lot of damage.
>
> "If a yogi works with energy without having gone through the shunyata
> experience, then it may be dangerous and destructive.  For example, the
> practice of some physical yoga exercises which stimulate ones energy could
> awaken passion, hatred, pride and other emotions to the extent that one
> would not know how to express them.The scriptures describe a yogi who is
> completely intoxicated with his energy as being like a drunken elephant who
> runs rampant without considering where he is going."
>
> In yet another parallel, the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage describes a
> series of practices which are to be undertaken only after one has had the
> Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel which prepares one to
> understand and control the energies which the practices are designed to
> produce.  Similar cautionary tales are told in occult circles about dabbling
> with these practices before having been properly prepared.  Mostly these
> stories are exaggerated fantasically, so they cannot be taken at face value,
> but they do point to this notion that you'd better really know what you're
> doing, just in case you happen, by sheer luck (good or bad), to accidentally
> power up the system by playing randomly with the switches.
>
> I think it is important to think about what Trungpa means when he says that
> Tantra is "working with energy".  In the physical sciences, energy is that
> which does work.  It comes is very specific forms, is easily quantifiable,
> and acts in very specific, highly predictable ways.  There is heat, light,
> kinetic, atomic energy, and so forth.  In occult circles, the term "energy"
> is used as if it were something like physical energy, but an energy which
> conveniently fails to conform to any consistent rules for its own operation
> and can do anything we imagine it does and only when we imagine that it
> does.  They cannot be quantified at all and there is no independently
> verifiable means to determine that they exist at all.  There are magical
> energies, psychic energies, chi, and the like.  Both physical and occult
> energies are very far from what Trungpa is talking about.
>
> "When we speak of being highly developed spiritually, this does not mean we
> float in the air.  In fact, the higher we go, the more we come down to
> earth."
>
> The energy of Tantra is not doing work as does physical energy and it is not
> in conformance with our imaginations as is occult energy.  It is the essence
> of what is; it's what makes things real.  It is a pattern to how things
> unfold and how this unfolding is appreciated by our consciousness.
>
> "As the yogi becomes more sensitive to the patterns and qualities of energy,
> he sees more clearly the meaning or symbolism of life experiences.  The
> first half of Tantric practice, the Lower Tantra, is called Mahamudra, which
> means 'Great Symbol'.  Symbol, in this sense, is not a 'sign' representing
> some philosophical or religious principle; it is the demonstration of the
> living qualities of what is.  For instance, in the direct perception of a
> flower, the perception of naked insight, unclothed and unmasked, the color
> of the flower conveys a message over and beyond the simple perception of
> color.  There is great meaning in this color, which is communicated in a
> powerful, almost overwhelming way...  Every texture we perceive has some
> spiritual implication automatically, and we begin to realize the tremendous
> energy contained within this discovery and understanding.  The meditator
> develops new depths of insight through direct communication with the reality
> of the phenomenal world."
>
> In a matter that is startlingly similar to qabalistic correspondences,
> Trungpa describes five categories of Tantric energy, five forms in which we
> experience reality, which are dubbed the "Buddha Families".  These
> correspondences describe the qualities of reality in terms of human feelings
> and symbolism.
>
> These five are Vajra, Ratna, Padma, Karma, and Buddha.
>
> Trungpa explains each one in depth, but here's a quick overview of the
> principle correspondences.
>
> Vajra:
> Emotion: Anger
> Perfected State: Mirror-like Wisdom
> Element: Water
> Color: White
> Direction: East
> Season: Winter
>
> Ratna:
> Emotion: Pride
> Perfected State: Wisdom of Equanimity
> Element: Earth
> Color: Yellow
> Direction: South
> Season: Autumn
>
> Padma:
> Emotion: Passion
> Perfected State: Disciminating Awareness
> Element: Fire
> Color: Red
> Direction: West
> Season: Early Spring.
>
> Karma:
> Emotion: Envy
> Perfected State: Wisdom of All-Encompassing Action
> Element: Wind
> Color: Green
> Direction: North
> Season: Late Spring and Early Summer
>
> Buddha:
> Emotion: Dullness
> Perfected State: All-Encompassing Space
> Element: Earth (possibly Akasha, in some senses)
> Color: Blue
> Direction: Basic Ground
> Season:  None specified.
>
> You can make of these what you will but, be reminded, none of this will make
> much sense, or be of much use, until one has attained and then transcended
> shunyaya.
>
> The questions at the end of the chapter give us some idea of the overall
> formula of the spiritual path of Tibetan Buddhism.
>
> Opening, surrender.
> Emptying, shunyata.
> Integration, tantra.
>
> Quoting Milarepa, Trungpa concludes:
>
> "Insofar as the Ultimate, or true nature of being is concerned, there are
> neither Buddhas nor demons.  He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil
> and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of
> confusion.  Samsara will then appear to be the Mahamudra itself."